Geography - Development

• Development


  the way that a country becomes more advanced in its economy

  Standard of living - to do with money and wealth

  Quality of life - to do with the things that affect a person's well-being and happiness
• Measuring Development (GDP)

  • gross domestic product per capita
  • calculated by taking the total value of goods and services produced by a country in one year and dividing it by the population of the country
  • it measures standard of living but not quality of life
• Measuring Development (HDI) takes into account:

  • GDP per capita
  • adult literacy and educational provision
  • life expectancy at birth
  • reflects of standards of living and quality of life
• Reasons for inequalities (why some countries are richer than others)

  • Location - landlocked countries have generally developed more slowly than countries near coastlines
  • Natural Hazards - countries which experience natural hazards (eg. earthquakes) are less likely to develop rapidly
  • Stable Gov. - unstable gov, poor law and order, and corruption can lead to civil unrest and delay economic and social progress
  • Ability to trade - poor countries have traditionally suffered for unfair trading particles such as tariffs and import duties
• Regions at diff. stages of development

  
• Industrial sectors

  
• Employment structure


  the proportion of people working in primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary activities in any country
• Globalisation


  the growth of international integration (increase in links btw diff. parts of the world and diff. countries)
• Features of Globalisation

  • an increase in world trade and the availability of goods from other countries
  • countries are more affected by economic change in other countries
  • there has been a change in the location of some manufacturing industries from MEDCs to LEDCs and NICs
• Factors that have increased globalisation

  • the growth in transnational corporations (TNCs)
  • advantages in transport, air travel has become cheaper and accessible to more people
  • advantages in communications infrastructure, such as the internet and cell phones, allow rapid movement of knowledge and info.
• Impacts of globalisation (local level)

  • Small local businesses cannot compete with global companies
  • Closure of TNC leaves high unemployment rates
  • Environmental cost of increased production, trade and growth
  • Pollution impacts the health of people
• Impacts of globalisation (national and global level)

  • TNCs control a large labour force and can 'black list' workers, effectively preventing people from working elsewhere
  • Growth of urban slums
  • Movement of people, transport ownership and loss of biodiversity increases globally
  • Decisions made elsewhere do not consider local or national identities
• Transnational Corporations (TNCs)


  large companies that operate in many countries or continents
• Economic development is measured using GDP per capita
• The Human Development Index measures human well-being based on life expectancy, education and income levels
• Human Development Index (HDI): A measure used to compare living standards between different countries. It takes into account factors like life expectancy, access to education and income levels.
• Advantages of a TNC for the LEDC

  • provides jobs and guarantee income for local people
  • brings in foreign currency, which helps the country to develop
  • can lead to the development of local raw materials (mining minerals or growing crops)
  • leads to the development of infrastructure projects (roads, dams, airports, hospitals)
• Disadvantages of a TNC for the LEDC

  • most of the profit goes abroad and are not reinvested in the LEDC
  • the TNC might suddenly decide to leave the LEDC if conditions inside or outside of the country change
  • operations of the company may cause environmental damage