Vicarious Learning And Socio-EconomicTransformation In Indian Trans-Himalaya

Recently, it has been suggested that the process of economic development should ideally be viewed as a socioeconomictransformation. Such a view requires a comprehensive understanding of how agents learn and changetheir behaviour. However, these aspects have only been inadequately addressed in development theory. This paperargues that social-cognitive vicarious learning theories can become a useful methodological tool by incorporatinga triadic interaction between personal factors (beliefs, values), behaviour and environment. Our analysis is basedon a survey of the Indian trans-Himalayan regions. The development trajectory of these regions suggests that aproper understanding of the vicarious learning mechanism provides crucial insight into the speed of socioeconomictransformations. It also helps to identify appropriate change agents within a society and, in turn,underscores the need for a comprehensive, yet flexible, development policy framework...