Development Dynamics

Question 1

What is development?

Answer 1

The ideal of what modern 21st century life should be like

Question 2

What indicators can be used to measure development?

Answer 2

Social, economic and environmental/ political indicators

Question 3

What are some economic indicators of development?

Answer 3

GDP/ GDP per capita
GNI/ GNI per capita

Question 4

What are some social indicators of development?

Answer 4

Birth rate
Death rate
Fertility rate
Infant mortality rate
Maternal mortality rate
Literacy rates
HDI

Question 5

What are some political indicators of development?

Answer 5

CPI

Question 6

What is GDP/ per capita?

Answer 6

Gross Domestic Product - the total value of goods and services a country produces in a year, measured in US$, divided by its population

Question 7

What is HDI?

Answer 7

Human Development Index - a composite index, combining GNI per capita, life expectancy and number of years in education. It generates a score between 0 to 1, with one being the highest possible human development.

Question 8

What is GNI/ per capita?

Answer 8

Gross National Income - the total value of goods and services produced by a country, including those overseas, given in US$, over the population of the country.

Question 9

What is the Gini coefficient?

Answer 9

A measure of inequality, a country is given a score between 0 to 1. The closer a country’s score is to 0, the less inequality there is, the closer to 1, the more inequality there is.

Question 10

What is CPI?

Answer 10

Corruption Perceptions Index - a country is given a ‘grade’ between 0 and 100 - with 0 being highly corrupt and 100 being very clean.

Question 11

How does death rate change with development?

Answer 11

The more developed a country is, the lower the death rate, as modern medicine can increase life expectancy.

Question 12

How does infant mortality rate change with development?

Answer 12

Infant mortality rate reduces as a country develops because more children survive (better healthcare)

Question 13

How do fertility rates change with development?

Answer 13

Fertility rates reduce with development as educated women tend to delay having children, or choose not to have any at all so they can focus on their careers. Better contraception also reduces fertility rates. Couples tend to have smaller families so they can focus on their standard of living, whereas in less developed countries have larger families so there are people available for work.

Question 14

How does age structure change with development?

Answer 14

Less developed countries have a wide base and narrow tip - this is due to low mortality rates (poor healthcare) and high birth rates (no contraception, lots of children for work). More developed countries have a more square structure due to high mortality rates (good healthcare) and low birth rates (people prioritise work over children and are more interested in better quality of life)

Question 15

What are some causes of global inequality?

Answer 15

Climate/ Topography - environmental
Colonialism/ Neo-colonialism - historical (political?)
International relationships/ systems of governance - political/economic
Healthcare and education - social

Question 16

How does climate cause inequality?

Answer 16

Extreme weather hazards, such as tropical cyclones may inhibit a country’s development due to the frequent devastation they cause. Tropical climates may have an increased number of people suffering from tropical diseases.
Extreme weather is also unsuitable for farming, reducing food supplies and leading to malnutrition, or poverty as people have nothing to sell.

Question 17

How does topography cause inequality?

Answer 17

It is harder to build infrastructure on hostile landscapes, such as mountains and deserts, therefore making transport more difficult and stunting development.
Steep land is also unsuitable for farming and food production.

Question 18

How does colonialism cause inequality?

Answer 18

Colonialism can lead to richer nations stealing from poorer ones, and therefore they develop more than the nations they have colonised.

Question 19

How does neo-colonialism cause inequality?

Answer 19

Richer countries can still control independent countries indirectly. For example, TNCs can exploit cheap labour and raw materials of poorer countries. International organisations also offer conditional loans, which means poorer countries have to develop in the way their donors want them to.

Question 20

How do international relations cause inequality?

Answer 20

Countries which have opened up to global trade have grown faster than those that have shut their borders. They can also get loans from richer countries.

Question 21

How do systems of governance cause inequality?

Answer 21

Countries with more corrupt governments develop more slowly as there is an inadequate investment in education, healthcare and infrastructure.

Question 22

How does healthcare influence inequality?

Answer 22

Lack of clean water and poor sanitation can increase the amount of people who become ill from diseases. These people are less able to work and therefore contribute less to the economy. Lower contribution and higher spending for treatments can mean there’s less money being spent on development.

Question 23

How does education influence inequality?

Answer 23

Educated people can make a skilled workforce - where more people are employed and offer more services. This can bring money through trade or investment. More educated people can earn more so can pay more tax, providing money to the country to develop.

Question 24

What are income quintiles?

