Role of States in the Development - Essay Example

Role of States in development Name; Institution affiliation; Date; Introduction The term National development means the ability of a state or a nation to progress the lives of its citizens whether it is political, socially or economically. Improvement of national development may be measured through material, such as an increase in the gross domestic product of a country, or social meaning how citizens live, their education and literacy levels or the availability of health care to the general population. State governments come up with national development plans and policies based on the perceived needs of their citizens, that is, what they want or need. Most national development plans put their emphasis on reducing the poverty levels of their citizens, affordable and attainable housing as means of eradicating slums and shanties (Chang, 2003). Most state governments understand that the problem of housing contributes to other crimes such as prostitution, robbery and kidnapping. Community development is also another part of development that state governments champion as a way of empowering community members and eradicating poverty from the society. States play an important role in coming up with plans and systems that aim at putting in place systems meant to improve the welfare of citizens through improving the economy of the country as the whole. Improving the economy helps the government also to improve the lives of citizens socially and politically since other social amenities such as education, water and sanitation can be easily afforded. Philippines development plan act 2011-2016 and South Africa's development plans are some of the roles that states play in developing their nations (Hvam, 2013). The ultimate aim or purpose of all national development plans is to improve the lives of its citizens through improving their standards of living, housing, education and literacy levels. The national government aims to improve the lives of its citizens through growing the country's economy and an emphasizing on the good of the whole community. The proper role of the state governments in promoting economic or social development is an issue that has captured the attention of an unusually broad range of experts and institutions with a professional interest in national development. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the role played by the state in development and more so economic development of a country. To elaborate this, the paper will study the role of state in developing countries such as India, South Africa and the Philippines (Vaidyanathan, 1990) The role of state in national development; a case study of Philippines. National development is said to be the ability of a national or state government to improve the welfare of its people. It is the dream of every government to enable its citizens to live well above the poverty line, get affordable health care, and provide other social amenities such as education, water, transport and infrastructure. Citizens also aim to vote for a regime that seems to care about their welfare, and that is concerned with helping them improve their standards of living. The Philippines development plan 2011-2016 is an example of a state development plan that aims at improving the living standards of the citizens. The main aim of the development plan is to adopt a framework of inclusive and sustainable growth, creating employment in the country, and reduce poverty through empowering members of the society. The government of Philippines aims to achieve all these goals through good governance and a platform advocating for the eradication of corruption from all levels of governance. Through the two pillars of good governance and anti-corruption, the Philippine development plan 2011-2016 translates into specific set goals, objectives, strategies, programs and programs as the things that the government of Philippines has set to achieve first (Weingast, 1995). Through this plan, the role of the state in development can be seen to be setting goals and putting systems in place as a way of guiding its citizens on what is to be achieved in the short-term and in the long-term too. The development plan helps[s the government and the nation as whole pursue quick and sustainable economic growth and development, aimed at improving the quality of lives of Filipino people, empowering and helping the marginalized and poor community through sound community upgrading programs and systems. The development plan is built on the believe that social cohesion as a national can only be achieved through good governance whereby all citizens in the whole country will be empowered. The plans strategic development policies are aimed at focusing on improving transparency in all government undertakings as well as holding every government official accountable for what they do or not do. The plan also lays down the procedure of how the economy of the country could be strengthened, through boosting the competitiveness of its industries, making sure that new infrastructural designs are put in place, strengthening the country's financial sector, mobilizing capital from both the private and the public sector. The development plan also provides ways in which the government of Philippines can improve its citizen's access to quality social services such as sanitation, water and quality education. The government has also put in place systems and plans that aim at enhancing peace and security for the general development of the country as well as ensuring the ecological integrity of the whole country. The Philippines development plan serves as a guide to the government to ensure that it formulates policies and implements major development plans for a couple of years to come to ensure that they run smoothly. All these development programs are aimed at ensuring that the Filipino people have a better chance of climbing out of the well of poverty, inequality and the poor state of human development that is evident in the country. Currently, the Philippines development plan contains plans and actions that the government hopes will generate mass employment to the country's citizens, as well as reduce poverty by empowering the community. Currently, the development plan has its specific goals and objectives that are followed by an elaborate plan for long-term strategies, programs and projects that will be launched each coming year (Weingast, 1995). States role in development; a case study of India The role of the state in development can be seen through India's targeted public distribution system, which is a large-scale plan by the national government that is aimed at intervening in the provision of food to avert hunger from India's poorest neighborhoods and households. The Indian government plans have been failing because of the fact that most of them have been covered by scandals whereby government and private officials are said to be embezzling funds meant for projects that were to improve the lives of the Indian