In the broadest sense, economic development might be viewed as “any growth in real income per capita from whatever source”. Bach has described it as “growth in the total output of goods and services in the economy”. Novack has referred to a very old definition of economic growth, according to which it is “con­tinuous substantial increase in per capita consumption of goods and services”.

The substantial consumption of economic goods is possible only when there is substantial production of economic goods, and sub­stantial production these days depends upon greater use of technologies. In a narrower sense, therefore, it may be said that economic development refers to “the extensive application of inanimate power and other tech­nologies to the production and distribution of economic goods”.