Human geography population Flashcards
Development
means a qualitative change which is always value positive. Yet, positive growth does not always lead to development. Development occurs when there is a positive change in quality.
Growth
quantitative and value neutral. It may have a positive or a negative sign. This means that the change may be either positive (showing an increase) or negative (indicating a decrease).
human development
introduced by Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq. Dr Haq has described human development as development that enlarges people’s choices and improves their lives. People are central to all development under this concept. These choices are not fixed but keep on changing. The basic goal of development is to create conditions where people can live meaningful lives–healthy, be able to develop their talents, participate in society and be free to achieve their goals. Therefore, access to resources, health and education are the key areas in human development.
THE FOUR PILLARS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
equity, sustainability, productivity and empowerment.
Equity refers to making equal access to opportunities available to everybody.
Sustainability means continuity in the availability of opportunities.
Productivity here means human labour productivity or productivity in terms of human work. Such productivity must be constantly enriched by building capabilities in people.
Empowerment means to have the power to make choices. Such power comes from increasing freedom and capability.
Measuring human development and criticisms
The human development index (HDI) ranks the countries based on their performance in the key areas of health, education and access to resources. These rankings are based on a score between 0 to 1 that a country earns from its record in the key areas of human development
1. The indicator chosen to assess health is the life expectancy at birth
2. The adult literacy rate and the gross enrolment ratio represent access to knowledge.
3. Access to resources is measured in terms of purchasing power (in U.S. dollars).
Each of these dimensions is given a weightage of 1/3. The human development index is a sum total of the weights assigned to all these dimensions.
The human development index measures attainments in human development. It reflects what has been achieved in the key areas of human development. Yet it is not the most reliable measure. This is because it does not say anything about the distribution.
human poverty index
measures the shortfall in human development. It is a non-income measure. The probability of not surviving till the age of 40, the adult illiteracy rate, the number of people who do not have access to clean water, and the number of small children who are underweight are all taken into account to show the shortfall in human development in any region.
Human Development Report
Since 1990, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been publishing the Human Development Report every year. This report provides a rank-wise list of all member countries according to the level of human development. The Human Development index and the Human Poverty index are two important indices to measure human development used by the UNDP.
APPROACHES TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
(a) The income approach; (b) The welfare approach; (c) Minimum needs approach; and (d) Capabilities approach
Income Approach
Human development is seen as being linked to income. The idea is that the level of income reflects the level of freedom an individual enjoys. Higher the level of income, the higher is the level of human development.
Welfare Approach
This approach looks at human beings as beneficiaries or targets of all development activities. The approach argues for higher government expenditure on education, health, social secondary and amenities. People are not participants in development but only passive recipients. The government is responsible for increasing levels of human development by maximising expenditure on welfare.
Basic Needs Approach
This approach was initially proposed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Six basic needs i.e.: health, education, food, water supply, sanitation, and housing were identified. The question of human choices is ignored and the emphasis is on the provision of basic needs of defined sections.
Capability Approach
This approach is associated with Prof. Amartya Sen. Building human capabilities in the areas of health, education and access to resources is the key to increasing human development.
Countries with High Index Value
a score of over 0.8. Norway Iceland Australia Luxembourg Canada Sweden Switzerland Ireland Belgium United States (WEST)
Countries with Medium Index Value
0.5-0.799. Most of these are countries which have emerged in the period after the Second World War. Some countries from this group were former colonies
PATTERNS OF POPULATION DISTRIBUTION IN THE WORLD
The term population distribution refers to the way people are spaced over the earth’s surface. Broadly, 90 per cent of the world population lives in about 10 per cent of its land area.
India, China, USA, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh, Russia, Ethiopia
DENSITY OF POPULATION
ratio between the numbers of people to the size of land. This ratio is the density of population.
Top 5 world- Macau, Monaco, Singapore.
Top Asia- Singapore, Bahrain, Maldives, Bangladesh, Palestine, 9th India
