Structural Change and Patterns of Development
In Structural Change and Pattern of Development, in addition to the accumulation of capital, both physical and human, a set of interrelated changes in the economic structure of the country are required for the transition from a traditional economic system to a modern one.
These structural changes involve all economic functions – including the transformation of production and changes in the composition of consumer demand, international trade and resource use as well as changes in socioeconomic factors such as urbanization and the growth and distribution of a country’s population.
Development shows certain patterns – for instance, a shift away from agriculture to industrial production, the steady accumulation of physical and human capital, the change in consumer demands from emphasis on food and basic necessities to manufactured goods and services. This leads to the growth of cities and urban industries as people migrate from the rural to the urban regions with a decline in overall family size and rate of population growth.