9.2 Uneven Development Flashcards
What are physical factors affecting uneven development?
Landlocked - Landlocked countries have less access to cheaper transportation by boats which makes imports and exports cheaper. Instead they have to be imported by planes which are expensive or trains where rail infrastructure needs to be built and it is slower. Additionally there is less tourism and industry that coasts offer to non landlocked countries
For example in China the coast regions can important and export goods more easily as they have access to water and therefore can ship heavy goods and make a higher income. However in north western China is very far from the coast and therefore less resources can be imported and exported as easily
Remoteness, landscape and terrain - Equally the landscape of north western is very dry and arid and therefore productivity is low as people have to focus their energy on subsistence farming rather than other task. This climate can also lead to food insecurity
However fertile land means food is not a problem and therefore resources can be devoted to other areas such as services which in turn boosts development
New york is quick because there are airpots in close proximity to both cities so they are well connected. 5 takes a long time despite being a smaller distance because sahara is very uninhabited so there is less transport infrastructure so it takes longer to travel. Central australia is also sparsely populated due to the hot and arid environment so there is less transport infrastructure there as well as it would be rarely used.
Natural disaster risk - 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
What are human factors affecting uneven development?
Colonialism:
- Colonial powers exploited resources from their colonies. This meant that the exploiters had large economic gains wheres the colonised nations didn’t benefit.
- Colonial powers left political systems in disarray meaning that there is corruption due to a weak political system
- Colonists had little considerations for inhabitatnts of countires they colonised and so widespread diseases (caused be microbes from colonists), coercive labour regimes and endemic brutality caused declines in populations.
- Indian Life epectancy dropped by 20% under British rule.
- Brtian made an estimated $8 billion from slave sales.
Unfair Trade:
- Where farmers of crops such as coffee are paid an unfairly small wage of the overall price of what the product is sold for at market. For example more developed nations buy the product at a cheap price from poorer countries and then sell them at a much higher price to rich consumers and keep the vast majority of profits to themselves. This causes richer countries to develop quicker as they take advantage of poorer countries
- Additoanly, high tarrifs imposed on imports mean that coutnires cannot make a profit from their exports and therefore cannot generate an income.
Political instablity:
- 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
Debt:
Debt ridden countries have to pay interest on debts that they accumulate from loans to build infrastructure. This debt can be detrimental as if countries are spending al their money to global banks who they owe they cannot allocate sufficient resources to other services such us healthcare and education which hinders development
Policies:
- Countries such as UK have open economies allowing for foreign investment which stimulate growth and development of a country
- Investments in education and health help a coutnty to develop as people can aquire qualifiactaions such as degrees which are necessary for higher skilled jobs which often generate a higher income boosint development. A healthjy population attractions foregin investment.
What is dependency theory?
- Countries in the core are the wealthiest and import raw materials which they manufacture and transform into a more expensive product that is then exported back at a profit.
- Periphery countries export low value goods and have to import high value goods which means they cannot develop as they have little income to use for development
- Semi-periphery countries export medium value goods such as textiles however they still import high value goods resulting in a net-deficit. Or exporting high value goods such as lithium and coltan however they are exploited from these goods such as in the DRC.
- Periphery areas are in a net deficit as they export lowe value and import high value so they can never escape the cycle and a trapped in a lower development. Increase development gap as core continues to develop
- Many developding coutnires have a widening gap between the core and periphary and therefore have a higher Gini coefficient.
What are the factors influecne uneven development within a country?
Ethnicity:
Some particular areas of a country have a high concentration of religous or ethnic minority groups. Minority groups are often over represented in the informal economy as discirmnation can lead to limited economic, social and politcal opportunites
Education:
Governments in certain areas and states can prioritise education over benefiting large business. In the short term development will be slower however after the young population grows they will provide a strong working force and generate a large income.
Land ownership:
Having ownership of even a small plot of land provide security. Land is the most important asset in rural areas as it sustains fundamental human needs such as food and shelter.
Natural Georgraphy:
For example coastal regions and cities connected to natural water ways develop quicker as imports and exports are crucial to earn and income for the country for the income generated when exporting and the goods imported are crucial for certain services.
