3.1 Development Flashcards
Development
Development is the progress a country makes over time, and it includes both economic and social dimensions.
Quality of life
The general well-being of people and societies. It is the standard of happiness, comfort, and health that a person or group of people experience.
Standard of living
The degree of wealth and material comfort available to a person or community.
Wealthy countries –> acronyms
HIC - High Income Country
MEDC - More Economically Developed Country
Medium wealthy countries
MIC - Middle Income Country
NIC - Newly Industrialising Country
ŃEE - Newly Emerging Economy
Poor countries - Acronyms
LIC - Low Income Countries
LEDC - Less Economically Developed Country
LIC
- Group of approx. 30 countries.
- Primary industry = agriculture –> vulnerable to natural hazards eg. flooding
- Often need economic support to recover bc they don’t have the finances to support themselves.
eg. Mali, Niger, Chad
NEE’s
- Approx. 80 countries
- Beginning to experience higher rates of economic growth bc of industrialisation + factory expansion.
- TNC’s begin investing in these NEE’s
- Subgroups = BRICs and MINTs
- Average income has increased in recent decades
- Economies are heavily reliant on secodary industries (but some agriculture (primary industries) are still present)
Eg. China, Russia
HICs
- Approx 80 countries.
- High GNI per capita
- Developed countries
- Postindustrial economy with mainly tertiary industry.
Eg. Uk and Australia.
Physical factors influencing development - List
Climate - Droughts –> cause crop failure + diseases thrive in topical climates bc of hot and humid conditions.
Natural hazards - Natural hazards destroy buildings –> divert money to rebuild.
Landlocked countries - Difficult to trade bc no ports –> also fibre optic cables are laid under the ocean –> hard to integrate new technology.
Natural resources - eg. minerals, gas and oil help improve a country’s level of development. Japan however, doesn’t have many natural resrouces and instead base their development on human factors eg. education + skill.
Human factors influencing development - List
Historical development - Colonialism helped develop MEDC’s but only some money invested in developing countries. Borders of countries established also caused political tensions due to ignoring tribal lands.
Political factors - Poor governments eg. money spent on military / corruption instead of development.
Economic factors - LEDC’s sell primary produce –> high competition + low profits + instability bc of harvest. many LEDC’s are in debt to MEDC’s. Foreign investrs are less likely in LEDC’s. MEDC’s also control world trade often.
Social factors - LEDC’s can’t invest in education there is a large dependency ratio. Healthcare system is low-developed + unsafe water –> limits development.
Types of development
Economic development
Human development
Economic development
A measure of a country’s wealth and how it is generated (for example agriculture
is considered less economically advanced then banking).
Human development
Measures the access the population has to wealth, jobs, education, nutrition, health, leisure and safety - as well as political and cultural freedom.
Material elements, such as wealth and nutrition, are described as the standard of living. Health and leisure are often referred to as quality of life.
Health - Development indicators
Do the population have access to medical care? What level of healthcare is available - basic or
advanced? Is it free? How many people per doctor?
Industry - Development indicator
What type of industry dominates?
LEDCs focus on primary industries, such as farming, fishing and mining. MEDCs focus on secondary industries, such as manufacturing. The most advanced countries tend to focus more on tertiary or service industries, such as banking and information technology.
North South divide
Most of the southern hemisphere is less developed, while
countries in the northern hemisphere are more developed.
(Not entirely true, eg. Australia)
Economic development indicators
GNI
GNI per capita
Inequality of wealth
Unemployment
Economic structure (primary vs secondary vs tertiary industry)
GNI
Gross national income
The total amount of money earned by a nation’s people and businesses.
GNI per capita
The total amount of money earned by a nation’s people and
businesses divided by the total population to give an indication of average income per person.
Human development indicators
Life expectancy
Infant mortality rate (per 1000 live births)
Access to basic services (eg. clean water + sanitation)
Access to healthcare
Access to education
Literacy rate
Access to technology
Problems with development indices
- Statistics are often averages –> don’t always show the inequalities in society eg. distribution of wealth.
- Statistics can be out of date/ hard to collect. Countries may not publish certain statistics eg. migrant numbers.
HDI
Weighted mix of development indices to show total development in a country.
- Life expectancy
- Knowledge
- Standard of living (GDP per capita)
(Numebr between 0 and 1)
1 is the best
Advantages of HDI
- Uses a range of indicators (both social and economic)
- Easy statistical comparisons between countries
- Allows changes in development over time to be observed