Answer 24

Calculated by the World Bank, all countries in the world are put in order by GDP, and divided into 5 equal groups. It shows how 80% of all wealth is owned by only 20% of countries.

Question 25

What are the economic consequences of inequality?

Answer 25

Poor living standards and quality of life due to poor income can cause many to migrate

Question 25

What are the impacts on education due to inequality?

Answer 25

Poorer countries can’t invest in education, and means children have to work to support their families.
Lack of education means people can’t get better paid, skilled jobs in future, so cycle of poverty continues. Millions of people cannot reach their full potential.

Question 26

What are the impacts on healthcare due to inequality?

Answer 26

People in developing countries are at a higher risk of developing diseases, and have lower life expectancies.

Question 27

What are the political impacts of inequality?

Answer 27

Inequality can increase political instability, crime and discontent in poorer countries, meaning civil wars are more likely in developing countries. This conflict increases inequality as money is spent on war rather than development.
Developing countries are often dependent on rich countries, and therefore have less influence over regional and global decisions.

Question 28

What are the 5 stages of Rostow’s development theory?

Answer 28

1. Traditional society - focus on subsistence farming, with little trade.
2. Preconditions for take-off - manufacturing starts to develop. Infrastructure may be built, such as roads or power networks. Trading increases.
   3.Take-off - large-scale industrialisation and increasing wealth. Rapid industrialisation, communication links overseas improves.
3. Drive to maturity - economy grows and people get wealthier, with increased standards of living and widespread use of technology. New industry replaces outdated one.
4. Mass consumption - people are wealthier and there are high levels of consumption, as well as loads of trade and mass production of goods.

Question 29

Who was Rostow?

Answer 29

Believed capitalism powered development, but capitalism also created inequalities.
Developed his theory by studying how European countries developed. However, the development of some countries shows that not all countries have to follow these steps.

Question 30

What is Frank’s theory of development?

Answer 30

Frank suggested that most developed countries were colonial powers, and had exploited other countries to make them rich. In his theory, the economic core (developed countries) exploits the economic periphery (developing countries). The core develops at the expense of the periphery.

Question 31

What is a Top-Down development strategy?

Answer 31

Large-scale projects; aiming to develop a whole country or region, e.g. building a dam to provide electricity.
Decisions are made by large companies/ governments.
Highly expensive; costing millions
Involves sophisticated technology

Question 32

What is a Bottom-Up development strategy?

Answer 32

Small-scale, local projects; aim to develop a small area/ community.
Decisions made by local people affected by the project.
Much cheaper; may be funded by locals or charities.
Simple technology.

Question 33

What is globalisation?

Answer 33

The increasing interconnectedness and interdependence of the world.

Question 34

Why has globalisation been increasing?

Answer 34

Better technology can improve communication between countries, such as by email.
Better infrastructure can also improve communication as there are better transport links such as aeroplanes and train systems.

Question 35

What is an NGO?

Answer 35

Non-governmental organisation - organisations (often charities) who are independent of governments and have expertise in developmental issues.
(bottom-up developmental strategy)

Question 36

What are the positives of NGOs?

Answer 36

Locals know what they need most; since NGOs work directly with locals, they have a better chance of meeting local needs and being used and improved.
Intermediate infrastructure means locals can be trained to maintain and repair technology.

Question 37

What are the negatives of NGOs?

Answer 37

Project only helps a small number of people.
Governments may rely on NGOs too much, instead of developing their own solutions to their problems.

Question 38

What are IGOs?

Answer 38

Intergovernmental organisations - groups of different countries working together, e.g. the United Nations or the World Bank, which help organise developmental projects.
(top-down)

Question 39

What are the positives of IGOs?

Answer 39

They can access very large sums of money, allowing for huge projects to be built.
Very large numbers of people can benefit.

Question 40

What are the negatives of IGOs?

Answer 40

Huge amounts of money involved in IGO funded infrastructure can encourage corruption; people may steal money.
Projects may be energy intensive, and harm ecosystems.
Expenses mean loans being taken and perhaps debt.

Question 41

What are TNCs?

Answer 41

Transnational corporations - companies that operate in more than one country.

Question 42

What are the positives of TNCs?

Answer 42

Creates jobs, develops skills and introduces modern technology into developing and emerging countries.
Other industries and services grow around TNCs, resulting in a multiplier effect.

Question 43

What are the negatives of TNCs?

Answer 43

They may pull out their investment in an area if they find a cheaper location.
They permit poor working conditions and low pay, which would be intolerable in developed countries.