Investment and Policy:
Investment in areas can also stimulate develop causing certain areas to develop quicker, for example, London has developed more than Northern Uk cities due to investment and government policy. However, foreign investment can have ties which mean money is not distributed in the area where it is created ansd instead held by investors abroad.
What are the regional contrasts in India
Economic Cores:
- High GDP per capita in northwest (Delhi - $5817, Chandigarh - $5297, Haryana - $3840) and west/south (Goa - $7029, Karnataka - $3359, Kerala - $3327, Puducherry - $3334).
- Mumbai (Maharashtra) have dynamic range of industrires generating a high volume of exports.
- Bangalore (Karnataka) is focused on finance and ICT for the international market.
Peripheral Regions:
- Low GDP per capita in northern and eastern states (Bihar - $659, Uttar Pradesh - $1043, Jharkhand - $1179).
- Harsh physical conditions in Rajasthan (desert), Uttar Pradesh (sub-Himalayan), and Madhya Pradesh (arid plateau).
- Kolkata has older, labor-intensive industries (textiles) compared to Mumbai.
What are the Development Gaps in Welfare & Quality of Life?
-Poverty:
- 16.4% of Indians lived in poverty (2019/21), with Bihar having the highest rate (34.66%) and Kerala the lowest (0.86%).
- Children are poorest (1 in 5 poor) comapred to adults (1 in 7 poor).
- 415 million people were brought out of multidimensional poverty in India in 15 years between 2006/6 and 2019/21.
Housing:
Rural housing is poor and a much lower standard; urban areas face a wide gap between housing supply and a much higher demand, often resulting in chronic overcrowding.
Infrastructure:
Electrification and transport vary widely between core and periphary regions.
Unemployment:
No strong correlation with GDP—highest in Rajasthan (30.7%) and Haryana (31.8%), lowest in Madhya Pradesh (0.8%).
Literacy:
National rate (77.7% in 2022); highest in Kerala (96.2%), lowest in Andhra Pradesh (67.4%).
Life Expectancy:
69.7 years average (2015-19), highest in Delhi (75.9), lowest in Chhattisgarh (65.3).
Other Demographic Trends:
Lower fertility and mortality rates in developed states.
What is the response to this uneven devlopment?
Government Efforts & Challenges
- Five-Year Plans aimed at reducing regional inequality.
- Education and healthcare gaps remain key challenges.
- India’s HDI (0.645 in 2019) ranks it 131st globally, with wide state-level variation (Kerala: 0.782, Bihar: 0.574).
Migration:
Inter-state migration: High out-migration from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh (accounted for 50% of India’s total inter-state migrants) to economic hubs like Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Bihar Case study
Bihar, with a population of 128 million (2021) and a density of over 1200 people per km², is India’s most densely populated state. Its 18% population growth (2011-2020) is the highest in the country, driven by a high fertility rate, leading to a large young dependent population.
Bihar lags in socio-economic development, with over 80% of people in rural areas and agriculture employing three-quarters of the workforce. Manufacturing is limited, dominated by small industries, while the private sector and foreign direct investment (FDI) remain minimal. Patna (2.1 million) is the only major economic center.
A lack of jobs has led to large-scale out-migration, with many moving to Delhi for better opportunities. Bihar’s underdevelopment is linked to:
- Colonial neglect, with investment focused on Bengal.
- Poor governance and ineffective poverty alleviation programs.
- Weak infrastructure (power, irrigation, transport).
- Low investment in education and healthcare (lowest per capita in India).
- Minimal foreign investment, limiting industrial growth.
What other inequalites are there in India?
As well as regional inequality, India has other inequalities including gender, age, social position and religion. Although it is changing, the generally low status of women in Indian society remains disappointing and a considerable hindrance to development. Gender inequality is particularly high among marginalised groups, for instance, socio- economically.
Many older people feel left out of the benefits of progress. This is mainly because they have not benefited from the recent improvements in education and health. They are also more likely to remain in rural areas rather than migrating to urban areas where living standards are generally higher. Although India’s constitution would appear to protect religious minorities, there has always been concern about discrimination, particularly in the poorer, rural parts of the country.
