Economic growth and human development in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This thesis attempts to define Economic Growth and Human Development and the link between the two concepts. Furthermore it explains some of the main Theories of Development, mainly the classical Theory of Growth, the Structural-Change Model, the Neo-Marxist and Dependency Theories of Development and lastly the Nee-Classical and Nee-Liberal Theories of Development. The second chapter gives a profile of a developing country, that is Malawi. By applying UNDP figures and statistics, I attempt to interpret the country's economic performance and its progress towards Human Development. Another chapter will give a comparative analysis of the countries in Southern Africa which are Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique. This chapter attempts to give an account of the similarities and differences in the economic and human development performances in the six Southern Africa countries and how certain policies are affecting each country's performance. The following chapter is dedicated to the report of the fieldwork which I conducted in August 1999 in Dedza District Malawi. The objective of this fieldwork was to interpret and give my impressions on the data found in the UNDP Human Development Report and other sources about Malawi. This was carried out through interviews with officials about subjects related to community development, health and education projects. The concluding chapter is about Human Resource Development. This chapter shows that it is the human capabilities rather than the investment on capital or the country's material resources that determine economic growth and the progress in human development of a country. This chapter ends with some policies, which if adopted, could contribute to promote the people's well-being in Sub-Saharan Africa.