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Abstract:Press freedom and development

The influence of a free press on development has never been properly assessed. It is difficult, if

not impossible, to calculate such impact. However, correlations between freedom of the press

and the different dimensions of societies development in the broad sense can be perceived

through simple econometric regressions. While no conclusion can be reached as to the existence

of causality between freedom of the press and the different variables explored, all the findings

confirm the importance of press freedom for development. A free press always has a positive

influence, whether it be on poverty and its different aspects (monetary poverty and access to

primary commodities, health and education), on governance or on violence and conflict issues. It

serves as an intermediary between individuals and government, informing the latter of peoples

needs and acting as a buffer against crises and situations of extreme deprivation; it holds

governments accountable and makes their actions more transparent; and, along with otherindicators of good governance, it creates a business-enabling environment, a climate conducive

to more effective public affairs management, and so forth. The results thus suggest that a freer

press can contribute to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and, most

importantly, to attainment of an acceptable and viable level of development. By promoting

freedom of the press, States and international organizations provide themselves with a powerful

development tool. A free press constitutes an instrument of development as such, in the same

way as education or investment.

Development as Freedom future of Egypt:

Egypts future depends on building a modern economy whereby economic freedoms for ordinary

Egyptians will be able to sustain development and prosperity. Economic development should beconsidered as a right, like any other right such as the right to have free speech, to assemble freely

and the freedom of religion.

Currently, however, the challenge for Egypt is great. When compared to the regional powerssuch as Turkey or Iran, Egypt is no match to either one. Turkey for example is the only modern

economy in the entire region and ranks 17th in the world, and the only true fighting force and

modern army by NATO standards and a rising international power. Iran, though forced to paymore attention to US threatening gaze which forces it to divert more resources to counter it, it isnevertheless a country on the rise economically and military on the regional level.

Egypt, therefore, will most likely continue to remain an American vassal state or fall in theRussian sphere of influence if its new leaders did not plan to revive Egypt as a regional political,

economical and military powerhouse. This can only be achieved if the countrys new leaderstreated economic development as a freedom among other freedoms the Egyptian people deserve.

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Development as Freedom and the Costa

Rican Human Development Story

Author: S verine Deneulin - The author would like to thank Nicholas Townsend, FrancesStewart, and an anonymous referee for comments on an earlier draft.a

Abstract

Amartya Sen's capability approach to development considers individual agency as central inpromoting human well-being. The paper argues that the capability approach would need to

include more explicitly collective and historical dimensions in order to offer better insights forunderstanding the process of development. The paper begins by briefly discussing Amartya Sen's

conception of development as freedom and the role it grants to individual agency. It thenproposes a hermeneutical approach to development. This approach emphasizes that actions are to

be interpreted in order to uncover the meaning for which they have been carried out. It suggeststhat a methodology for such interpretation can be found in a dialectic process between the socio-

historical reality and the way individuals appropriate that reality. The Costa Rican case studyillustrates that it is the outcome of that dialectic which sets the background against which people

exercise their individual agency, and the extent to which this leads to the promotion of humanwell-being.