Economic World General (26th April)

Question 1

What Physical Factors can affect how developed a country is?

Answer 1

POOR CLIMATE- really hot/really cold/really dry- not much will grow- not much food will be produced- malnutrition. E.g. Chad and Ethiopia.
Fewer Crops to sell-less money to spend on goods and services. As less is sold and bought, government gets less money from taxes- less money to spend on developing country (healthcare and education)

POOR FARMING LAND- steep/poor soil/no soil, then it will be difficult to grow crops or graze animals to produce + sell food.

FEW RAW MATERIALS- few raw materials like coal/oil/natural gas/metal ores) have fewer products to export to other countries. They make less money, so cant spend much on development projects. Some countries have many raw materials but cant afford infrastructure to exploit.

LOTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS- have to spend a lot of money rebuilding after disasters occur. Natural disasters reduce QoL of people effected, and reduce amount of money the government has to spend in development projects.

Question 2

What Economic Factors can cause Uneven Development?

Answer 2

POOR TRADE LINKS- trade is exchange of goods + services. World trade patterns influence country’s economy and so affect its level of development. If country has poor Trade Links, it wont make a lot of money, less to spending on development.

LOTS OF DEBT- poor countries borrow money from other countries and international organisations. This money has to be paid back (sometimes with interest) so less money for development.

ECONOMY BASED ON PRIMARY PRODUCTS- raw materials like timber and metal tend to be less developed than countries that export manufactured goods. Primary goods sold for less profit than manufactured. Prices for primary fluctuate- sometimes the price falls below the cost of production.

Question 3

What Historic Factors can cause Uneven development?

Answer 3

COLONISATION- colonised countries often at lower development level when they gain independence than they would be if they hadn’t been colonised.
Colonisers removed raw materials and sold back manufactured goods. This meant profits went to colonisers, increasing inequality. Colonisation prevented the colonised countries from developing their own industries.

CONFLICT- war, civil war can slow or reduce development, even after war. Money spent on arms and training soldiers and damage, important services like healthcare disrupted, which can lead to an increase in infant mortality and literacy rates. E.g. Syria in 2008 had HDI 0.65. In 2016, after 5 years of war, HDI dropped to 0.54.

Question 4

What are the consequences of Uneven development on wealth?

Answer 4

• People in more developed countries have higher income than those in less developed countries. E.g. GNI per head in Uk is 40x higher than in Chad.
• Can lead to big inequalities in wealth within countries, e.g. in 2017, richest 10% of Kenya’s population earned 23x more than the poorest 10%
• Wealth can impact people’s standard of living- wealthy can afford goods and services, good QoL and SoL, but poor can’t.

Question 5

What are the consequences of Uneven development on health?

Answer 5

• Healthcare in developed countries is usually better.
• People in HICs live longer.
• Infant mortality is much higher in less developed countries
• In LICs and NEEs, lack of adequate healthcare can mean people die from diseases that could be easily treated in the HICs.

Question 6

What are the consequences of Uneven development on international migration?

Answer 6

• People from LICs and NEEs move to HICs to escape conflict or to improve QoL.
• E.g. 130000 people move from Mexico to USA legally each year in search of better paid jobs and higher QoL.
• Migrant workers contribute to economies of the HICs they move to instead of the LICs they leave, which further increases development gap.

Question 7

What is GNI?

Answer 7

Gross National Income- total value of goods and services produced by a country in a year, including income from overseas. A measure of wealth.

Question 8

What is GNI per head?

Answer 8

The GNI divided by the population of a country. Also called GNI per capita. A measure of wealth.

Question 9

What is Birth Rate?

Answer 9

The number of live births per thousand of the population per year. Measure of education.

Question 10

What is Death rate?

Answer 10

The number of deaths per thousand of the population per year. Measure of health.

Question 11

What is Infant Mortality rate?

Answer 11

The number of babies who die before they are 1 year old, per thousand babies born. Measure of health.

Question 12

What is People per doctor?

Answer 12

The average number of people for each doctor. Measure of health.

Question 13

What is Literacy rate?

Answer 13

The percentage of adults who can read and write. Measure of education.

Question 14

What is Access to safe water?