How do differnet demographic factors cary with development?
Fertility rates: Higher fertility rate is associated with lower development. Lower access to contraception. Cultural expectation as not in work and tend to have more children. Worse healthcare means higher infant mortality so to counter this families have more children
Birth rate: Higher in lower developed countries - aging population in developed countries as women aren’t of a fertile age.
Death rate: Higher in lower developed countries however in countries such as Japan where the proportion of elderly population is so high causing a higher death rate.
Natural Increase: Higher in countries going through development and improving income. More developed, lower natural increase.
Maternal mortality rate: Higher in less developed due to worse healthcare
Infant mortality rate: Higher in less developed for same reasons
Describe stage 1 of the demographibc transition.
Stage 1:
We can see there is both high birth and death rate.
The high birth rate suggests that there is a high fertility rate (average number of children born per woman) which is likely because there is a high infant mortality rate (IMR) which means only some survive past childhood. Additionally there may be a lack of access to or knowledge or contraceptive methods to control pregnancy.
Death rate is high due to lower levels of health care access and quality, leading to higher death rates. Issues such as poor sanitation, food insecurity also mean the population dies from preventable diseases.
This tells us that the country is at a low stage of development as there is low life expectancy, poor healthcare and the population is overall very young (as shown by the wide base of the population pyramid associated with this stage. This youthful population put a lot of pressure on the education system which is often underfunded due to a comparatively low working active population contributing to the economy. Therefore many of the population fail to gain the skills to access or develop higher value jobs - keeping people in poverty.
Describe stage 2 of the demographic transition.
Stage 2:
BR: Stays high due to lower access to contraception. Cultural expectation as not in work and tend to have more children. Worse healthcare means higher infant mortality so to counter this families have more children. Therefore both fertility and birth rate stay high
DR: Is high in stage 1 due to lower healthcare however as development increase and therefore vaccines and basic sanitation becomes widely available than the death rate rapidly decreases
How it impacts development: This initially puts strain on certain sectors such as education and healthcare as there are lots of children however fewer people who are economically active. However once this young population grows to become economically active, development increase as there is a large workforce which can produce an income in tax or the government who can invest in service and boost development of the country
Describe stage 3 of the demographic transition.
Stage 3:
BR: Begins to fall as societal norms change and women go into work more and go against traditional ideas such as staying at home and having children. As women work longer there opportunity to have lots of children decreases as they are often working for the majority of the years where they are in the fertile range. Additionally contraception becomes more widespread so there are less pregnancies and in turn less births. More developed so less children die at birth so families have less children. Additionally cultural changes take longer to occur compared to scientific changes.
DR: Decreases and plateaus as healthcare as rapidly increased to a point where people are dying of old age compared to diseases. However it plateaus as the it reaches the limits of the human age.
How it impacts development: Reduction in youthful dependency and relatively low elderly dependency and high working population therefore large economic growth which increases development
Describe stage 4 of the demographic transition.
Stage 4:
BR: Reaches the same as death rate as women continue to have less children due to previous reasons. Plateaus as Women setil have one or 2 children however generally not more than that.
DR; stays low due to good lifestyle as countries development and also hgh healthcare.
How it impacts development: Aging population as there is lower youthful dependency however due to low birth rates and low death rate the population is generally older increasing the number of older dependants. This puts pressure on the smaller working population and hinders economic growth and in turn development.
Describe stage 5 of the demographic transition.
Stage 5:
BR: As economic activity slow as a consequence to low birth rate, intialytive are started to increase birth rate to boost economic growth.
DR: Remains low due to previous reason of good healthcare and developed lifestyle of less dangerous work such as mining.
How it impacts development: Causes a high young dependant population and alos high older dependants which causes immense strain of the working population as services such as healthcare and education are spread thin. This therefore reduces investment to develop the country and hinders development. However after this younger population grow old enough to join the workforce. Economic growth will pick up again and development will begin to increase.
