Browsing by Author "Paalasmaa, Henri"

The duties of the state are no longer merely the classical tasks of waging war and guaranteeing internal control, but increasingly the state is responsible in fostering economic growth as well. The developmental state theory is one the most prominent growth theories that examines the role of the state in economic development. It offers a strong case against neoclassical free-market economic theories. The aim of this study is to analyze how the United Nation’s Development Program frames developmental state in order to promote human development in its 2013 Human Development Report. A secondary goal of this research is to analyze the impact of the developmental state theory on the policy prescriptions of the aforementioned report. To achieve this aim the method of frame analysis was used, more specifically Robert Entman’s reasoning devices and frame elements approach. To reduce ambiguity in the coding process a Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDA) ATLAS.ti was utilized to code the material. The coding revealed which parts and themes of the material have high salience, or importance, and which parts are less emphasized. This process enabled to first articulate the frame and then analyze it as it is relevant to the research question. According to analysis the UN is eager to frame developmental state as a human development issue. It is important for states to get policy priorities right, rather than getting prices right. It repeatedly emphasizes that higher levels of human development are beneficial to economic growth. This is against the mainstream neoclassical economic theory. According to the UN, human development should be stressed already in the early stages of growth. To achieve human development, a state should focus on ample public spending, which is also the most salient topic in the material. However, the money is not enough by itself, the state also needs to have the means to enforce the goal-oriented public policies. Public spending and levels of human development have direct correlation. The analysis reveals that the UN wants to single out policies that are aimed to job creation and poverty reduction. Job creation, especially in the agriculture sector is beneficial to growth. The UN paints a progression of an ideal developmental state. First, the state needs to become development-friendly, rather than being merely market-friendly. When a developmental-friendly state introduces capable, innovative social programs it might become people-friendly. A people-friendly state provides equal and increasing opportunities to its people. When social exclusion is minimal and education and health care are inclusive the state becomes more competitive in the global market because of its strong human capital. The framing of a political issue is always meaningful. The fact that the UN has decided to frame the developmental state as a human development issue has its implications. The UN can be seen as an elite actor. The discourse of the elite has a notably strong effect. If developmental state and the UN gets associated in peoples’ thoughts, the developmental state might become more legitimate option to policy-makers. Reiteration of ideas becomes a self-reinforcing process. The UN has selected a small number of events from thousands of national, regional and international cases and built their arguments around them. This is what framing is about: frames have the power to stress some bits of information and disregard others.