Development Studies Glossary

Development assistance provided directly from one country's government to another, as opposed to multilateral aid channeled through international organizations.

The emigration of highly skilled or educated individuals from developing countries to developed ones, depleting the source country's human capital.

A framework evaluating well-being by the substantive freedoms people have to achieve valued life outcomes, rather than by income or utility alone.

The arena of collective action by citizens outside the state and market, including NGOs, community organizations, trade unions, and advocacy groups.

Requirements attached to loans or aid by institutions like the IMF and World Bank, obligating recipient governments to implement specific policy reforms.

The process by which colonies gained political independence from imperial powers, primarily between the 1940s and 1970s, reshaping the global political landscape.

A theory arguing that the wealth of core nations depends on the exploitation of peripheral nations through unequal trade and capital flows.

Currency appreciation and deindustrialization caused by a boom in natural resource exports, making non-resource sectors uncompetitive.

The condition in which all people at all times have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs.

Cross-border investment in which a foreign entity acquires a lasting interest and significant influence in an enterprise in another country.

The strategy of integrating gender perspectives into all stages of policy design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation to promote equality.

A statistical measure of income or wealth inequality within a population, ranging from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (maximum inequality).

A term for countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania that share histories of colonialism and are generally lower-income, used as an alternative to 'Third World' or 'developing countries'.

The skills, knowledge, and health that people accumulate through education, training, and experience, which increase their economic productivity.

An economic strategy that replaces foreign imports with domestic production, often through tariffs, quotas, and subsidies to local industry.

Economic activities that are not regulated, taxed, or monitored by the government, including street vending, subsistence farming, and unregistered small enterprises.

Financial services such as small loans, savings, and insurance targeted at low-income individuals who lack access to conventional banking.

Eight time-bound development targets set by the UN in 2000 with a 2015 deadline, focusing on poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, and the environment.

Development assistance provided through international organizations such as the World Bank, UN agencies, or regional development banks, funded by multiple donor countries.

A private, nonprofit organization that operates independently of government and is typically devoted to social, humanitarian, or environmental objectives.

A minimum level of income deemed necessary to meet basic needs. The World Bank's international poverty line is set at $2.15 per day (2017 PPP).

An adjustment that allows comparison of incomes and prices across countries by accounting for differences in the cost of living.

Money sent by migrant workers abroad back to their families and communities in their home countries, often exceeding official development aid in total volume.

Economic reforms—typically austerity, privatization, and liberalization—required by the IMF and World Bank as conditions for loans to developing countries.

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, as defined by the 1987 Brundtland Commission.