The Implications of Complexity For Development

1. What was the toaster project? What did Thomas Bates attempt to do? Was he successful and what is the significance of this example in the context of complexity and development
   • The toaster project is a project in which Thomas Bates tried to make a toaster from scratch by making every single part of the toaster separately and then combining them together to make a toaster. To start, he went to the store and bought a toaster to take it apart and look at all of the parts. He started with raw iron ore and used trial and error until he was able to melt the steel in the microwave. Eventually, he built the toaster, but it was mis-matched and due to not being able to get the rubber for the insulation of the wires, it only worked for about five seconds before it erupted into flames. The significance of this is that development isn’t just about increasing output in a system, whether that’s goods, services, or policies, and instead, it’s about how in order to increase development, all parts of society need to work together to enhance the well beings of people’s lives. Just as Bates couldn’t successfully make a toaster on his own, development isn’t a one-sided approach from a many-sided polygon, rather, it requires interconnectedness between the economy, the social institutions, legal barriers, etc. in other to improve people’s lives.
2. According to Barder, how successful have economic models been at describing and predicting growth over the last fifty years? How did he use the Harrod-Domar model, the Rostow model, the Solow model, the Washington Consensus, and the Ajokuta steelworks to illustrate his point? (Reference at least two)
   • According to Barder, economic models have not been successful at describing and predicting development growth in the last fifty years because economists tend to look at economic growth as similar to economic development when in reality, economic growth is possibly a reason for economic development, but not the sole factor and certainly not the same thing. In order to understand economic development, one also needs to analyze the societal changes that all the economy to change, such as increasing women in the workforce coming after societal views towards women’s value changing. Economists also look at the forces behind development coming from the outside, but Barder argues that it is endogenous and must be some unexplained force found within systems. To support his point, Barder analyzes the Rostow model, which says that once a country receives some type of aid, like investment, it theoretically should be able to create for itself a self-sustained model of economic growth. However, the Washington Consensus supports that you can’t just give a country money, rather, there must be institutions in place to properly spend money and allocate resources in the most beneficial way, rather than charities simply collecting and distributing money with no way for the de eloping countries to utilize the aid. Barder also supports his argument that traditional economic models don’t suffice when describing development by looking at the Solow model, also known as the Neoclassical growth model, which suggests that the third mystery variable that increases development is technical change. However, Barder says that if that is true, why doesn’t technology and knowledge spread and lead to global development? Thus, there is some factor that we don’t know and that economists can’t explain that affects how development occurs in different countries at different times and at different rates.
3. Who was Steve Jones? What did he do at uni-lever? Was he successful? Specifically, what did he do in order to make an evolutionary jump forward? How significant were his results?
   • Steve Jones was a scientist who proved that development occurs through evolution, not engineering. He attempted to create a more efficient model for a soap dispenser nozzle than any of the scientists had created before. He generate over 40 sets of the models and tested them until he was able to narrow in on the most effective model, which was shaped in a way that the scientists wouldn’t have been able to trial and error or guess at. Instead, it occurred through the evolution of the models via technology. His results were extremely significant because they proved that products adapt and evolve, and so can firms, industries, institutions, cultural norms, and even people’s preferences. This evolution, which is non-linear, is what creates development change and isn’t something that we can manufacture or engineer from the outside. Sometimes, we have to let the evolution of a developing society or country run its course. Thus, we should avoid engineering solutions for development problems.
4. Who was Haile Sellasie? What is the significance of Kapuscinski’s book, The Emporer? According to Barder, how did Ethiopia exemplify the suppression of emergent systemic change? How do you think Sen would have described this suppression? Do you agree?
   • Haile Sellasie was a previous emperor of Ethiopia during the mid-twentieth century. Sellasie was extremely controlling, and Kapuscinski’s book, The Emperor allowed for an inner look at what life was like during Sellasie’s control. Essentially, Sellasie would restrict people coming to him about issues in the country, especially pertaining to poverty. According to Barder, Ethiopia exemplified the suppression of emergent system change because the people did not have freedom and the natural pace of development was slowed because of one person with absolute power restructuring the natural evolution of societal and economic change. With Sellasie as emperor, there was no ability for systemic change to occur. I believe that Sen would have described this suppression as a lack of economic freedom as well as personal freedom because the people in Ethiopia were under constant oppression and were not able to exercise their rights to participate in free speech or a market economy.