2a - Development Dynamics

Question 1

What are the different types of development indicators/ measures?

Answer 1

• Economic
• Social
• Political
• Environmental
• Composite
  etc.

Question 2

What is GDP per capita? What does it show?

Answer 2

• Gross National Income
• Total value of goods and services (GDP) taking wealth made outside of the country into account

Question 3

What is GNI? What does it show?

Answer 3

• Gross National Income
• Total value of goods and services (GDP) taking wealth made outside of the country into account

Question 4

What is PPP? What does it show?

Answer 4

• Purchasing power parity
• Total value of goods and services taking wealth made outside of the country into account (GNI), taking living cost variations into account
• (1 dollar in India buys more that 1 dollar in the US)

Question 5

What is the Gini Coefficient?

Answer 5

• Shows the inequality within distribution of wealth
• from 0-1: 0 means no inequality (everyone has same income)
• 1 means a single person has all the GDP

Question 6

Name some economic development indicators

Answer 6

GDP, GNI, PPP, Gini Coefficient

Question 7

Name a political development indicator, and state what it shows.

Answer 7

Corruption perception index (CPI) - from 0 (corrupt) to 100 (clean)

Question 8

Name some social development indicators.

Answer 8

Literacy rates, fertility rates, infant mortality rates

Question 9

Name a composite development indicator and what it shows.

Answer 9

• HDI (Human development index)
• takes life expectancy, education and income into account
• classes countries into 4 levels of human development

Question 10

Name 4 demographic indicators of development

Answer 10

• Maternal/Infant mortality rates
  -fertility rates
  -death rates
  -population structures

Question 11

Define Maternal Mortality rates.

Answer 11

The average number of women dying in childbirth.

Question 12

Define infant mortality rates.

Answer 12

The number of children who die before their first birthday.

Question 13

Define Death rates.

Answer 13

The number of deaths per 1000 people yearly.

Question 14

What do population pyramid structures show?

Answer 14

• The ratio of female: males
• The spread of the population (if the population is top-heavy is it greying) etc.

Question 15

What does the population pyramid structure look like for developing, emerging and developed countries

Answer 15

Developing: bottom heavy, high birth rates, low life expectancy, high death rates
Emerging: bottom-middle heavy, lower birth rates, higher life expectancy, lower death rates
Developed: middle heavy, low birth rates, high life expectancy, low death rates

Question 16

What causes global inequalities?

Answer 16

Social factors - education rates and healthcare
Historical factors - colonialism, neo-colonialism
environmental factors - climate, topography (prisoner of geography)
economic and political factors - systems of governance and international relations

Question 17

What are the implications of social factors (education rates and healthcare) on a country’s development?

Answer 17

• Educated people produce a more skilled work force, bringing more money in through trade and investment with the services offered
  -Educated people earn more, and so tax money increases, money that can be spent on development
• Ill people cannot work, and need healthcare that is not offered - less working people

Question 18

What are the implications of colonialism and neo-colonialism on a country’s development?

Answer 18

Colonialism caused:

• economic exploitation (taking valuable resources from colonies, leaving the countries economically disadvantaged)
• infrastructure imbalance (colonisers built infrastructure primarily for resource extraction, neglecting other sectors
• political instability (borders drawn by colonisers led to ethnic and political tensions, overthrowing of the monarchy leads to instability)
• dependency (neo-colonialism encourages economic dependency through unequal trade relationships and debt, hindering independent development, conditional loans)

Question 19

What are the implications of climate and topography on a country’s development?

Answer 19

• Harsher climates hinder development and food production (e.g. desert, tundra)
• Flatter not mountainous topography is easier to build settlements on and connections; development is easier
• Rivers and proximity to the sea are trade routes
  (“prisoners of geography”)
• Certain lands are richer with natural resources; helps economic development

Question 22

What does Rostow’s theory do?

Answer 22

Rostow’s modernisation theory predicts how a country’s level of economic development changes over time.

Question 22

What the criticisms of Rostow’s model?

Answer 22

• suggests there is only 1 path to development (capitalistic)
• implies mass consumption is the goal; unsustainable and not good for environment

Question 22

What are the implications of systems of governance and international relations on a country’s development?

Answer 22

• Systems of governance (dictatorship, communism) etc. affect the rate of development (defined by capitalism)
• corruption means development is hindered
• international relations make it hard to trade and develop for certain countries (e.g. Taiwan cannot trade freely due to China), or easier for some countries (good relations, easier trade)

Question 22

What are the implications of inequalities for a developing country?

Answer 22

• Cannot afford to invest in education and healthcare (stuck in a cycle)
• Crime and political instability
• dependency on richer countries

Question 23

What are the 5 Stages in Rostow’s modernisation theory?

Answer 23

Stage 1 - traditional society: subsistence farming; fishing; forestry (little trade)
Stage 2 - preconditions for take-off: manufacturing on small scale; infrastructure built; trading internationally begins
Stage 3 - take-off: rapid intensive growth; large scale industrialisation
Stage 4 - drive to maturity: economic growth, standard of living rises; technology
Stage 5 - age of mass consumption: lots of trade; mass produced goods; high levels of consumption - ppl are wealthy

Question 24

What is Frank’s dependency theory?

Answer 24

The theory that core countries (developed) exploit the periphery countries;
- as they import low value raw materials from the periphery
- export high value manufactured goods to the periphery
- ultimately gaining the most and developing, leaving the periphery behind.

Question 25

What the criticisms of Frank’s model?

Answer 25

• Not all colonise countries remain poor (e.g. singapore)
• trade can equally benefit two countries and lead to development (e.g. S Korea)

Question 26

What are some ways in which we can reduce global inequalities?

Answer 26

• Top down development projects
• Bottom Up development projects

Question 27

What are characteristics of Top-down development projects?

Answer 27

• Carried out on a large scale (affect lots of people)
• They aim to kick off a positive multiplier effect following Rostow’s development model, improving infrastructure
• They are very expensive; IGO or TNC funded projects
• The decisions are made by the government or a small group of people

Question 28

What are the characteristics of Bottom Up development projects?

Answer 28

• Carried out on a small scale
• Use intermediate technology
• Aim to improve immediate aspects of the local people’s lives
• They aren’t expensive; funded by NGOs or charities, running on donations

Question 29

Advantages of Top-Down development projects.

Answer 29

Advantages:
- Benefit a large amount of people
- improves the country’s economy
- improves quality of life

Question 30

Disadvantages of Top-Down Development projects.

Answer 30

Disadvantages:
- Expensive; leads to debt
- May not benefit everyone
- Energy intensive (greenhouse gasses etc.)

Question 31

Advantages of Bottom Up development projects

Question 32

Disadvantages of bottom-up development projects