9.1 Definitions of development and how is it measured Flashcards
What is the definition of development?
Development is the progress a country has in relation to others. This include economic, social and environmental progress
It can be defined as the economic, social and environmental progress that leads to an improvement in the quality of life for an increasing proportion of a country’s population.
However, development is not always a continuous process as it can be interrupted by major national and global events such as war, famine, disease and economic recession.
What are the different examples of development?
Social:
- Achieving higher levels of literacy
- Reducing infant and maternal mortality
- Improving life expectancy
- Reducing the gender gap
- Improving the quality of housing and other aspects of soft infrastructure
Economic:
- Raising productivity
- Increasing incomes for all levels of society
- Improving hard infrastructure (roads, railways, airports)
- Achieving a better balance between economic sectors
- Increasing trade with other countries
- Rising per capita energy consumption
- Increasing level of car ownership
Environmental:
- Reducing CO₂ and other greenhouse gas emissions: cutting lower atmosphere air pollutants
- Improving water quality in rivers and other water bodies
- Tackling land pollution and other issues such as deforestation
- Conserving biodiversity
Political:
- Improving democratic institutions
- Implementing measures to reduce corruption
- Adhering to new international human rights obligations
What are the United Nations sustainable development goals?
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s development agency working to eradicate poverty. It plays a crucial role in helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. UNDP has highlighted a number of important issues concerning development:
Development is about creating opportunities, giving people the freedom to make choices.
Sustainability is vital for long-term development.
Development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals at its heart was adopted by all UN member states in 2015. The overall objectives of the SDGs were to 1) end poverty, 2) protect the planet, and 3) ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
What are the differnet categroies of countries and give a breif explanation?
- Developed Country - High livng standards and strong economies. Citieznes have access to high quality healthcare education and other services
- Emerging Economy - Rapid industrial growth and global trade growth. Improving infastrucutre and technology e.g. BRICS
- Developing Country - Growing but weaker economy. Often faces income inequaity and politcal instablity.
- Least Developed Country (LDC) - Lowest income countires wich predominatly rely on the prmary sector. For 2021 it was GDP per capita below $1018 to qualify. A Human Asset Index- Health (e.g. under-five mortality rate and maternal mortality rate) and Education (e.g. adult literacy, secondary school enrolment). An Economic and Environmental vulnerability index- e.g. share of primary sector in GDP and instability of agricultural production.
- Small Island Developing States (SIDs) - Most disaster prone. Regulary imapcted by severe storms and other natural hazards. Causes an average annyal cost of 2.1% of their GDP
What are the different physical factors contributing to development?
Landlocking
- If a country is landlocked than exports either have to be taken out by plane, road or rail which can be expensive and often can’t carry a large quantity of heavy goods unlike a cargo ship which requires access to water. Therefore less imports and exports resulting in less jobs and more money going to transportation instead of other things that boost development. For example chad who export raw materials so being landlocked hinders development
- However for some countries such as switzerland it isn’t as much of a problem as the swiss economy is based on services such as banking which don’t need to be physically transported (invisible goods). Additionally the tangible goods they do sell are very high value such as pens and watches which can be flown on planes and therefore the issue of being landlocked isn’t a hindrance.
SIDs
- Means that large amounts of necessities such as food and fuel need to be shipped into the nations which can be expensive and also increases dependency on other countries.
- However small island nations can have large tourism sectors to make a large income for the country as the landscape and natural environment is often very idyllic and picturesque with nature such as hawaii or maldives where there are many holiday destinations.
Physical geography (landscape / climate)
- Low lying nations such as the maldives are most vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise as they force people to relocate which decreases economic activity and reverses development in some areas.
- Economies which are reliant on crops are negatively impacted as unpredictable weather brings drought and hurricanes which can destroy harvests leading to little exports and therefore income for the country.
- Tourism of areas with beaches and coral reefs which are being damaged by warming oceans and sea levels rising leads to less income for the nations hindering development
- However, rising temperatures in some regions such as England can mean new crops can grow like grapes
Natural resources
- Can be good for the economy in some cases such as qatar that has made lucrative profit from oil as it is a rare commodity.
- However can be a curse since in many African counties such as Sierra leone where other countries exploited their resources such as diamonds causing to little development as the money form the resources has taken to other countries or given to powerful people through corruption.
- Lack of natural resources can lead to dependency in a nation as they have to rely on certain imports.
- On the other hand, relying on these resources can cause dependance in the economy and therefore when they eventually run out, the country will be left in ruins.
Natural disasters
- In regions such as the philippines who are susceptible to typhoons due to their geography, they are constantly repairing and recovering from disaster which means little resources are left for further development. Similarly in Haiti, port au prince, many died as the poor infrastructure lead to many buildings collapsing and lack of roads meant emergency services couldn’t access locations.
