Summarising Bridging the Development Gap

Question 1

What is development?

Answer 1

“Development is a process of change and growth. But it is not just about getting richer, or having more things. It is about improving the quality of life for people. So it has many different aspects.”

Question 2

Human development indicators include:

Answer 2

Life expectancy
Infant mortality rate
Access to basic services
Access to healthcare

Question 3

What has caused the development gap?

Answer 3

Some countries have industrialised
Some countries were colonised
Globalisation
Third world debt 
Lack of education- poverty cycle
Geographical locations

Question 4

Historical reasons for the development gap.

Answer 4

Colonisation - factor but not sole causes (e.g Australia, the US, New Zealand)

Question 5

Environmental reasons for the development gap.

Answer 5

Location/climate (desert, natural disasters)

However not always the case- Saudi Arabia

Question 6

Socio-economic reasons for the development gap.

Answer 6

Lack of industrialisation
Lack of education
War
Debt- rich can pay back, poor often cannot.

Question 7

Theories on the Development Gap

Answer 7

Modernisation Theory: Rostow’s Five Stage Model.
Dependency Theory: Frank.
World Systems Theory: Wallerstein.
Neocolonialism.

Question 8

Give some examples of groups that affect the development gap.

Answer 8

TNCs- e.g. Wal-Mart
IGOs- IMF,WTO, INGOs, UN, W.B
National governments- EU, superpowers, USA

Question 9

What is the terms of trade?

Answer 9

The terms of trade…the ratio between currencies earned from exports and the price of imports.
Prices of commodities have decreased relative to the prices of manufactured goods.
The producers of primary products also got very little of their eventual value.
MVA- manufactured value added

Question 10

Dependency on commodity exports

Answer 10

Primary Product Dependency
Many countries depend on one commodity for over 50% of exports, especially in Africa…Uganda and coffee, Ghana and cocoa, Zaire and Copper.

Question 11

Trade blocs

Answer 11

NAFTA the EU
Free trade within a group- however, they tend to have tariffs (import taxes) from outside the trade bloc.
Arguably it protects their markets and jobs
However it makes it more difficult for poorer countries to compete or produce manufactured goods (things that add value).
Trade blocs attract investment and trade away from poorer countries- further concentrating trade and investment in richer countries thereby widening the development gap.

Question 12

WTO

Answer 12

Promotes free trade…but not everyone trades freely.

Promotion of TRIPS (trade related intellectual property rights).

Question 13

Reasons why trade and investment widens the gap.

Answer 13

Patterns of trade favour richer countries, most trade occurs within the richer countries. Whereas most developing LEDC still depend on trade in commodities (legacy of the colonial system).
Volume of commodity trade has increased (banana’s), the relative value has not, this is because of the terms of trade. The value you get for exports of primary goods doesn’t equate to the value of imports of manufactured goods. In some countries this is worsened by primary product dependency.
Furthermore trade blocs and WTO don’t help the situation as richer countries maintain import tariffs and subsidies, that make trade unfair for poorer countries.

Question 14

There are differences between rich and poor… …and then within the rich and poor, some LDCs are much worse than others.

Answer 14

…and then within the rich and poor, some LDCs are much worse than others.
There’s difference within countries as well, e.g Ghana- the North and the South.
Urban/Rural- for instance, much more cost effective for service provision in urban areas as there is a higher concentration of people.

Question 15

What is the development gap like between rural and urban areas?

Answer 15

Hyper urbanisation shows the difference between urban and rural. This is however perhaps a simplification of the real situation.
Living conditions in urban areas for poor people aren’t much better than that of living conditions in rural areas.
Opportunity gap between rural and urban areas.
People leave rural areas and this makes them less likely to develop and more likely to be deprived- exacerbating the problem.
Brown Agenda- environmental problems caused by hyper-urbanisation

Question 16

There are inequalities within society…

Answer 16

Men and women
Young and old
Rich and poor

Question 17

Why are minority groups often worse off?

Answer 17

Politically they don’t have much power- there is very little representation of them. This could be because they are there illegally or because they are part of the informal economy.
They may also be illiterate. In poorer countries, people are likely desperate. Some people who have little do not want to share with those who have even less- discrimination is even more so as a result of an attempt to hold on to the little resources available to them.

Question 18

Migrants are discriminated against…

Answer 18

Zimbabwean refugees in Zambia & Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
The migrants have very little and may have a language barrier.
They can be easily exploited- don’t understand/ don’t know rights.
Migrants tend to be discriminated against.