Answer 14

The percentage of people who can get clean drinking water. Measure of health.

Question 15

What is Life expectancy?

Answer 15

The average age a person can expect to live to. Measure of health.

Question 16

Why is GNI per head misleading?

Answer 16

It is an average- variations within the country don’t show up.

Question 17

Why are social indicators misleading?

Answer 17

They are misleading when used on their own because as a country develops, some aspects develop before others. So it might seems like a country is more developed than it actually is.

Question 18

What is HDI?

Answer 18

Human Development Index- is calculated using income (GNI per head), life expectancy and education level (average years of schooling). Every country had a HDI value between 0 and 1. The combination of measures means that a country’s HDI value tells you about the country’s level of economic development and QoL for people who live there.

Question 19

What is natural increase?

Answer 19

When the birth rate is higher than the death rate, the population grows.

(Natural decrease is just the opposite)

Question 20

Describe Stage 1 of the Demographic Transition Model:

Answer 20

Stage 1- least developed, birth rate high (no use of contraception), people have lots of children because of high infant mortality rate. Death Rate is high due o poor healthcare or famine, life expectancy is low. Population size is low and steady, population growth rate is 0.

Question 21

Describe Stage 2 of the Demographic Transition Model:

Answer 21

Stage 2- not very developed, many LICs included. Birth rate is high and steady, economy is agriculture based, so people have lots of children to work on farms. Better healthcare increases life expectancy, so death rate falls rapidly. Population growth rate is very high, and population size is rapidly increasing.

Question 22

Describe Stage 3 of the Demographic Transition Model:

Answer 22

Stage 3- more developed, most NEEs. Birth rate falls rapidly as contraception use increases and more women work instead of having children. Economy changes from farming to manufacturing, fewer children needed for farm work. Improved healthcare means death rate falls slowly and lie expectancy increases. Population growth rate is High and population size is increasing.

Question 23

Describe Stage 4 and 5 of the Demographic Transition Model:

Answer 23

Stage 4 & 5- most developed, most HICs. Birth rate low (and fluctuating in stage 4), people expect high SoL, and may have dependent elderly relatives, less money available for children. Healthcare is very good, so death rate is low and life expectancy is high. Population growth rate in stage 4 is zero, and negative in stage 5. Population size is high and steady in stage 4, and slowly falling in stage 5.

Question 24

How is Investment a strategy to reduce the global development gap?

Answer 24

Foreign-direct investment (FDI) is when people or companies in a country buy property or invest in infrastructure in another country.
FDI leads to better access to finance, tech, expertise, and improved infrastructure and industry and an increase in services.

Question 25

How is Aid a strategy to reduce the global development gap?

Answer 25

• Money or resources (food, medicine) are given to a country by a charity or foreign government.
• Money is used for development projects.
• Aid can help, but sometimes it is wasted by corrupt governments, or once money runs out projects can stop working if there isn’t enough local knowledge and support.

Question 26

How is Fair Trade a strategy to reduce the global development gap?

Answer 26

• movement is about farmers in LICs getting a fair price for the goods they produce.
• companies who want to sell products labelled as fair trade have to pay producers a fair price.
• Buyers pay extra on top of that so farmers receive a premium to help develop their local area.
• In some cases, only a tiny proportion of the extra money reaches the producers, while the rest boosts retailer’s profits.

Question 27

How is Using Intermediate Technology a strategy to reduce the global development gap?

Answer 27

-Includes tools, machines, systems that improve QoL and are simple to use, affordable to buy or build and cheap to maintain.

Question 28

How is Microfinance Loan a strategy to reduce the global development gap?

Answer 28

• when small loans are given to people in LICs, who may not be able to get loans from banks. Enables them to start own business and become financially independent.
• it can cause problems by encouraging people to get into debt. It is also not clear that it can reduce poverty on a large scale.

Question 29

How is Industrial Development a strategy to reduce the global development gap?

Answer 29

In countries with low level development, agriculture makes up large % of economy. Developing industry boosts GNI and development, as productivity skills infrastructure are improved.

Question 30

How is Debt Relief a strategy to reduce the global development gap?

Answer 30

-some or all of a country’s debt is cancelled or interest rates are lowered, meaning the country has more money to spend on development.