TCW LESSON 9

• How do we determine which countries are rich and which countries are poor?
• How do we determine which countries are rich and which countries are poor?

  • The most widely used measure in the comparative status of the socio-economic development is presented by the UNDP known as the Human Development Index (HDI) which was initiated
  • The Human Development Index (HDI) aimed to rank all countries and determine the lowest human development and the highest level of development based on the basic indicators namely: real income, health and education (Todaro and Smith, 2012).
• Basic indicators of development

  1. Per capita income
  2. Health
  3. Education
• Per capita income- This refers to the total of all goods and services

  produced and provided within a country’ borders, divided by its population. (GDP population)
• Health- is measured based on the life expectancy at birth, the rate of

  undernourishment, the under-5 mortality rate, and the crude birth rate.
• • Education
  • Literacy- is the number of adult males and females reported or estimated to have the basic abilities and capability to read and write.
  • It also includes the number of years attended school regardless of the quality of education received.
• International Monetary Fund (2020) estimates:

  • Top 10
  • Highest rank- Luxembourg- US$ - 109,602
  • Lowest rank- Australia- US$- 51,885
• • TOP 15
  • COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST LIFE EXPECTANCY IN THE WORLD, 2019
  • Highest - Japan- 84.2 years
  • Lowest- New Zealand- 82. 2 years
• • The Philippines placed 106th out of the 189 countries and territories in the 2019 Human Development Report, with a human development index (HDI) value of 0.712. This placed the country at the tail end of countries with high human development group.
• • Prior to the HDI there have been moves that created a literal and visual division among the different countries in the world. One is the Brandt Report in the 1980’s which was written by the Independent Commission headed by Willy Brandt to review international development issues in the 1980’s. The result formed the so-called Brandt Line.
• • The Brandt line- is a clear graphic presentation of a North and

  South division of their economies of the different countries which

  were based on their GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita.
• • The implication of the Brandt Line is that the countries in the Northern part of the world are extremely wealthy while those countries appearing and lying on the southern part of the line are considered poor. The introduction of the Brandt line initiated the use of the term “Global North” and “Global South” referring respectively to rich and poor countries (Royal Geographical Society, 2020).
• Characteristics of Global North and

  Global South

  • GLOBAL NORTH- composed of wealthy, industrialized and developed nations, democratic and capitalist countries
• GLOBAL NORTH- Home to all G8 (Group of 8 Industrialized Nations) members: USA, Japan, Russia, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canda)
• GLOBAL NORTH- Technologically advanced
• GLOBAL NORTH- Highly industrialized
• GLOBAL NORTH- steady market and stable prices of commodities
• GLOBAL NORTH- The North holds 1/4 of the world population, and controls 4/5 of the income earned anywhere in the world.
• GLOBAL SOUTH- Comprised of poor countries
• GLOBAL SOUTH- Africa, Latin America, and Developing Asia including the Middle East.
• GLOBAL SOUTH- Lacks the right technology
• GLOBAL SOUTH- Politically unstable
• GLOBAL SOUTH- Economies are divided
• GLOBAL SOUTH- Foreign exchange earnings are dependent on the primary product exports to the north
• GLOBAL SOUTH- Fluctuations of prices
• GLOBAL SOUTH- The South holds 3/4 of the world population and has access to 1/5 of the world income.
• DISCOVERING GLOBAL SOUTH

  1. Lisandro Claudio (2011)- Global south is a concept rather than a place. Similar categories are relevant and were used in the study of globalization.
• DISCOVERING GLOBAL SOUTH:

  • Matthew Sparke (2007)- The Global South is everywhere, but it is also somewhere, and that somewhere, located at the intersection of entangled political geographies of dispossession and repossession.
• DISCOVERING GLOBAL SOUTH:

  • SibaGrovogui (2011)- The Global South is not a directional designation or a point due south from a fixed north. It is symbolic designation meant to capture the appearance of the bond that emerge
• DISCOVERING GLOBAL SOUTH:

  • Nour Dados and Rewyn Connell (2012)- Global South refers in general to the regions of Latin America, Africa, Oceania and Asia. It is considered similar to the terms "Third World" and "Periphery" that indicates regions outside Europe and North America.
• • The term “Third World” was used during the cold war –era referring to non- alignment or their rejection of colonialism from both the USSR and USA.
• The known “Third World” comprises of the alliance of those countries in Africa and in Asia that became newly independent after World War 2. Later on joined by countries from Latin America.
• FIRST WORLD- (the capitalist, industrialized and democratic countries in the West)
• Second World- (communist countries). The alliance of the “Third

  World”.
• Difference between “Global South” and “Third World”

  • As time passes, after the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the term Third World has decreased in use.
  • It is being replaced with terms such as developing countries, least developed countries or the Global South.
  • Therefore, it is safe to conclude that “Global South” and “Third World” are simply the same; just used in different times.
• Other Ways of Classifying Nations

  • World Bank Classification System- The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) known as the World Bank (Todaro and Smith, 2012) has a very popular way of classifying countries known as the World Bank’s Classification System.
  • It includes 210 economies with a population of at least 30,000 which are ranked using their levels of Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.
• • High income countries are members of OECD (Organization for

  Economic Cooperation and Development).

  • It is a unique assembly among governments of 38 member states with established market economies working with each other, as well as with more than 70 non-member economies to promote economic growth, prosperity, and sustainable development.
• Other Ways of Classifying Nations

  • United Nations Least Developed Countries- Another widely used classification of nations is that of the least developed countries.
  • There are currently 46 economies designated by the United Nations as the least developed countries (LDCs). These 46 LDCs are distributed among the following regions:
  • AFRICA- 33
  • ASIA- 9
  • CARRIBEAN- 1
  • PACIFIC- 3
• UNLDC- For inclusion, a country has to meet each of three criteria:

  Low income- An income criterion, based on a three-year average estimate of the gross national income (GNI) per capita. The threshold for inclusion is $1,018 or below; the threshold for graduation is $1,222 or above.
• UNLDC- For inclusion, a country has to meet each of three criteria:

  • Low human assets- All six indicators are converted into indices using established methodologies with an equal weight. The thresholds for inclusion and graduation are 60 or below and 66 or above, respectively.