Economic Development

• How can we measure development?

  • Economic indicators
  • Social indicators
• Employment type

  The proportion of the population working in primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary industries
• Gross domestic product per capita

  The total value of goods and services produced in a country per person, per year
• Gross national income per capita

  An average of gross national income per person, per year in US dollars
• Infant mortality

  The number of children who die before reaching 1 per 1000 babies born
• Literacy rate

  The percentage of population over the age of 15 who can read and write
• Life expectancy

  The average lifespan of someone born in that country
• Physical factors that affect uneven development

  • Natural resources
  • Natural hazards
  • Climate
  • Location/terrain
• Natural resources

  • Fuel sources such as oil
  • Minerals and metals for fuel
  • Availability for timber
  • Access to safe water
• Natural hazards

  • Risk of tectonic hazards
  • Benefits from volcanic material and floodwater
  • Frequent hazards undermines redevelopment
• Climate

  • Reliability of rainfall to benefit farming
  • Extreme climates limit industry and affects health
  • Climate can attract tourists
• Location/terrain

  • Landlocked countries may find trade difficulties
  • Mountainous terrain makes farming difficult
  • Scenery attracts tourists
• Consequences of uneven development

  • Wealth
  • Health
  • Migration
• Wealth

  People in more developed countries have higher incomes than less developed countries
• Health

  Better healthcare means that people in more developed countries live longer than those in less developed countries
• Migration

  If nearby countries have higher levels of development or are secure, people will move to seek better opportunities and standard of living
• Approaches to reducing the Global development Gap

  • Microfinance Loans
  • Foreign-direct investment
  • Aid
  • Debt Relief
  • Fair trade
  • Technology
• Microfinance Loans

  • This involves people in LICs receiving small loans
  • Loans enable people to begin their own businesses
  • It's not clear they can reduce poverty at a large scale
• Foreign-direct investment

  • This is when one country buys property or infrastructure in another country
  • Leads to better access to finance, technology & expertise
  • Investment can come with strings attached that countries will need to comply with
• Aid

  • This is given by one country to another as money or resources
  • Improve literacy rates, building dams, improving agriculture
  • Can be wasted by corrupt governments or they can become too reliant on aid
• Debt Relief

  • This is when a country's debt is cancelled or interest rates are lowered
  • Means more money can be spent on development
  • Locals might not always get a say. Some aid can be tied under condition from donor country
• Fair trade

  • This is a movement where farmers get a fair price for the goods produced
  • Paid fairly so they can develop schools & health centres
  • Only a tiny proportion of the extra money reaches producers
• Technology

  • Includes tools, machines and affordable equipment that improve quality of life
  • Renewable energy is less expensive and polluting
  • Requires initial investment and skills in operating technology
• Development

  The progress of a country as it becomes more economically and technologically advanced. It is also an improvement in living standards through better use of resources.
• Aspects of development

  • Economic
  • Social
  • Environmental
• Economic development

  Progress in economic growth through levels of industrialisation and use of technology
• Social development

  Improvement in people's standard of living, e.g. clean water and electricity
• Environmental development

  Advances in the management and protection of the environment
• Mixed indicator to measure development

  • Human Development Index (HDI): A number that uses life expectancy, education level and income per person. Countries are given a score between 0 -1. The closer you are 1 the more developed the country is.
• Demographic transition model (DTM)

  Shows population change over time, studying how birth rate and death rate affect the total population of a country. The DTM does not show the effects of migration on total population growth.
• Country types by development

  • LICs (Poorest countries in the world, low GNI per capita and low standard of living)
  • NEEs (Countries getting richer as their economy progresses from primary to secondary industry, greater exports leads to better wages)
  • HICs (Wealthy countries with high GNI per capita and standards of living, can spend money on services)
• Human factors affecting uneven development

  • Aid (Can help develop infrastructure and services, but too much reliance can stop other trade links)
  • Trade (Countries with trade surplus improve national economy, trading goods/services more profitable than raw materials)
  • Education (Creates skilled workforce, educated people earn more and pay more taxes to aid development)
  • Health (Lack of clean water and poor healthcare reduces economic contribution)
  • Politics (Corruption, government stability, ability to invest in services and infrastructure)
  • History (Colonialism has helped some countries develop but slowed down others)