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economic development

economic development

62 3.4
A process in which a region or country becomes richer and people live better
  • noun
  • /ˌiːkəˈnɑːmɪk dɪˈvɛləpmənt/
translation icon : desarrollo económico
  • The new policy aims to boost economic development by attracting investments to the region.
  • promote economic development
  • economic development policies
  • sustained economic development

We can learn that this is such a heavy impediment to building peace and to have any kind of economic development in a country.

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Examples

  • The stability of a country's currency affects that country's economic stability and economic development in many ways.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Alongside its security policies, the administration embraced free markets, trade liberalization, and economic development.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Does energy use support economic development, or does economic development drive energy consumption?

    Academic text (2011)
  • But the reality is that social and economic development will take a long time, and patience is essential.

    Academic text (2011)
  • However, without such change, economic development in the West Bank and Gaza cannot begin.

    Academic text (1991)
  • We seed innovation and economic development, and we enhance human health.

  • PA efforts there are critical for sustainable economic development and for private-sector investment.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Hong Kong and Macau have different political environments and are at different stages of economic development.

    Academic text (1999)
  • As the nations of Southeast Asia move toward economic development and democratization, Burma is a clear exception.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Iran's leadership professes to admire China's rapid economic development and its disinclination to meddle in other states' internal affairs.

    Academic text (2011)

Antonyms

19 6.8

A period when activity and growth stop, often in business or the economy

How Developed

developed
14 2.7
economic development
62 3.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

economic + development

The phrase 'economic development' is transparently compositional: 'economic' relates to the economy and 'development' denotes a process of improvement, so the combined meaning 'process of improving economic conditions' is directly derivable from the constituents. This adjective+noun pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so an average B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Economic development puts together economic (money and jobs) and development (growing or building), so you can picture a town where investments are like seeds that grow into shops, schools, and roads. So, the phrase means 'the process of making a place richer and helping people's lives get better'.