Unit 5 - Development opportunities

Question 1

What are the UN Sustainable Development Goals?

Answer 1

a set of 17 goals agreed in 2016 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to tackle to world’s issues

Question 2

Strengths of the SDGs

Answer 2

• more collaborative compared to the Millenium Development Goals
• more involvement from the private sector
• holistic
• universal

Question 3

Weaknesses of the SDGs

Answer 3

• too many goals means that the SDGs may lack focus and are too general
• requires a stronger and more consistent political commitment to tackling human needs and inequalities
• difficult to get all stakeholders (national governments, transnational corporations, local and international NGOs) to cooperate

Question 4

What is the HDI?

Answer 4

Human Development Index - summary of the average achievement in key dimensions of human development

Question 5

What are the three components of the HDI?

Answer 5

longevity - life expectancy
education index
standard of living - purchasing power

Question 6

Development groups of the HDI?

Answer 6

low - 0.0 to 0.5
middle - 0.5 to 0.8
high - 0.8 to 1.0

Question 7

Strengths + weaknesses of the HDI?

Answer 7

+ more reliable than single indicators i.e. GNI
+ does not solely concentrate on economic development
+ widespread use to reveal clear global pattern
- does not account qualitative factors
- does not measure unequal distribution in the country
- no indication in the education index about access to education for all groups in society

Question 8

What is the HPI?

Answer 8

Human Poverty Index - measures deprivation in the same dimensions of basic human development as the HDI; divided into two indices (HPI-1 and HPI-2)

Question 9

HPI-1 + its focus

Answer 9

measures poverty in LICs; focuses on deprivations in three dimensions:

• longevity
• knowledge (adult illiteracy rate)
• living standards

Question 10

HPI-2 + focus

Answer 10

a separate index to HPI-1 as human deprivation varies with social + economic conditions of a community ; focus on:

• same dimensions as HPI-1
• social exclusion (long-term unemployment rate)

Question 11

What are the indices to measure gender inequality?

Answer 11

Gender-related Development Index (GDI)
Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)
Gender Inequality Index (GII)

Question 12

Gender-related Development Index (GDI) + strengths and weaknesses

Answer 12

measures achievements in the same dimensions and indicators as HDI but examines inequalities between women and men
+ informative to design tools to close the gap
- highly specialised and difficult to interpret
- do not provide accurate comparisons across countries
- try to combine too many development factors into a single measure

Question 13

Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)

Answer 13

a measure of inequalities between men’s and women’s opportunities in a country; it focuses on political/economic participation and decision-making, power over economic resources

Question 14

Strengths and weaknesses of Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)

Answer 14

+ tracks percentages of women in political roles and among other professions
+ gender disparity in earned income
- same as GDI
- represent an elite bias - only among the most educated and economically advantage women

Question 15

Gender Inequality Index (GII)

Answer 15

measures gender inequalities in three most important aspects of human development:

• reproductive health (maternal mortality ratio)
• adolescent birth rates
• empowerment (proportion of parliamentary seats occupied by females)

Question 16

Strengths and weaknesses of Gender Inequality Index (GII)

Answer 16

+ includes reproductive health and goes beyond literacy and primary education
- does not capture the length and breadth of gender inequality

Question 17

Ways to empower women as set out by UN Women and UN Global Compact

Answer 17

• establish high-level corporate leadership for gender inequality
• treat women and men fairly at work
• ensure health, safety and well-being of all men and women
  etc.

Question 18

Microfinance + strengths and weaknesses

Answer 18

microfinance lending schemes aim to reduce poverty, address social issues including gender discrimination and enable market access for the poor
+ increase the chances of repayment, but it also fosters an encouraging and motivating environment through the nature of its schemes.
- interest rates of loans are higher than those of commercial banks.
- likely to use the loan for other purposes such as for food or health care rather than for starting or improving their business. They might also use it to pay their other existing loans, which loses the purpose of microfinance, to begin with.
- limited entrepreneurial experience, so the loan might be wasted.
- a tool to subjugate women, as well as to seduce poor people into capitalism

Question 19

Fairtrade + strengths and weaknesses

Answer 19

A fair and ethical trade could be defined as a trade that attempts to be socially, economically and environmentally responsible