An economic aim is about income, production, jobs or trade. A social aim is about the wellbeing of people, such as schooling, housing or fairness. A strong answer names the aim, the change it wanted and the group it was meant to help.
This lesson is part of the development and prosperity cluster. It follows on from interpreting development policies in their historical period.
What is the what-and-for-whom test?
Take any aim and ask two questions. What change did the policy want? For whom was the change meant?
“To develop the economy” fails both questions. “To raise the income of small rubber tappers” passes both, because it names a change (higher income) and a group (small rubber tappers).
Worked example: sorting the aims of real policies
Here are four stated aims from real Malaysian policies. Sort each into economic or social and name the group. 1 3
| Aim | Type | Target group |
|---|---|---|
| FELDA (1956): resettle rural families on land planted with rubber and oil palm to reduce poverty | Economic and social | Rural settlers |
| NEP prong one (from 1971): eradicate poverty irrespective of race | Economic and social | Poor Malaysians of all races |
| NEP prong two: restructure society so that ethnic identity is no longer tied to economic function | Social | All communities |
| NEP strategy: modernise rural life and improve living conditions | Social | Rural communities |
Notice that one aim can serve both types. Poverty reduction raises incomes (economic) and improves wellbeing (social). When a policy does both, state the main aim first and mention the second as a supporting effect.
A written answer: “The NEP had a social aim of modernising rural life and improving living conditions, aimed at rural communities.”
Using the test on more policies
Your textbook states the aims of other policies too, such as later national development plans. Copy the aims in the textbook’s words, then run the test. Note the group each aim names, such as rural communities, low-income households or workers in the modern sector.
Describe aims as aims, not as results. “The policy aimed to reduce poverty” is an aim. “Poverty fell” is an outcome, and the fourth lesson in this cluster deals with it separately.
The mistake that costs marks
The common slip is to write an aim so broad that it fits any policy. It earns little, because it does not show you know this policy.
| Step | Wrong | Right |
|---|---|---|
| Aim | “To make the country prosper” | “To improve rural living conditions” |
| Group | Not named | Low-income rural groups |
| Type | Not stated | Social |
A second slip is to mix aims with outcomes in the same sentence. Write the aim first, then put the outcome in a separate sentence with its evidence.
Check yourself
The NEP aimed to “eradicate poverty irrespective of race” and to “restructure society so as to eliminate ethnic identification with economic functions”. Apply the what-and-for-whom test to each aim, and say which one is more clearly social.
Answer
Aim one: the change is less poverty, and the group is poor Malaysians of all races. It passes the test and has an economic side as well as a social one. Aim two: the change is that ethnic identity is no longer tied to economic function, and the group is all communities. This one is more clearly social.
Name the specific aim and group in your answer, and add your textbook’s detail on how each aim was pursued.
What to study next
The next lesson, reading historical data without inventing causation, shows how to handle the figures that accompany each aim. Then test yourself with the development and prosperity practice set.
If you want a teacher to tighten your aims with you, see online one-to-one Sejarah tuition.