3.1 Development

Question 1

use a variety of indicators to assess the level of development of a country

Answer 1

Economic:

• GNP per capita (gross national product): total money produced per person
• Unemployment rates
• Employment structure
• Primary vs tertiary goods
• Trade

Social:

• Literacy rate / Illiteracy rate
• Infant mortality
• People per doctor
• Access to clean water
• Internet access
• Car ownership

Demographic (population):

• Birth rates
• Death rates
• Life expectancy

HDI (human development index):
- Made by UN (no cheating)
- Easy to compare
- Scale 0 --> 5 
3 sectors analysed
1) economic : GNP per capita
2) population : life expectancy
3) social : literacy, school enrolment (no. of years at school)

Question 2

identify and explain inequalities between and within countries

Answer 2

Historical:

• Colonisation (exploitation)
• Wars/conflict, e.g. civil wars in Sudan
• TNCs: neo-colonial powers (shell in Nigeria)

Physical:

• In/fertile land
• Climate, e.g. desert Sudan, Mali
• Lack of resources (coal, oil, minerals)
• Relief - shape of land (mountains, altitude) Nepal
• Natural disaster (drought sudan)
• Land-locked, coastal

Social:

• Access to clean water
• Education levels and investment (Afghanistan)
• Governance: how well a country is run, corruption
• Housing conditions

Question 3

classify production into different sectors and give illustrations of each

Answer 3

Primary:

• Getting raw materials/resources directly from earth
• Fisherman, miner, lumberjack, farmer

Secondary:

• Manufacturing, making things, processing, assembling, building
• Factory worker, baker, craft industry, tailor, building worker

Tertiary:

• Providing a service
• Sales person, shopkeeper, marketing, doctor, teacher, banker, insurance

Quaternary:

• New hi-tech industry
• Computing, mobiles, software, research

Question 4

describe and explain how the proportions employed in each sector vary according to the level of development

Answer 4

LEDC:

• High primary (95%)
• Low secondary (3%), even lower tertiary (2%)

NIC:

• High secondary (50%)
• Primary (30%), and tertiary (20%)
• Mostly even balance

MEDC:

• High tertiary (75%)
• Secondary (20%), and primary (5%)
• Also quite a bit of quaternary

As a country develops:

• Primary decreases
• Tertiary increases
• Secondary initially increases, then decreases again

Question 5

describe and explain the process of globalisation, and consider its impacts

Answer 5

Causes of globalisation?

• Transport: improvement (oil, tankers, big boats, planes, containerisation)
• Communication: phones, internet, satellites
• Trade: increased
• TNCs: people own goods from everywhere in world
• Migration: people move to other places
• Tourism: people visit other places

Impacts?

Local:

• Small/local companies and farmers being pushed out of business by TNCs (food not as fresh, cheap items)
• Campaigns to support local producers
• Local cultures being replaced by US popular culture

National:
- Increased inequality (rich get richer, poor get poorer)

Global:

• Cultures are shared
• Expansion in trade
• Loss diversity
• Contributes to global warming (transport/travel/trade)

Question 6

case study

a transnational corporation and its global links

Answer 6

Toyota Car Company

Key Facts:

• 11th largest company in world
• 440,000 workers
• Factories in 26 countries
• Markets in 140 countries

Place names:

• Toyota City AICHI Japan HQ
• Factories in: BR, PO, Malaysia, S Africa, Thailand, Mexico

Key points:

• Main offices in JP (usually in MEDC country)
• Research and development (hi-tech parts) in JP and Europe (FR) and USA (MEDCs)
• Factory production all over world (especially NICs)

Why is production global (especially in NICs)?

• Produce where it’s sold
• Main markets growing fast everywhere, except Africa
• Avoid import taxes if produced locally
• Produce where it is cheaper
• Cheap labour costs, and skilled workers
• Cheap land and building costs
• Less tax, less problems with law, less workers rights, and less pollution and waste disposal laws
• Government support, e.g. UK gave Toyota rent free land for 10 years

Advantages of TNC producing in your country?

First Toyota overseas factory in Brazil in 1959

• Provides jobs locally
• Increase income of local people with a formal wage job
• Multiplier effect: develops other industries
• Improved infrastructure, e.g. roads, electricity
• More skills training
• Raise prestige of country (other companies come)
• Cheaper locally produced goods

Disadvantages:

• Cheap labour exploited (low wages, poor working conditions, low skill jobs only)
• Economic leakage (profit goes back to JP)
• Stop country from developing its own industries
• TNCs become too powerful in country and interfere in government (possible corruption)
• Globalisation of cars reduces local varieties
• Management and skilled jobs done by foreigners
• Creates dual economy (richer work in TNC factory- poor work in local factories- even worse pay and conditions