Economic development plan
Introduction
Economic development refers to the capacity of a country or region to generate wealth in a sustained manner with the aim of improving the conditions of economic and social well-being of its population. This concept is commonly associated with structural transformation processes within an economic system, which include increases in productivity, improvements in infrastructure, technological advances and institutional changes.
Economic development can be linked to economic growth when it is maintained for a long time and allows the accumulation of capital "Capital (economy)"), but it also implies qualitative transformations beyond quantitative growth. These transformations can originate from both internal factors and conditions external to the country or region.[1].
The academic study of these processes is framed in development economics, a discipline that analyzes the conditions necessary to promote development in diverse contexts. From the field of economic policy, strategies to promote development usually include institutional reforms, incentives for innovation, investment promotion and strengthening of production and distribution systems.
In historical terms, the industrial development that began in Great Britain towards the end of the 19th and beginning of the 19th century has been considered a turning point in the expansion of the capitalist economic model, which subsequently spread to other regions of the world. This trajectory has led to a relatively small part of the planet being classified as "developed", while other regions continue to face structural challenges linked to poverty and scarcity.[2].
Economic growth implies an increase in the income of the population as a reference for a level of consumption and well-being. The way growth is measured is gross domestic product (GDP). However, as Amartya Sen noted, "economic growth is an aspect of the economic development process."[3] For this reason, alternative indicators such as the Human Development Index and the Social Progress Index have been designed and applied.
Factors of economic development
Classical economics developed the tripartite classification of the "factors of production": land, capital and labor. Later, a fourth factor was added: the business factor, understood as the talent and effort necessary to organize the other three.