Q) According to development economics theory,

macroeconomic development cannot be achieved without

decreasing the intensity of internal conflicts and achieving
institutional development. Oppose or support this
statement giving example from the real world. (Maximum
250 words)
A) In order for any country or economy to develop, it is imperative
that its growth is not hampered due to internal conflicts or lack of
institutional development. These two problems can prove to be
severely detrimental to the growth of any economy for a number
of reasons.
While the impact of conflict may vary with the type of conflict, its
intensity, the country, wealth, etc; however one thing that is for
certain is that conflict affects development and growth adversely.
Opposing sides may argue that war enhances productivity, but
the fact is that war leads to a large amount of resource depletion
and resource wastage as well as destruction of capital and
misallocation of manpower. The end result, therefore, is failure to
sustain economic growth. Case in point, the civil war between
East and West Pakistan in 1971, which severely strapped Pakistan
of its resources and set back its economy. Another example is that
of Syrias economy, which shrunk by 60% since the conflict began
in 2011 under Bashar-Al-Assads regime.
Institutional development is also an essential prerequisite for
macroeconomic development, because it reduces the cost of
economic activities by providing a common legal framework. So
for economic activities to prosper, institutions like government
bureaucracies and financial markets matter. For example, in
Ghana where individual perception of security land tenure is low,
investment in land is also significantly reduced, and thus output
consequently drops.

Thus, its quite evident that internal conflict and institutional

development are both instrumental in shaping how the economy
develops.