- However Japan has infrastructure and technology in place to mitigate the impacts of earthquakes such as early warning systems and shock absorbers on buildings.
Water scarcity
- Reduces development as people such as women and children focus on finding water instead of education and having jobs. Therefore chuildren cannot get qualifcations for higher skilled jobs. Also leads to death which reduces number of people in the country who can help boost the economy hindering development
What are the different human factors contributing to development?
Economic factors
- If a countries economy is predominantly based on primary and secondary sectors it can earn money initially however it isn’t as lucrative as other sectors and therefore earns less money so the country is less developed
- Additionally high levels of informal employment due to lack of jobs leads to lack of health regulations and additionally child labour so children are working instead of obtaining an education.
- High taxing can cause companies and people to move out of a country leading to less economic growth. However it does give the government more money to spend on sectors such as education and healthcare to help stimulate growth of a countries development
- If other countries invest as well in a nations this can boost economic growth however these investment can come with ties where the money produced from these areas is siphoned off to investors from other countries and less goes to the country itself.
- High inflation leads to lower development as often wages do not keep up with the cost of goods so it creates a cost of living crisis resulting in people spending less on services reducing money in circulation in the economy.
Political stability
- If a country is more politically stable than long term policies can be implemented which will stimulate growth for the long term instead of short cash grabs which may backfire in the future.
- Less conflict and civil war in a nation leads to more focus on development instead of arming.
- Political stability can also be bad in the case of dictatorships where one party or leader makes al the decisions potentially in their own self interest and the public don’t get a choice for the policies implemented int their country
The digital divide
- Countries without modern infrastructure such as internet means that less investment will be implemented as companies are less willing to invest in an area without this access as it requires large scale building and infrastructure.
- Equally these countries without this infrastructure cannot invest in internet infrastructure themselves due to lack of higher paying jobs and higher education that use this infrastructure means the population earns less income so less money is available to be invested to renew this infrastructure
Cultural factors
- Certian beliefs of a country such as not allowing women to join the working force hinders development as less employment results in less income for a nation.
- Culture can also provide a greater sense of community in a nation which drives collaborative work and therefore productivity.
Food security
- Countries without food security need to import food which can be expensive and take away money from other areas. Additionally puts strain on healthcare system as there are more health issues caused by starvation and lack of food
How is development measured?
- GDP per capita - It is the average income for each person in a certain country. Calculated by dividing a country’s GDP by their population. If there is a higher GDP per capita people are then earning more money which correlates to a higher stage of development
- Purchasing power parity - Cost of libing varies vastly from country to country so this shows the value of a currency in different countries
- Literacy rate - measured through censuses and surveys. High literacy rate indicates a higher level of education in a country and therefore they can attain more valuable jobs such as in the tertiary sector which correlates to a higher stage of development.
- Life expectancy - the average age the population is before the die. A higher life expectancy often mean people are living healthier and more enjoyable lives which correlates to a higher level of development.
- Infant mortality rate - the number of children that die before their first birthday per 1000 children.
- Access to safe water index - Determined by the percentage of the population that has access to clean water. This will result in less transfer of waterborne diseases and often correlates to higher levels of development
- Corruption Index- measure the levels of corruption in a country and often less corrupt countries are more democratic due to elections and therefore they are often more developed
- GINI coefficient - The Gini coefficient measures how unequal the distribution of income, wealth, or other living standards is within a population. It gives a value between 0 and 1 using the lorenz curve. 0 being high inequality and 1 being high equality.
- Gender development index - It is a metric that measures the gender gap in human development in three areas: health, education, and economic resources. If there is a smaller gap this correlates with a higher level of development.
What is the Human development Index and how is it measured?
The Human Development Index (HDI) was devised by the UN in 1990. Its aim was to extend the concept of development beyond wealth alone. The UNDP, which is responsible for producing the HDI, has stated that “The HDI is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development - a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and having a decent standard of living?. UNDP acknowledged that it includes only part of what human development entails. For example, it does not include inequality, poverty, human security and empowerment.
The HDI has changed slightly in composition over the years. The current index combines four indicators of development (Figure 9.8):
- life expectancy at birth
- mean years of schooling for adults aged 25 years
- expected years of schooling for children of school-entering age
- Gross national income (GNI) per capita (PPP$). (While GDP is the total value of what is produced in a country, GNI calculates an economy’s total income, including income from investments in other countries.)
What is rostows model?
After a county becomes mechanised, less people need to work in agricultural sector so less subsistence farming so more people work in manufacturing jobs and service so there are more exports and therefore more income provide from the country.
As wages increase that the economy moves away from manufacturing in services and quaternary sector which are more lucrative meaning the country has moire money which is ultimately the driver of development
