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Introduction

Development is a continuous sustained process of positive change aimed at improving all human life and

progress in economic growth including collective self reliance in politics, economy and culture through

participation of that community and co-related countries.

There has been great need for development hence many people have come up with theories aimed at

addressing this issue. In our assignment, we are focusing on Rostows five stages of developme nt.

Overview

Walt Whitman Rostow (1916-2003) was a United State economist and political theorist and he was known for

his strong belief in the efficiency of capitalism and free enterprise. In 1960, after the second world war he wrote

The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Comminist Manifesto" to share development process by observing

development pattern in developed countries.

According to the book, he divided development into five many stages:-

Traditional Stages/ Society Transitional Stage/ Precondition to take off Take Off stage Drive to maturity High Mass consumption

Objectives of the theory

In writing this theory Walt Whitman Rostow wanted to:-

1. Come up with a theory that will help developing countries to deal with underdevelopment in a series ofstages

2. Know if the model is applicable to developing countries.Summary Content of the content

Traditional Stage (Society)

They economy is dominated by subsistence activity i.e. all output is for consumption because there are nosurplus which can be used for trade. Any trade carried out in any way is barter trade where consumable goods

are exchanged for other goods for example exchanging maize for a goat.

Method of production used is traditional and labour intensive where by only human labour is used, no machines

are included, capital is limited and hence low production.

Technology in this level is very low and the society is rigid i.e. they lack economic class and take economic

change negatively.

Precondition to Takeoff

The economy undergoes a process of building up conditions for growth and takeoff. There are three important

dimensions to this transition:-

1. There is shift from an agrarian to an industrial or manufacturing society beginning slowly.2. Trade and other markets search not only to neighboring areas but also to far-flung regions, creating

fundamental markets.

3. The surplus attained should not be wasted on conscious consumption of the land owner or the state butshould be spent on development of industries, infrastructure, thereby preparing for self sustained

growth of the economy later on.

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It is also characterized by;

Investment in physical environment such as building of irrigation schemes, canals and ports to expandproduction to provide more raw materials for industries.

Development of national identity and shared economic interest of national development.Takeoff stage

The stage is characterized by economic growth. There are three main requirements for take off:

1. The state of productive investment should rise from approximately 5% to 10% of national income or netnational product for example this was observed in Canada before the 1590s and Argentina before 1914.

2. The development of more substantial manufacturing sector with high rate of growth.3. Existence of quick emergence of political and social institutions which can exploit the impulses to

expansion in the modern sector and the potential external effects of the take off I.e. the needed capital

is mobilized from domestic resources and steered into the economy and not into domestic or state

consumption.

A country at this stage is characterized by;

Increased manufacturing scale in few leading industries to produce goods for imports hence leading to arapid self sustained growth.

There is increased secondary production i.e. goods-producing sector which requires large amounts offunds forcing some developing countries to loan from their allies.

There is further growth in savings and investment and national income is mainly taxable. The level of technology required at this stage is low.

This stage is said to take about 10-30 years

Drive to maturity

After take off there follows a long interval of sustained growth and is defined as the period when a society has

effectively applied the range of modern technology to the bulk of its resources.

Countries reach this stage in approximately 60 years and the stage is characterized by;

1. Modern technology takes a major role in the economy.2. There is less reliance on imports as the economy is producing a wide range of goods and services due totechnological advancement.

3. 10-20% of its national income is invested4. Manufacture shifts from investment driven to customer driven and durable goods like cars.5. The working population in the agricultural sector shifts from 75% to 20% of the total working

population.

6. Large scale investment in social infrastructure such as schoolsThe diversity brought about by the improved modern technology leads to reduction in poverty rate and

increased standard of living.High mass consumption

This refers to a period of contemporary comfort afforded in many western nations where consumers

concentrate on durable goods and hardly remember the subsistence concern of previous stages.

It is characterized by:-

Widespread and normative consumption of high value consumer goods such as automobiles The service sector becomes increasingly dominated as the economy is geared towards mass

consumption.

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The main industries dominating the economy are entertainment and leisure, banking and insurance etc. Consumers typically have disposable income beyond all basic needs for additional goods.

Criticism of the theory

1. Rostow explains the development experienced by the western countries without putting intoconsideration countries with different cultures and traditions for example the sub-Saharan countries

which have experienced very little economic development.

2. The stages are not clearly outlined since the conditions at precondition to take off are almost similarto that of takeoff.

3. This theory tries to fit economic progress into a linear system but development in considered acontinuous process. Many countries make false starts, Russia.

4. It considers mostly large countries: countries with a large population (Japan), with natural resourcesavailable at just the right time in its history (Coal in Northern European countries), or with a large

land mass (Argentina).

5. The theory is derived from an historical point of view and has not actually been experienced.Recommendations

In the theory he should have taken the less developed countries into consideration. Rostow could have come up

with two theories that take care of both the western culture and the sub-Saharan. This is because many African

countries were colonized and some of them up to now are experiencing neo colonialism hence development is

in vain.

Rostow should not have given specific stages of development. He should have rather given the tradition and

mass consumption since the other stages take course continually. In his theory he should have given different

options for different countries depending on their economic situation.

Conclusion

The Stage of Economic Growth: A Non-Comminist Manifesto (1960) is one of the influencial work in the sector

of economic development. This economic growth model is presented by classification of the traditional society,

the pre-conditions for take-off, the take-off, the drive to maturity, and the age of high mass consumption. The

intial work is that it is the analysis of the development process by the experience of the developed countries.

This model widelly discussed on the development perspective. After the breakdown of the Soviet Union (USSR),

the development activities is runned by the super power of America and Rostow`s book influence the

capitalism to stop the socialism in the world. The take-off stage of this model represents the capitalist

manifestation and spread the neo-colonialism in the world. The recent scenario of the world population also

said that the development only for the western world. If underdeveloped country is developed themselves but

ultimate difference between the developed and underdeveloped never be decreased. So it is true that whole

idea of this economic growth model is depend on the context of any enderdeveloped country where the

particular country can agree with the model or not.

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References

W.W. Rostow (1960),The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto Cambridge:Cambridge University Press

Michael P. Todaro, Stephen C. Smith (2010), Economic Development, 10th Edition, Pearson EducationInc. New York

http://en.wikipedia.org