Question 19

Religious groups are discriminated against…

Answer 19

Caste system in Hindu India, it is illegal but still persists- people in the untouchable caste have lower life expectancy, literacy rates.

Question 20

Shanty town- Mumbai, Dharavi.

Answer 20

Standards of living low
Violence, gang warfare
Unhealthy environments
Young people most vulnerable- no opportunities, drugs, violence.
Although statistically there are more services in urban/ mega cities, the very poorest people living there can’t access them.
Mega cities have lots of air pollution, factories, cars
Toxic waste
Particulate matter

Question 21

What is international aid?

Answer 21

The giving of resources (money, goods, food, technology, expertise etc) by one country or organisation to another country with the primary aim of improving the economy and quality of life in that country.

Question 22

Why would one country want to help another?

Answer 22

Moral duty- previous history (slave trade eg)
Catalyst for development and then potential customer
Ethical reasons.
War

Question 23

Rostow’s model (Modernisation Theory)

Answer 23

Stated that a country passes from underdevelopment to development through a series of stages of
economic growth.
He thought that capital should be transferred from developed to developing
countries to assist development.
Did not take into account factors such as high rates of population growth or political changes

Question 24

Poverty Cycle

Answer 24

Idea that less developed countries are trapped in
a continually cycle of poverty because of a lack of
money and low incomes. Did not take into account
the rapid economic growth of countries like China,
India and South Korea. Also does not consider
the amount of foreign aid or loans from international banks.

Question 25

Dependency Theory (Frank)

Answer 25

Countries like the USA control and exploit less
developed areas of the world. This produces a
relationship of dominance and dependency which
can lead to poverty and underdevelopment.

Question 26

Globalisation

Answer 26

Countries are becoming increasing connected and interdependent at a global scale. Global flows that
connect places involve the movement of people, capital, technology, ideas and information.

Question 27

Named Case Study: Cotton in Mali

Answer 27

10 million small-scale cotton growers suffering
from falling prices
Small scale farmers can earn up to $1000/year
2001 US aid = $37.7 m but in 2001 = Mali lost $343
million due to American
subsidises = 6% of GDP

Impacts:

• Breathing problems
• Farming cotton gives a farmer 3x the average annual income
• 4% of population driven into poverty
• Plans to privatise industry

Subsidies lead to overproduction of cotton -> forces
cotton prices down -> Mali cotton farmers earn less -> decline in living standards

Question 28

Named Case Study: Cotton in USA

Answer 28

The US is the second largest cotton producer- more than 50% of the worlds exported cotton
25,000 cotton producers receive $4 billion/year in subsidies
Up to 20% of cotton farmer’s income comes
from subsidies
USA spends 3x as much on subsidies for cotton then
it does on aid for whole of Africa

Impacts:
-production of clothing has been taken up by China
and Pakistan

• Reduced cotton prices by 15%
• Law passed banning export subsidies on cotton
• WTO ruled in March 2007 that cotton subsidies were unfair

Question 29

Named Case Study: The impact on the development gap in Uganda

Answer 29

Population of 31 million
Resources – copper, cobalt and hydro-electric power, coffee, tobacco, sugar cane and tea

Social:
Infant mortality rates 106 per 1000 live births for the poorest and 20 per 1000 live births for the wealthiest
24% of families are undernourished
2005 life expectancy 49.7
Only 60% have access to safe water

Economic:
In 2005 – GDP per capita was $1454
Economy based on export sale of primary goods =
low prices
In 1992, debt was $1.9 billion

Environmental
Widespread malaria and cholera
At risk from droughts especially linked to climate
change
Raw material exploitation has led to destruction of the natural environment e.g. mining, removal of
trees for agriculture

Question 30

Dhaka, Bangladesh: a megacity under stress

Answer 30

By 2015 population expected to reach 21 million with one of the highest population densities in the world
Caused by high rates of natural increase and large volumes
of rural-urban migration.

Question 31

Dhaka, Bangladesh: a megacity under stress
Urban poor

Challenges and solutions

Answer 31

 28% of population classed as poor, 12%
extremely poor
 Only 5% live in permanent housing
 4.2 million live in slums

 Improvements in drains and
sanitation
 Back to home programme encourages
people to return to villages with help
 Local community health volunteers

Question 32

Dhaka, Bangladesh: a megacity under stress
Employment

Challenges and solutions

Answer 32

 Unemployment of 23%
 33% of city workforce is self-employed
 Child labour high in poorest households
 Home to 80% of the 2 million garment industry employees

 2 export zones created to encourage
export of goods
 Bashundhara City created with hightech
industries and businesses

