Development Flashcards
Define ‘global development’.
The process of change on an international level.
List 3 different forms of development.
1) Economic
2) Social
3) Political
Describe what economic development involves.
- Industrialisation
- Economic growth
Describe what social development involves.
- Food and water
- Shelter
- Education
- Job opportunities
Describe what political development involves.
- The extent to which a country has a westernised democracy as its political system
- The freedom to control their own lives
Give an example of an economic measure of development and its definition.
Gross Domestic Product
- The total value of goods and services produced in an economy, excluding income from overseas
List 4 strengths of using economic measures to assess development.
1) Simple to understand
2) Most countries have available data
3) Comparisons can be made between countries
4) Shows growth and recession
List 4 weaknesses of using economic measures to assess development.
1) Data is valid and reliable
2) Neglects ‘invisible economies’ in poorer countries (e.g. agriculture)
3) Distribution of wealth with a society can be unequal
4) Reflects western assumptions of materialism and consumption
Give 3 examples of social measures of development and facts about them.
1) Literacy rates
- Russia has the highest (95%) with South Sudan as the lowest (27%)
2) Life expectancy
- Japan has the highest (84) with Sierra Leone as the lowest (50)
3) Gender
- 5 million girls are selectively aborted annually in Asia, a statistic from 2012
Are social measures more useful than economic?
Yes, as they look at more factors than just money that can be distributed unequally.
Give an example of a composite indicator as a measure of development.
The Human Development Index
What does the HDI measure?
The average achievements in a country using 3 elements of life expectancy, knowledge, and standard of living.
What social measure does the HDI consider?
The Gender Inequality Index
Are composite indicators more useful than social economic?
Yes due to measure human development which measures both human capabilities and the enjoyment of these.
List the highest and lowest countries ranked on the HDI index.
1) Norway has a score of 0.949 with a GDP of $67,614 and a life expectancy of 81.7
188) Central African Republic has a score of 0.352 with a GDP of $587 and a life expectancy of 51.5
What does ranking countries show us about development?
That countries who score highly in one category generally score highly in others showing that the measures are interdependent.
Why might the measure of Millennium Development Goals be successful in measuring development.
It indicates how successfully a country may have improved certain issues within a time period.
List 4 of the major global improvements that have been achieved in 2015.
1) Number of people in extreme poverty has decreased from 1.9 billion to 836 million
2) The mortality rate of children under-five was cut by more than half since 1990
3) The number of people in the working middle class living on more than $4 that nearly tripled
4) Gender equality in primary school has been achieved
List 3 advantages of economic measures of development.
1) Has helped lift millions out of poverty
2) Simple to understand
3) Most countries have available data
List 3 disadvantages of economic measures of development.
1) Doesn’t allow for health and education
2) Nothing about sustainability is mentioned, a factor which is important for development
3) Distribution of wealth within a country can be unequal
List 3 advantages of social measures of development.
1) Looks at more factors than GDP
2) Accounts for what humans can achieve
3) Can also reflect economic development with literacy and mortality rates suggesting quality of education and health service
List 3 disadvantages of social measures of development.
1) Social changes may be dependent on economic development and so would not be an accurate reflection
2) Data from developing countries may be unreliable and difficult to confirm
3) Also doesn’t measure unequal distribution within a country
List 3 advantages of composite indicators of development.
1) Widespread use of HDI allows for easy comparisons
2) Comparing development levels does reveal clear global patterns
3) More holistic
List 2 disadvantages of composite indicators of development.
1) The measures can be arbitrary due to multiple ways of measuring relative qualities in health and education
2) No indication in the education index about access to education
List 2 advantages of millennium development goals.
1) Can highlight areas for improvement that countries can then focus their resources on to improve their development
2) Can improve development worldwide rather than just focusing on one country
List 2 disadvantages of millennium development goals.
1) Some goals are out-dated and not relevant due to being established in the 1990s
2) Creating a list of goals can lead to under investment in other key elements of a country’s development
List 3 other alternative measures of development and their definitions.
1) Big Mac Index
- Shows how long it takes for workers in different countries to earn enough money to buy a Big Mac
2) Gross National Happiness
- Measures 6 elements that lead to an overall score of how content a country is with what they have
3) Happy Planet Index
- Measures sustainable well-being to show how well nations are at achieving long, happy, sustainable lives
