Development studies

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Development studies is the multidisciplinary branch of social science which addresses issues of concern to developing nations.

The emergence of development studies as an academic discipline in the second half of the twentieth century is in large part due to increasing concern about economic prospects for the third world after decolonisation. While it originally emerged as a branch of economics, development economics, it has become an increasingly inter- and multi-disciplinary subject, encompassing politics, history, woman studies, sociology, geography, social anthropology and international relations.

Development studies is offered as a specialised Master's degree in a number of universities, and, less commonly, as an undergraduate degree.

Students of development studies often choose careers in international organisations such as United Nations, non-governmental organisations, the World Bank, and research centres.

The era of modern development is commonly deemed to have commenced with the inauguration speech of Harry S. Truman in 1949. In Point Four of his speech, with reference to Latin America and other poor nations, he said that "for the first time in history, humanity possess[ed] the knowledge and skill to relieve the suffering of these people.".^[1] But for the purposes of development studies, also the former development experiences of western countries are of high relevancy.

Despite the orthodox view of Development as relating to the process of increasing the relative and absolute wealth of LDCs, usually through notions of increased output of either industrial or agricultural goods, many academics, e.g. Gilbert Rist and Stefan Andreasson, dispute that Development has any meaning within this context. They contend that Development of LDCs to the wealth levels of the richer OECD nations, using extractive production and trading processes similar to those of OECD nations, is untenable because of the ecological and environmental damage which would ensue.^[2] The argument for a completely new paradigm of Development has validity for many observers and academics.