Jahan response

John O’Hara

Question

Jahan talked about how human development has far to long been focused just on the economic standpoint. This meaning that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should not be the only thing considered in human development. He split human development up into two sections. First, he said human development incorporates the inclusion of enhancing the capabilities of humans. This meaning better accesses to health and nutrition. On the other hand, he talks about how the opportunities for human the use of capabilities to need to be increased. He mentions how the balance between them is crucial for human development and maximization of growth. Without this balance a sense of human frustration arrives which leads to a loss in human development potential. Jahan targets those two areas instead of just focusing on the latter one, to show how human development could be redefined to assist with growth. Jahan also mentions that of human development being of the people, for the people, and by the people. Through defining human development with humans at the central of the problem, it allows for humans maximize growth compared to being just thought as capita.

He gives different measures through how development should be measured. One measure focuses on things such as birth rates, death rates. He mentions how a focus measure of human development are better as measures of longevity, knowledgeability, and a decent standard of living. These measures allow for a better-rounded measure of human development versus just the economic snapshot of a location. By switching the targets, it will allow for the capabilities to grow which in return with the growth of opportunities to use these capabilities it will allow for the maximization of human development.

Roslin focused on how fertility rate, as an example of health, is a precursor to economic growth. He mentions how United Arab of Emeritus hard to back track economically to achieve that economic growth. As Jahan said, the capabilities and opportunities need to match, which is shown through the data that Roslin focused on. Roslin made a clear image with his data to back up how development is not just focused on the economy, and how other factors will allow the economy to grow more. Examples he showed of this was that of China and south Asia changing socially that led to the development of those countries economically. Roslin warns against the use of averages too because of how they could lead to misconceptions of data. Roslin’s presentation helps back Jahan’s idea of the two sides of human development.