Which one of the following approaches of human development was initially proposed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and emphasised on health, education, food, water supply, sanitation and housing?
- A.Welfare approach
- B.Basic needs approach
- C.Income approach
- D.Capability approach
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Basic needs approach. The International Labour Organisation put it forward in the 1970s, asking that every person first have the essentials of a decent life.
At its World Employment Conference of 1976 the ILO argued that growth in income alone had not removed poverty. It named six basic needs: health, education, food, water supply, sanitation and housing. Policy should aim to provide these to the poor directly. The approach was influential but was criticised for treating people as receivers of goods rather than as people who make their own choices. That criticism led to the capability approach of Amartya Sen, on which the UNDP's Human Development Index (1990) is built.
Option A is wrong because the welfare approach sees people as beneficiaries of government spending on welfare. Option C is wrong because the income approach, the oldest, links human development to income alone. Option D is wrong because the capability approach was developed by Amartya Sen, not the ILO, and stresses building people's abilities.
Exam tip: Basic needs from the ILO; capability from Amartya Sen; HDI from Mahbub ul Haq and the UNDP.
Practice Questions
View allWith which of the following was the Bretton Woods System NOT associated?
- A.International Monetary Fund
- B.Economic recovery after the Second World War
- C.International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- D.Establishment of a monetary system based on floating exchange rate
Show answer
Bretton Woods set up fixed, not floating, exchange rates. At the Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire, USA, in July 1944, 44 Allied nations agreed on a new post-war money order.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements with regard to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 is correct ?
- A.It ensures 175 days of employment to needy persons in rural areas.
- B.It gives higher wages to women workers.
- C.People are generally given both skilled and unskilled jobs.
- D.This is implemented only in rural areas of India.
Show answer
As its name says, the Act guarantees work to households in rural areas; towns and cities are outside its scope.
Read the full explanation →A market, in which there are a large number of firms, homogeneous product, infinite elasticity of demand for an individual firm and no control over price by firms, is termed as
- A.oligopoly
- B.imperfect competition
- C.monopolistic competition
- D.perfect competition
Show answer
Many sellers of an identical product, none of whom can change the price, is the definition of a perfectly competitive market.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following inputs is required in less quantity in case of non-farming activities ?
- A.Land
- B.Labour
- C.Capital
- D.Raw material
Show answer
Farming needs large areas of land, while most non-farm work, such as a shop, a dairy, transport or small manufacturing, can be carried out on very little land.
Read the full explanation →The Sukanya Samriddhi account for a girl child matures:
- A.Fifteen years from the date of opening
- B.Twenty-one years from the date of opening
- C.When the girl turns eighteen years of age
- D.After five years, like the National Savings Certificate
Show answer
The account is opened by a guardian in the name of a girl child before she completes ten years of age, deposits are made for the first fifteen years, and the account matures twenty-one years from the date it was opened; a part withdrawal is allowed for higher education after…
Read the full explanation →