global development

• Development


  Measured using economic, social and political indicators
• Factors contributing to human development

  • Economic - income, economic growth, types of industry, cost of living, employment rates
  • Social - access to healthcare, education, housing, leisure and recreation
  • Cultural - democracy, work-life balance
  • Technological - internet access, mechanisation, electricity
  • Food and water security - physical and economic access
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP)


  Total value of goods and services produced by a country in a year, often divided by population to give GDP per capita
• Human Development Index (HDI)

  Puts together a country's Gross National Income, life expectancy, average length of schooling and expected years of schooling to produce an indicator of the country's development level
• Corruption Perception Index


  Grades the quality of governments from 'highly corrupt' to 'very clean'
• Globally, development is uneven. Levels of development tend to be higher in the northern hemisphere and Australia (above the Brandt Line), and lower on the continents of South America and Africa (below the Brandt Line)
• The idea of the Development Continuum is a better way of understanding global variations in development than the Brandt Line
• Factors affecting levels of development globally

  • Physical factors - availability of natural resources, natural hazards, landlocked, climate
  • Historical factors - colonial links and trading relationships
  • Economic factors - type of economy and debt
  • Social factors - investment in health and education
• Factors affecting levels of development in the UK

  • Physical factors - remoteness or accessibility and industrial potential
  • Historical factors - impacts of deindustrialisation
  • Economic factors - employment rates and salaries, house prices and infrastructure
• Consequences of uneven development

  • Health - fewer doctors per person and poor facilities
  • Education - not all children attend school, leading to lower literacy rates, earlier marriage and larger families
  • Employment - lower wages and more labour intensive jobs, many in the informal sector
  • Food and water security - lack of clean water leads to malnutrition and dehydration
  • Housing - many people cannot afford housing and live in unplanned settlements with poor sanitation
  • Technology - few people have the skills to use technology
• Strategies to address uneven development

  • International aid - one country providing resources to another
  • Trade agreements - removing tariffs to increase trade
  • Fair trade - producers getting better prices for goods
  • Foreign direct investment - companies investing in other countries
• Top-down development


  Large-scale projects involving government and TNCs, can benefit large numbers but may not benefit local people
• Bottom-up development


  Local-scale projects involving NGOs and communities, target specific local needs but are slow and small-scale
• India is in the northern hemisphere, on the continent of Asia, with a huge coastline on the Indian Ocean and borders with several countries
• India's social context


  • Divided into over 29 states
  • Population divided into social ranks called 'castes'
  • 20 million Indian diasporas in 100 countries sending remittances
• India's political context


  • Largest country in the Indian subcontinent, most of the population live in six states
  • Second most populated country in the world and seventh largest
• India's cultural context


  • 80% of the population are Hindu, other religions include Islam, Sikhism and Buddhism
  • Has a huge film industry, Bollywood, making 1600 films a year
• India experiences two monsoon seasons - the north-east monsoon during the cooler months and the south-west monsoon during the warmer months
• Development is uneven across India, with a more economically advanced core region (e.g. Goa) and a lower development periphery region (e.g. Bihar)
• Changes to India's trading policy have led to a rapid rise in imports and exports, with key imports being oil, gold, silver, and electrical goods, and key exports being oil products, gems and jewellery
• As India has developed, international aid has decreased and it now sends aid to poorer countries such as Nepal
• Changes to India's population structure

  • Smaller proportion under 15 due to falling infant mortality rate
  • Large proportion between 15 and 64
  • More people over 65+ due to improved life expectancy
• Changing social factors in India

  • Increased inequality - widening gap between rich and poor, women have lower social status
  • Improved education - greater investment in schools has increased literacy rates
  • Growing middle-class - improved literacy and urbanisation has led to a rise in the middle class and consumer market
• Impacts of India's geopolitical relationships

  • Foreign policy - building links with France and Canada for defence, energy and infrastructure
  • Defence - building links with USA to provide warships and planes for assistance and disaster relief
  • Military pacts - building links with Russia to supply missiles and jets
  • Territorial disputes - in dispute with China over dams limiting water supply
• India's technology has expanded rapidly with its own ICT industry and huge wireless network, but there is a digital divide between the core (urban) and periphery (rural) regions
• Positive and negative impacts of rapid development in India

  • Environmental - potential to invest in renewables, but also deforestation, desertification and increased CO2 emissions
  • Social - better jobs, income and healthcare, but lack of housing and shanty towns, with younger men benefiting more
  • Economic - larger workforce, stronger economy, increase in tourism, but also cost of new infrastructure
• One of the biggest negative impacts of development in India is the growing gap between the core and periphery regions
• India has agreed to invest in renewable energy such as solar power and plant more forest to absorb carbon emissions, and is a member of the G20 with greater influence in global politics