people. The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) is an example of how a national government can intervene to provide services meant to improve the overall development of the country ensuring that the citizen's welfare is improved. Despite being covered by allegations of corruption and embezzlement, the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) has achieved some of its goals of bringing a certain level of food security and resilience to beneficiary households (Chang, 2003). This study revealed that boundaries that exist between the nation and society become blurred in the delivery of the said plan and that embedded relations between implementers of the plan and also its beneficiaries contribute to basic needs that are common at the household level. Following from this, the thesis argues in favor of a central role for the state in development, while also emphasizing the need for society cooperation and involvement (Hvam, 2013). Experts in India have been arguing that the planning structure and mechanisms need a complete overhaul through ensuring that the private sector is given more freedom top operate while the whole country switches to a market-based economy. Despite the initial plans laid into place, India still lacks a comprehensive development plan that can be said can be relied upon to put the country in a place whereby it can be said to play a great role in development. State role in development; a case study of South Africa South Africa's National Development Plan (NDP) is a comprehensive plan by the government of South Africa that is aimed to reduce the country's rampant unemployment, inequality among its population masses, eradicating poverty by the year 2030 as well as providing a great avenue of collaboration between the private and the public sectors. This collaboration brings together various sectors of the economy such as business world, government agencies, labour and the civil society as well (Vaidyanathan, 1990). The National Development Plan (NDP) promotes enhanced competitiveness in the South African economy as it is meant to improve quality of its products so that they can complete well in the international market. The plan also promotes greater spatial efficiency in growing cities (meant to ease congestion) expanding infrastructure to accommodate the growing population and accelerating rural development. The main aim of the National Development Plan (NDP) is to make a priority of the measures that a capable of building an effective nation that can deliver services to South Africans while also helping the business and economy to grow. To counter the growing rampant unemployment among the youths, the National Development Plan (NDP) aims to create six million jobs by 2030. This move is also aimed at improving standards of living of the citizens (Bates, 2008). Conclusion States through governments play a great role in shaping the development of their people through setting up of goals and development plans. As observed by the three case studies of the Philippines, South Africa and India, development plans go a long way in re-shaping the destiny of a country regarding political, economic and social development. Despite all this, third world and some of the developing countries have been growing poorer because of having plans that are just meant to appease the masses and donors while at the same time becoming avenues for siphoning public funds. The role played by the state does not mean that the private sector is sidelined in its quest of boosting the national development. The most fundamental principle of national development states that there is need for central planning whereby the state government with help from the private sector comes up with systems and policies that are meant to streamline the development of the nation. Failure of most governments has been witnessed because most of them do not undertake the measures on a large scale because of poor governance and corruption (Bates, 2008). References Bates, R. H. (2008). The Role of the State in Development. The Oxford handbook of political economy, 1-31. Chang, H. (2003). Globalization, economic development and the role of the state. Journal of Economics, 1-12. Hvam, L. L. (2013). The Role of the state in development: A case study of food security and vulnerability among beneficiaries of India's targeted public distribution system (TPDS). LUMID International Master programme in applied international development and management, 1-4. Vaidyanathan, A. (1990). State's Role in Development. Economic and political weekly, 1389- 1392. Weingast, B. R. (1995). The Economic Role of Political Institutions: Market-Preserving Federalism and Economic Development. Journal of Law, Economics & Organization, 1- 31. Bibliography Bates, R. H. (2008). The Role of the State in Development. The Oxford handbook of political economy, 1-31. In this article, the author discusses the role that the state plays in the process of development. He explains how the government is tasked with formulating policies that create favourable conditions for provision of security, a creation of wealth, eradication of poverty and creating jobs for the unemployed. Chang, H. (2003). Globalization, economic development and the role of the state. Journal of Economics, 1-12. Ha-Joon Chang discusses and evaluates the role that the state plays in economics an development. In a collection of some essays, the author describes how government roles have changed and also how the private sector can partner with the state to provide better services to the general population. Hvam, L. L. (2013). The Role of the state in development: A case study of food security and vulnerability among beneficiaries of India's targeted public distribution system (TPDS). LUMID International Master programme in applied international development and management, 1-4. This article is about the case study of India whereby a state-sponsored economic plan called Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) enhances large-scale government intervention to enhance food security among India's poorest households Vaidyanathan, A. (1990). State's Role in Development. Economic and political weekly, 1389- 1392. In this article, Vaidyanathan discusses Indian system and how the government is assisting in the improvement of development and economy at the general. He also suggests that the planning structures and mechanisms at place need an overhaul because corruption and embezzlement have become e rampant. Weingast, B. R. (1995). The Economic Role of Political Institutions: Market-Preserving Federalism and Economic Development. Journal of Law, Economics & Organisation, 1- 31. In this article, the author argues that Thriving markets around the world require not only an appropriately designed economic working system but also a secure political foundation that limits the ability of the state or government officials to engage in corruption or embezzle funds. The author discusses that the process requires limited political intervention with help from the private sector to push the economy forward. Read More