Development must be a continuous process for every economy however the methods and approaches of development vary with nations. However, the difference in opinions and strategies of policymakers creates a dichotomy in development. Almost every economy has its own approach toward development some may adopt an aggressive approach while some adopt a conservative or a calculative approach. However, development is possible in all kinds of approaches, but the results may not be exact.
What is the Dichotomy of Development?
Dichotomy simply means having exact contradictory thoughts, thus the Dichotomy of Development can better be understood as the difference in opinion of the ruling governments on the nation. For example, some leaders promote rural and Agricultural development while some promote urban and industrial development thus creating a Dichotomy in the development. The Dichotomy of developments leads to an extraordinary growth of one sector while contributing almost nothing to the other sectors. Thus many economists believe that the Dichotomy of development is a major barrier to the growth of any nation.
Some of the most common Dichotomies of Development are as below:
- Agricultural development versus industrial development
- Urban development versus rural development
- Adopting advanced methods in the development versus using traditional methods
- Labor versus machines/robots
- Centralization versus decentralization
How does the Dichotomy of Development Affect Economic Growth?
The Dichotomy of development can never lead to sustainable development and economic growth as development must not partial and every citizen must get benefitted from the development. But the dichotomy of development leads decision-makers to focus on a single sector and thus not leading to inclusive economic growth. If the government of nation promotes the urban development and didn’t do anything about the rural sector then people living in that region get exploited. Also, it has been observed that leading economies usually promote industrial growth instead of Agricultural growth. But it can lead to serious scarcity of food in that particular and can indirectly affect the economy of that nation. However, giving equal importance to all sectors and drafting policies equally for all sectors can escalate the economic growth of the nation.
Urban Bias in the Indian Economy:
India is an agriculturally rich nation with one of the highest annual agricultural production in the world. But still, it can be seen that the government is putting extra efforts into the development of the urban sector instead rural sector which is completely based on farming. However, under urban development, the Government of India is promoting industrial growth to increase the gross output of the nation and attract more FDI (Foreign Direct Investment).
Pros and Cons of Urban Bias:
Pros:
- It improves the infrastructure of the nation and attracts more FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) and boosts the tourism sector.
- Uplifts the living standard of the people and provides more comfort and leisure.
- Urban development significantly contributed to the economic growth of India.
- Urban development opens more options for employment for people and helps them become an entrepreneur and employ more people.
Cons:
- Urban development leads to massive deforestation and thus leads to natural calamities like landslides, and floods.
- The urban bias shifts the government focus from the rural sector to the urban sector and thus neglects the agricultural sector which is the highest contributing sector to the Indian economy.
- In many cases, it has been observed that urban bias leads to the exploitation of the people living in rural areas.