Question 33

Dhaka, Bangladesh: a megacity under stress
Environmental quality

Challenges and solutions

Answer 33

 Only 27% connected to public sewer
 Poor water management cost $670million each year
 Poor air regulation = air pollution above national standard 100 days per year
 Polluted water sources = disease spreads quickly

 Ban on leaded petrol
 Work in improve water quality, supply and sanitation cost $100m
 Public information on causes and impacts of poor air and water quality
 Promoted clean gas-powered cooking stoves

Question 34

Theoretical ways of reducing the development gap: Neo Liberal

Answer 34

Looked to remove tariff barriers to encourage international trade. This
allowed countries to develop through trade and governments should look to privatise and reducing
state intervention in the economy. This however, tended to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.
Examples e.g. World Bank, world Trade Organisation

Question 35

Theoretical ways of reducing the development gap: Marxism

Answer 35

Marxism – idea that capitalism is based on the exploitation of workers by the owners and that
history has mainly been a conflict between these 2 classes. Sought to replace existing class
structures with a system that managed society for the good of all

Question 36

Theoretical ways of reducing the development gap: Populism

Answer 36

Populism – idea that supports ‘the people’ in the struggle against society’s ellite. Also known as
‘grassroots action’ it is an important element of ‘bottom-up’ planning e.g. NGOs

Question 37

Theoretical ways of reducing the development gap: Non-development

Answer 37

Non-development – some people are against the idea of development as it creates and widens inequalities, undermines local cultures and is environmentally unsustainable.

Question 38

Multilateral (Provided by many nations and organised by international bodies e.g. UN)

Answer 38

Brandt Report suggested each country should give 0.7% of its GNP towards. However most countries do not get close to reaching that target

Question 39

Bilateral (Given directly from one country to another)

Answer 39

Began in 1991 and set up without consulting local people.
Malaysia around the same time bought £1 billion worth of armsfrom the UK
Only £234 million in aid actually given = ‘tied aid’

Question 40

Bottom up/ voluntary

Answer 40

Supported by national and international NGOs local farmers have formed a democratically run cooperative.
Enables all farmers to share the cost of hiring a truck to
transport their goods to market. In 2008 able to sell their
sesame seed crop for 3 xs than in 2007. Extra income gone into schooling and healthcare. NGOS gave ox ploughs, high-yield seeds to improve efficiency.

Question 41

Fair trade

Answer 41

Uganda
Biggest export crop is coffee worth $350 million in 2007.
Gumutindo Coffee cooperative has 3000 members – 91% depend on coffee for their main income.
Money helps pay for school fees and raise the standard of living

Question 42

Debt cancellation

Answer 42

In December 2000, the UK government agreed to cancel
debts owed to the UK by 26 countries, but debts owed to
other creditors, such as the Inter-American Development
Bank, have not been cancelled

Question 43

Technology

Answer 43

Mongolia
The Asia-Pacific Development Organisation Programme
(APDIP) has developed ‘citizen information centres’ which function as training centres which visitors can learn basic
computer skills and access the internet. Remote rural areas can connect to the central government and apply for grants.
Aims to encourage business and collages to use IT and
counteract the issue of the periphery

Question 44

South to South Links

Answer 44

China in Africa
China increased its aid to African governments, cancelled
$10 billion debts.
China hopes that by doing this it will open up new markets and find new raw of the world’s gold and is also rich in diamonds.
China now buys 1/3rd of its oil from Africa

Question 45

Bangladesh progress

Answer 45

1) Eradicate poverty = poverty reduction rate of 1.2% a year
2) University primary education = 3.4% increase
3) Gender equality = gap in education levels closed
4) Reduce child morality = reduced by 2.8%

Question 46

Akosombo: Ghana’s big dam

Answer 46

Large scale mega project.
Multilateral aid: World Bank, UK & USA
Tied aid: As part of the deal, an American company called Valco got the right to produce aluminium in Ghana, using electricity from the dam.
River Volta became Lake Volta.

Question 47

WaterAid in Ghana

Answer 47

WaterAid supplies the know-how, the materials for lining the well, and the pump
Villagers form a committee to decide where the well will be, and organise the work.
Everyone in the village joins in to help clear the site and dig and carry the soil away.
Some villagers are trained to look after the well and carry out repairs.

Question 48

Ways of reducing the development gap

Answer 48

Water Aid in Ghana
Akosombo Dam Ghana- tied aid
South to South links
Technology- Sri Lankan Pumpkin Storage, Free play wind-up radio
Debt cancellation
Fair trade