Development Dynamics Flashcards
(17 cards)
What is GDP?
Total value of goods and services produced by a country in one year.
What is GNI?
GDP + money from overseas trade/investments.
What is a weakness of using GDP or GNI?
They don’t show how money is shared — they hide inequality.
What does the Gini Coefficient measure?
How equally money is shared in a country (includes informal jobs too).
Development
A process of change that affects / improves people’s quality of life
Fertility rate
The average number of births per woman
Infant mortality rate
The number of children who die before their 1st birthday
GDP
Total value of goods and services produced within a country in 1 year
Maternal mortality
the average number of women dying in child birth
Economically active
the average number of people of working age
Young dependent
The percentage of children in a country under the age of 15
Death rate
The number of deaths per 1000 people in a year
HDI (human development index)
4 indicators combined make up this index:
Income per capita
GNI per capita
Life expectancy (at birth)
Education – (mean years of school and expected years of schooling / literacy rates)
What’s Rostows modernisation theory
All countries go through the same 5 stages to reach modernisation.
1. Traditional society: economies are agricultural, limited technology and infrastructure
2. Preconditions for take-off: development of necessary infrastructure and social changes
3. Take-off: economy beings to rapidly grow and industrialise
4. Drive to maturity: advanced technologies, country expands, diversifies, modernises, becomes more into the global economy
5. Age of high mass consumption: economy is highly advanced, access to consumer goods, services, high standard of living, consumer-driven economy
Why is Rostows theory criticised
Model is outdated and too simple
Model assumes all countries start at the same point
The model does not show how that capital is obtained: usually a development aid loan.
The debt repayments can delay or even prevent a country from reaching Stage 3 and take off
Colonialism, and the impact this had on the development of some countries, are not taken into account or are underestimated
What is Frank’s development theory
Core and its peripheries
Where powerful developed countries are represented as the core (production of high-value goods, wealthier)
All ‘other areas’ are the peripheries (produce and sell low-value raw materials ) which depend on the core for its market
Franks theory criticism
Original model did not take into account emerging countries
Countries that were once a periphery or had been dependent on core development have achieved economic growth (China, Brazil and India)
Some countries which were never colonised lack infrastructure and are undeveloped - Afghanistan, Yemen
Other factors lead to lack of development: being land locked, civil conflict, lack of political will
