Theories of Development

Everything that we see around us today started out as an idea in somebody’s mind - a “theory”. Everyone knew that iron sinks to the bottom of the sea but somebody thought it could be shaped in such a that its buoyancy would be greater than its weight.  And everyone knew nothing heavy could fly - but several people thought that if they could push air to create pressure on the underside of a metal surface, that surface - and anything attached to it - could fly.

These theories, however, would have remained ideas only - “imagination”, many would call them - if not for the fact that certain individuals decided to act on them, to test them.  Many of them failed - literature is full of stories about attempts and failures before the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight in Kitty Hawk - but even these failures contributed to eventual success because the experimenters learned something, even if it was only how not to do it. Experiments produced more data and more insights, which led to more experiments - until the first boat floated, or the first plane flew, or the first circumnavigation of the world. Each attempt posed more questions, and for each new question somebody came up with more theories. So we can safely say that any of the things we take for granted today is the result of not just one theory but of many theories that were all tested and brought together.

And of course let’s not forget all those courageous souls who risked limb and life and fortunes to test those theories.

Development and reform are also results of theories. The idea that “all men are created equal” is a theory held as a firm premise of the framers of the U.S. Constitution. We tend to take this for granted today but for many centuries before America’s founding fathers wrote these words empires and kingdoms certainly did not behave like they believed in this idea.  So much of the history of the United States is about testing this theory, holding it against reality and finding ways to prove it - including a Civil War, a woman who refused to sit at the back of the bus, a leader who proclaimed that he had a dream, and the election of the first black American President.

Other theories are: “The Filipino is worthy dying for”; “Titling of public lands leads to increased real property tax collection, improved peace and order, increased participation in local economic development, and greater access to credit”; “the key to improving Philippine education is putting up new schools in the right location”; “road investments can be more effective if these are coordinated to converge on strategic road links”. All of these have been tested, are still being tested, and will continue to be tested. Some of these theories may have been proven or busted already, or may be proven of discarded in the future. 

Just like technological theories, theories about development need people who are willing to try them out.  In some schools these people might be called Innovators, Pioneers, or Vanguards of the Revolution. I’d like to call these people Development Entrepreneurs - people with a theory about development, willing to use whatever capital they have to test it, refine it, and bring the theory to a point where it can have a positive impact on society.

What about you? What’s your theory for development? What practical things can you do to test your theory?