International Development Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of International Development distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

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Quick Reference

Human Development Index (HDI)

A composite statistic created by the United Nations Development Programme that measures a country's average achievement in three basic dimensions: life expectancy, education (mean and expected years of schooling), and gross national income per capita.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

A set of 17 interconnected global goals adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by 2030.

Capability Approach

A framework developed by Amartya Sen and further elaborated by Martha Nussbaum that defines development in terms of expanding the real freedoms and capabilities people have to live lives they value, rather than focusing solely on income or GDP growth.

Microfinance

The provision of small loans, savings accounts, insurance, and other financial services to low-income individuals or groups who lack access to traditional banking, aimed at enabling entrepreneurship and reducing poverty.

Washington Consensus

A set of ten economic policy prescriptions promoted in the 1980s and 1990s by the IMF, World Bank, and U.S. Treasury, emphasizing fiscal discipline, trade liberalization, privatization, deregulation, and secure property rights as the path to economic growth in developing countries.

Foreign Aid (Official Development Assistance)

Financial, technical, or in-kind assistance provided by governments and multilateral organizations to developing countries for the purpose of promoting economic development and welfare, typically measured as a percentage of donor country GNI.

Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) in Development

An experimental methodology that randomly assigns individuals or communities to treatment and control groups to rigorously evaluate the causal impact of development interventions such as deworming programs, cash transfers, or educational initiatives.

Dutch Disease

An economic phenomenon in which a boom in natural resource exports leads to appreciation of the national currency, making other exports less competitive and potentially deindustrializing the non-resource sectors of the economy.

Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs)

Social welfare programs that provide money to poor families contingent on their fulfilling certain conditions, typically related to children's school attendance, health check-ups, or vaccination schedules.

Institutional Quality and Governance

The effectiveness, accountability, and inclusiveness of a country's political and economic institutions, including the rule of law, property rights protection, control of corruption, and democratic participation, which development economists increasingly identify as fundamental determinants of long-term growth.

Key Terms at a Glance

Official Development Assistance (ODA):Government aid provided to developing countries for the purpose of promoting economic development and welfare, measured by the OECD Development Assistance Committee.

Human Development Index (HDI):A composite index measuring average achievement in life expectancy, education, and income per capita, developed by the UNDP.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):Seventeen global goals adopted by the UN in 2015 to address poverty, inequality, climate change, and other challenges by 2030.

Capability Approach:A normative framework that evaluates well-being and development in terms of people's real freedoms to achieve lives they value.

Microfinance:Financial services including small loans, savings, and insurance provided to low-income individuals who lack access to conventional banking.

Washington Consensus:A set of market-oriented economic policies promoted by the IMF and World Bank in the 1980s-90s, including fiscal austerity, privatization, and trade liberalization.

Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs):Policy reforms required by the IMF and World Bank as conditions for loans, typically involving austerity measures, privatization, and market liberalization.

Poverty Trap:A self-reinforcing mechanism where poverty creates conditions that perpetuate further poverty across generations.

Dutch Disease:An economic condition where resource export revenues cause currency appreciation that harms other export sectors and can lead to deindustrialization.

Resource Curse:The paradox that countries with abundant natural resources often experience slower growth, weaker governance, and more conflict than resource-poor countries.

Dependency Theory:A theory arguing that underdevelopment in the Global South results from exploitation and structural economic dependence on wealthy nations.

Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI):A trade and economic policy strategy that replaces foreign imports with domestic production through tariffs, subsidies, and state intervention.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI):Investment by a company or individual in one country into business operations or assets in another country.

Purchasing Power Parity (PPP):An economic adjustment that accounts for cost-of-living differences between countries, enabling more accurate cross-country comparisons of income and output.

Conditional Cash Transfers:Social programs that provide cash payments to poor households contingent on meeting specific conditions such as school attendance or health visits.

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