Case studies Flashcards
SOUTH KOREA
NIC
Mature NIC
Korean war ended in 1953
Economic help by the U.S., cheap labour, entrepreneurs and a strong government helped the resource-weak country grow economically
Third largest exporter of textiles
USA, Japan and China are the destinations for half of its exports
Improved health care - 6% gov budget spending
82% of the population live in urban areas, compared to 50% in 1980
CHINA
Development of economy
Since the early 1980s, economy has doubled every 8 years
2007 - US$360 billion earned on exports
Pearl River Delta - 70 transnational companies
- 80,000 employed in a singular factory
- contributes 7% of China’s GDP
- attracted $1 billion investment in 2003
- produces $10 billion worth of exports a month
High levels of pollution - 70% of rivers and lakes are polluted
Nuclear capability
NIGERIA
Oil and neo-colonialisation
Example of neo-colonialisation
Exploitation of oil
Positive - $50-70 million invested each year in scholarships, healthcare etc by oil companies
Creates $180 million a day yet many Niger Deltan’s live on less than $1 a day
Nearly one oil spill a day in 50 years
Increased violence
Jobs taken by foreign workers
UGANDA
Inequality and debt
Large inequality of education for men and women BUT free universal primary education
Population of 31 million
Life expectancy - 50 years
Large debt caused by 1970s government BUT in 2000 HIPC cancelled $1.5bn of Uganda’s debt
This lead to increased spending on education and health
An additional 2.2 million people had access to clean water
MEXICO
Debt and SAP
$80 billion by 1982 had been invested due to cheap labour and abundant natural resources
Mexico couldn’t meet its interest repayments as it over borrowed
Decline in living standards - halved
Structural Adjustment Package introduced - earn more, spend less, currency devalued, increased exports, raised interest rates
NAFTA
trade bloc
Treaty between Canada, Mexico and USA
Established in 1994
Key goals: reduce barriers to trade, market for goods in North America, establish mutually advantageous trade rules
Criticised for only serving the business in tests of the U.S.
ignored negative social and environmental impacts of free trade on the smaller economies of Mexico and Canada
BANANAS
Free trade and protectionism
80% of bananas eaten are controlled by three companies: Chiquita, Dole and Del Monte
EU protects the banana industry in former colonies with protectionism so they are paid more
USA has argued this is damaging to the ‘dollar’ bananas and appealed to the WTO who ruled in their favour - EU banana growers suffered as a result
