Development & Globalisation: Measuring Development Flashcards
Economic Development
An increase in a country’s level of wealth.
Decrease in primary sector jobs, increase in secondary and eventually tertiary jobs.
Increase in sustainability.
Demographic Development
Increased life expectancy.
Decreased death rate.
Falling birth rate.
Social Development
Improved education and literacy.
Improved access to medical facilities.
Improved levels of sanitation.
Better housing.
Political Development
People have a greater say in who forms the government and therefore the impact it can have on their lives.
Cultural Development
Greater equality for women and better race relations.
GDP
Gross Domestic Product is the total finished goods and services produced by a country in one year.
GNP
Gross National Product is the GDP of a country plus it’s net income earned from overseas resources.
PPP
GDP per capita. Countries with a high GDP won’t always have a high PPP; China has the highest GDP in the world but places 113th in PPP, whereas the UK places 10th in GDP and 39th in PPP.
Early Classifications of Development
First world - WEurope, NAmerica, Japan, Australia, New Zealand.
Second world - state-controlled communist countries such as former USSR countries, and EEurope.
Third world - all other countries in Africa, Asia and LAmerica. Any country that is not considered capitalist or communist.
The Development Continuum
Modern classifications of countries: LDCs LEDCs FCCs/CPEs RICs OPECs NICs MEDCs G8s/G7s
LDCs
Least Developed Countries:
Very low living standards.
Low life expectancy, high infant mortality rate.
Low literacy levels (especially women).
Many are landlocked or small island nations.
LEDCs
Low Economically Developed Countries: Low development. High primary sector employment & emerging secondary. GDP & HDI remain low. Some improvement evident.
FCCs
Former Communist Countries - transition is difficult due to lack of entrepreneurship.
CPEs
Centrally Planned Economy e.g. North Korea.
RICs
Rapidly Industrialising Countries - more recent than NICs and wider global distribution.
OPECs
Members of OPEC (the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries):
High GDP.
High wealth disparity.
NICs
Newly Industrialised Countries: Development over the last 40 years. Overlap with MEDCs. High literacy levels. Low cost factory productions.
MEDCs
More Economically Developed Countries: High living standards. High disposable income. Highly developed. Product development. Wealth disparity.
G8s/G7s
A group of 8 MEDCs which meet annually to discuss global issues. The members are the USA, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK. Russia is also a member sometimes.
The Development Gap
More developed countries have high levels of economic growth and GDP per capita, but low levels of population growth, infant mortality and ratio of people to doctors. Less developed countries have the reverse of this. For example, Norway (HDI of 0.893) would be on the developed side of the ‘gap’, and Chad (HDI of 0.236) would be on the less developed side.
The Brandt Line
Most MEDCs are in the Northern hemisphere while poorer countries tend to lie to the South. In 1980, Willy Brandt (then the chancellor of Germany) proposed a line showing this N-S divide. He said that all countries below the line should be integrated into the global economic system.
Core
Original MEDCs - Western Europe, USA. Often the host countries for TNCs. 25% of global population. 80% of global income. 90% of global manufacturing output. Controls finance & trade. High level of education.
Periphery
Less developed countries - Africa, SEAsia, LAmerica. Often the source countries for TNCs.
75% of global population.
20% of global income.
10% of global manufacturing output.
Dependent on core for aid, healthcare, loans, charities, etc.
Less than 50% of people attend school.
Shocking Stats
The poorest 20% of the world received 1.5% of global income in 2006 (down from 2.3% in 1998).
The richest 20% of the world saw an increase from 70% to 85% of global income over the same amount of time.
Some sub-Saharan countries have seen their income fall to below 1980s levels in recent years.
The developing world spends $13 in debt repayment for every $1 it receives.
GNI
Gross National Income per capita is used by the World Bank to classify countries in terms of their wealth.
HIC - ≥ $11,456.
MIC - $975 - $11,456.
LIC - ≤ $975.
HDI
The Human Development Index encompasses demographic, social and economic development. This helps to govern debates and determine policy, such as questioning why two countries with identical GNI have differing literacy rates.
HDI Trends
Since the mid 1970s, nearly all nations have increased their HDI score.
28 of the 31 low HDI countries are in sub-Saharan Africa.
Guatemala
In the 1980s 75% of their cotton crop was being exported raw due to unfair trade agreements, despite the fact that manufacturing the cotton into clothes would greatly increase their income. The cotton took up space which would normally be used to grow food.
Ghana
EU tariffs forced Ghana to export raw cocoa at a low price or companies would look elsewhere. Since joining the WTO in 1995, some farmers have been unable to sell their produce because imported food is cheaper.
Dependency Theory
Core countries depend on peripherals for increased wealth, whilst peripherals depend on the core for development. This meant peripherals grew export crops instead of food for themselves.
