Evaluate the Role of International Trade and Economic Integration in Promoting Development.
Evaluate the role of International trade and economic integration in promoting development. Traditionally, development has been measured in terms of income levels (GDP per capita) as this can show the value of a country’s goods and services produced in a year shared between its population. The GDP per capita can then be compared between multiple countries to form comparisons. However, the fundamental flaw of GDP is that it does not show what resources were used, how they were used, pollution or the sustainability of resource exploitation. Bob Kennedy famously said before his assassination “Our gross national product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage...yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play”. While traditional economics explores how scarce resources can be allocated to maximise output, the true definition of “development” is unknown and is open to much interpretation. However the indicators and wealth, which reflects the quantity of resources available to society, provide little information about the allocation of those resources. For example, resources may not be equally distributed within society or the social groups. Even countries which share similar GDP Per capita differ substantially when it comes to people quality-of-life: access to education, health care, employment opportunities, the availability of clean and safe drinking water and the threat of crime etc. Recent United Nations documents emphasised “human development” measured by life expectancy, at adult literacy, access to all three levels of education, as well as peoples average income, which is a necessary condition of their freedom of choice. In a broader sense the notion of human development incorporates all the aspects of individuals wellbeing, from their health status to the economic and political freedom. According to the Human Development