For the research problem defined in Assessment 1, undertake a critical review of the literature and formulate research questions.
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- Title
- Keywords
- Introduction (introduce your project, including the background/context, research probelm and aims of the research)
- Literature review
- Research questions
- Reference
Word limit: 2,000 words (+/- 10% excluding references).
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Assessment Criteria:
Ability to find and identify relevant literature
Ability to summarise and link concepts and methodology of existing studies to your own research problem.
Quality of argument that is developed from existing studies that is relevant to the proposed research question(s).
Clear and correct acknowledgement of sources and referencing
Coherence and clarity of written expression, and overall structure
7 Rostow's 'modernisation theory of development Thesis statement: The importance of this modernisation theory and its relevance in the developing or third world countries. Brief Overview: This model of growth is one of the important models of economic growth and was stated by the economist Walt W Rostow in 1960. He stated that economic growth can be defined and explained in five stages of varying lengths. This model is a well-known concept among the modernization theories which is used to explain the process of modernization in the societies and also in the countries where after the initial investment the evolutionary process for growth would consist of 5 stages in the development ladder. The tenure of the same would be somewhere around 60 years. Modernization refers to a model of a progressive transition from a 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. Modernization theory refers to a theory which states that development in the developing countries can be achieved by way of following the process of development which are being followed in the developed countries (Rostow,1960). This is a kind of socio-economic theory and also known as development theory. So, to best explain the same we would analyze Rostow’s modernization theory. After the second world war, we have seen that many countries in Asia, Africa and in Latin America had remained poor despite the exposure of capitalism. Due to which the concept of modernization theory came into perspective from the 1940’s. The theory had two main aspects like the reasons why the poor countries were underdeveloped and the probable solutions to make them get developed in due course of time. The last stage of the theory namely ‘age of mass production’ or ‘high mass consumption’ supposedly represents a fully functioning economy. Strengths of Rostow’s theory: (Pertaining to the developed countries): His theory can be seen as a top down model which emphasizes on the modernization effect from the urban industry and influence of the west into the development of the country eventually. The strength of this theory is actually the fact that it is based on science education, which was needed to tackle underdevelopment in the third world countries as a whole. Science and technological advances would help them to scale in the field of agriculture, small scale industries, infrastructure, human resources, community services and socio economic infrastructure and also advances in the political environment. The analysts also believe that the third world or the developing countries are traditional in nature and need to follow the developed Euro-American countries. Justification on why it is relevant for Euro-American nations: Modernization theory encourages the need for technological development and infrastructure growth and also focus on the need to build industries to create more wealth for the citizens. The theory also refers to value system, self-motivation and capital growth which is also a mix of Psychosocial and economic features. This theory also encourages to have policies that helps to increase the status of living of the poor and also newer techniques in modernisation of agricultural practices. (Ellis and Biggs, 2001). In a nutshell the modernization helped in the introduction of hybrids, development of greenhouse technology and genetically modified food products. Weaknesses of Rostow’s theory: (In relation to the developing countries): The analysists considered this theory as a top-down approach theory which actually should have been a bottom-up approach as the developing countries should actually look up to the developed nations. This theory also failed to include the idea of contextualization. Also, it takes into a presumption that all countries have the same basis of evaluation and is not treated as separate entities in terms of varied natural resources, climatic conditions, population size and spectrum. Moreover, this theory holds good for the European countries and The US and do not take into account the development affairs of the developing or third world countries. It was more of a one size fits all theory and did not take into account about the different conditions of the countries separately. Justification about the fact, why it is not relevant for the third world countries: The most significant drawback of this theory is the theory’s oversimplified view of social change (Coetzee et al., 2007: 101). This theory also justifies colonial rule and discourages self-reliance as the third world countries are made to be dependent on foreign aid from developed nations and rather not act on their own to help their own sustainability and development. This theory also demeans the traditional values as it is said that it hinders development and hence the socio-economic virtues of the people erode gradually. Therefore, in a nutshell to conclude it is seen that this theory is totally feasible for all the countries but is relevant for the Euro-American countries. At the same time Rostow’s model is not fully suitable for the developing countries as various factors are not considered as mentioned in the justification above. References: 1) Karl Thomson,2017: “Modernization theory” retrieved from https://revisesociology.com/2017/09/19/modernization-theory/ 2) Juliet Jacobs,2020:” Rostow’s stages of growth development model” retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/rostows-stages-of-growth-development-model-1434564 3) Gradesfixer,2020: “Strength and weakness of modernization theory” retrieved from https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/strength-and-weakness-of-modernization-and-dependency-theory/ 4) W Joseph,2013: “Weaknesses and strengths of modernization theory” retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/wanyonyijoseph/weaknesses-and-strenths-of-modernization-theory 5) Tanya,2013: “Criticisms of Rostow’s five stages of growth” retrieved from https://developmenthinking.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/critisms-of-rostows-five-stages-of-growth/ 6) Mshollah,2020: “Modernization Theory, Strengths and Weaknesses” retrieved from https://www.termpaperwarehouse.com/essay-on/Modernization-Theory-Strengths-And-Weaknesses/124764 7) Vishal Thakur, 2019: “What is the modernisation theory” https://www.scienceabc.com/social-science/what-is-the-modernization-theory.html 8) IPL.org,2020: “Rostow’s Modernisation theory” retrieved from https://www.ipl.org/essay/Analysis-Of-Rostows-Theory-Of-Modernization-Theory-FCZWD63K5U 9) Debasish,2020: “Rostow’s Stage of Economic Growth (Criticism)” retrieved from https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/economic-growth/rostows-stage-of-economic-growth-criticism/4574 10) Anushree A,2020: “Rostow’s Theory of Growth | Theories | Economics” retrieved from https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/theories/rostows-theory/rostows-theory-of-growth-theories-economics/26745 11) A Shalaev,2020: “What are the criticisms of Rostow's model?” retrieved from https://findanyanswer.com/what-are-the-criticisms-of-rostows-model 12) Bryce S,2020: “Modernization Theory: Definition, Development & Claims” retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/modernization-theory-definition-development-claims.html 13) Farida,2016: “ Rostow’s Modernization Theory and Gerschenkron’s Industrialization in Backward Countries” retrieved from https://faridanazg.wordpress.com/2016/03/09/rostows-modernization-theory-and-gerschenkrons-industrialization-in-backward-countries/ 14) Aashtha Pallav,2011: “Rostow modernization model” retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/AasthaPallav/rostow-modernization-model 15) Supriya Guru,2019: “Rostow’s Five Stages of Growth – Explained!” retrieved from https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/economics/rostows-five-stages-of-growth-explained/38235