Ashley, Davor, and Mary acted out development as improvements in quality by demonstrating the improvement in Ford cars that no longer kill the driver by crushing the roof after they flip over. So if Ford were to put out a whole bunch more cars without the improvement, that would be growth without development. Putting out new cars with the improvement is both growth and development. If they were somehow able to go and fix the cars already out there to make them safer, that would be development without growth.

Michael, Alyssa and Justyna acted out development as diversification. They decided to diversify from mangoes, maple syrup and sushi into mango cakes and dessert sushi. I never would have thought of it, but clearly they are onto something.

Lauren, Yvonne and Pablo acted out development as a transformation of society, by showing the big increases in the speed of communication between Ghana and Egypt going from pony messenger service to speedy FedEx. Presumably this change could allow closer business links, closer cooperation, and more of a feeling of connectness between the two countries.

Finally, Joseph, Drew, Josh and Michail acted out development as freedom--political freedom and transparency guarantees in particular. They showed the public asking for and studying documents relating to government actions and taxation. Indirectly they showed the importance of literacy capabilities (having the right to read documents means little if you don't know how to read!).

Joseph pointed out in the wrap-up discussion that development is not easy. On Monday we will be looking at the strategies to promote development, but it's good to keep Joseph's observation in mind.

Take-home point: True development means going for the ends you actually want (such as freedom to live your life), not sticking with just the means to get there. But the process is important -- in fact a lot of development is learning-by-doing.