ESSAY: evaluate the extent to which changes in the structure of an economy will influence its ability to achieve sustainable development

Question 1

Definitions of structure of the economy and sustainable development

Answer 1

structure of the economy= the proportion of the economy which Is primary, secondary and tertiary
sustainable development= meeting the needs of todays generation without reducing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Question 2

How changes in the structure of an economy will help sustainable development?

Answer 2

• developing the agricultural sector can be beneficial because a country can gain a comparative advantage, especially as most countries struggle to add value to the goods. this helps development as it can increase exports and increase AD, raising tax revenue which can be invested into other areas of development
• business profits reinvested into greener technology, REDUCTION IN POLLUTION
• Better education from tertiary sector Improvement may reduce information failure
• a shift away from the secondary sector to the tertiary sector can see the deindustrialization of an economy, which means it relies less on natural resources and pollutes less, which is positive for development as they are depleting natural resources at a Lower rate
• as incomes increase simultaneously to countries developing and moving towards tertiary sector, they want to further improve quality of life so forward looking countries with increased wealth may want to develop environmentally friendly techniques

Question 3

How changes in the structure of an economy may not help sustainable development?

Answer 3

-a shift from primary sector to secondary sector can be negative because primary sectors tend to not be very mechanised, so their impact on the environment is limited
-as they move towards manufacturing, they are likely to see a period of industrialisation needed for economic growth
-this will see a greater extent of pollution created as well as the increased use of finite resources
-if sustainable or renewable techniques aren’t developed, this can negatively effect development
DIAGRAM= environmental deterioration curve, per capita income on x axis and deterioration in y axis, same shape as Laffer curve

Question 4

What it depends on

Answer 4

• how the structure of the country is changing
• the development of the country will have a big influence, emerging economies close to complete development should see this improve development whereas developing countries should shift towards industrialisation which will be negative