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Exercises · Q3

Q.Distinguish between economic growth and economic development.

Gujarat GsebTextbookSubjectiveImportance★★★★★
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✓ Free question

The key differences between economic growth and economic development can be summarised as follows:

BasisEconomic GrowthEconomic Development
NatureQuantitativeQualitative
ScopeNarrow — output and incomeBroad — health, education, equality, environment
MeasurementGrowth rate of real GDP/GNP/PCIComposite indices — HDI, PQLI, GDI
DistributionNot addressedCentral concern
RelationshipCan occur without developmentRarely sustained without underlying growth
Time frameCan be short-run/cyclicalLong-run, structural process

In short, growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition for development — an economy needs to produce more to have the resources for development, but producing more does not automatically mean living standards improve for everyone.

✓Final answer

Growth is the quantitative rise in output/income; development is the broader qualitative improvement in actual living standards, captured through composite measures like HDI, PQLI, and GDI rather than GDP or per capita income alone.

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