The Social Dimensions Of Development

Perpetual economic growth is physically impossible on a planet with finite resources. Many concerned with humanity's future have focused on the concept of "sustainable development" as an alternative, as they seek means of achieving current economic and social goals without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own goals. Sustainable development brings together elements of economics, public policy, sociology, ecology, resource management, and other related areas, and while the term has become quite popular, it is rarely defined, and even less often is it understood. A Survey of Sustainable Development addresses that problem by bringing together in a single volume the most important works on sustainable human and economic development. It offers a broad overview of the subject, and gives the reader a quick and thorough guide to this highly diffuse topic. The volume offers ten sections on topics including: economic and social dimensions of sustainable development the North/South balance population and the demographic transition agriculture and renewable resources energy and materials use globalization and corporate responsibility local and national strategies Each section is introduced with an essay by one of the volume editors that provides an overview of the subject and a summary of the mainstream literature, followed by two- to three-page abstracts of the most important articles or book chapters on the topic. A Survey of Sustainable Development is the sixth and final volume in the Frontier Issues of Economic Thought series produced by the Global Development And Environment Institute at Tufts University. Each book brings together the most important articles and book chapters in a "frontier" area of economics where important new work is being done but has not yet been incorporated into the mainstream of economic study. The book is an essential reference for students and scholars concerned with economics, environmental studies, public policy and administration, international development, and a broad range of related fields.

Why do some states provide infrastructure and social services to their citizens, and others do not? In Development in Multiple Dimensions, Alexander Lee examines the origins of success and failure in the public services of developing countries. Comparing states within India, this study examines how elites either control, or are shut out of, policy decisions and how the interests of these elites influence public policy. He shows that social inequalities are not single but multiple, creating groups of competing elites with divergent policy interests. Since the power of these elites varies, states do not necessarily focus on the same priorities: some focus on infrastructure, others on social services, and still others on both or neither. The author develops his ideas through quantitative comparisons and case studies focusing on four northern Indian states: Gujarat, West Bengal, Bihar, and Himachal Pradesh, each of which represents different types of political economy and has a different set of powerful caste groups. The evidence indicates that regional variation in India is a consequence of social differences, and the impact of these differences on carefully considered distributional strategies, rather than differences in ideology, geography, or institutions.

While major strides have been made in the scientific understanding of climate change, much less understood is how these dynamics in the physical enviornment interact with socioeconomic systems. This book brings together the latest knowledge on the consequences of climate change for society and how best to address them.

Comprises six papers which focus on the need for improvements in social performance and reductions in inequality and poverty if sustainable economic development is to be achieved. Examines disparities among educational outcomes in OECD and Latin American countries and shows how educational attainment is related to employment outcomes. Explores demographic trends and challenges facing the health sector, examines the use of culture-related and poverty indicators and analyses the relationships between growth, poverty and income distribution. Includes results of a poverty survey in Ghana.

Dimensions of Development traces the 'development' of Allpachico, a village in the Peruvian central highlands. Susan Vincent examines four aid projects in the area, each following distinct international trends, that took place between 1984 and 2008 within the context of wider state and global political and economic systems. A unique historical ethnography, Dimensions of Development illustrates how state and NGO projects have drawn Allpachiqueños deeper into capitalism and have brought about challenges to the local political structure, the comunidad campesina. While highlighting the continual reorganization of the local population into new groups, Vincent also reveals why the comunidad remains the group's preferred form of representation.

The social development approach seeks to integrate economic and social policies within a dynamic development process in order to achieve social welfare objectives. This first comprehensive textbook on the subject demonstrates that social development offers critically significant insights for the developed as well as the developing world. James Midgley describes the social development approach, traces its origins in developing countries, reviews theoretical issues in the field and analyzes different strategies in social development. By adding the developmental dimension, social development is shown to transcend the dichotomy between the residualist approach, which concentrates on targeting resources to the most needy, and th