development: defining development Flashcards
GDP
total value of goods and services produced within a country
human development index (HDI)
measures the average well being of all people within a country
HDI is based on three factors:
1. Wealth
2. Education
3. Life expectancy
happy planet index (HPI)
wellbeing, life expectancy, ecological footprint
development (IB definition)
a sustained increase in the standard of living & well-being of a level of social organization
3 ways development can be defined
Economic growth (GDP)
Improved well fair - HDI
Lifestyles that respect the environment (HPI)
4 limitations of defining development
- There is no universally accepted definition of development
- Levels of development change over time but our perceptions make it hard to evaluate.
- “Average” development levels within a country can mask the inequality within a country.
- There are various measures for development- it is difficult to fully measure with just one indicator. Wealth does not always reflect wealth
criticisms of Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel)
- Geographic barriers are not more severe in America and Africa than in Europe - There were great civilizations
- Greatest weapon Europeans had was neither guns, germs or steel but native alliances that they used to their advantage.
- The most deadly diseases did not originate from domesticated animals (bubonic plague, Covid-19)
- Too reliant on environmental determinism - there are many ways to study history.
- China did not stagnate (Eurocentric idea)
- Claims that one is more “advanced” than another- Eurocentric idea.
6 features of physical geography that may impact a state’s development
Landlocked
Lack of navigable rivers
Lack of natural harbors
Arid conditions
Tropical conditions
Natural resources
environmentalism
focuses on the well-being of the planet and the many ecological systems that sustain life. It seeks to understand, and critique, human impacts on environmental systems.
non-state actors involved w/ environmentalism
Greenpeace
Sierra Club,
World Wildlife Fund,
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which is a branch of the United Nations.
3 examples of global efforts for environment
- The Montreal Protocol in 1987 brought drastic reductions in gases that were depleting the Earth’s ozone layer.
- The Earth Summit in 1992 drew state attention to climate change and eventually led to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997
- Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 which aim to limit global CO2 emissions in order to reduce the impacts of climate change.
green party politics
Environmentalism is also represented in established party politics in many states. This theory of development is held most deeply by green parties. While green parties rarely achieve significant representation in national governments, they appear to be growing in popularity and overall recognition.
Although not created by a green party, a proposal has been made in the United States to address the issue of climate change known as the Green New Deal.
European Green Party
a political party that is active across the entire European continent, both within the European Union and beyond.
Why Nations Fail
Authors Daron Acemoglu (MIT economist) and James A. Robinson (U of Chicago Political Scientist) argue that it is political and economic institutions that underlie economic success.
* you need politically inclusive and economically inclusive institutions
before you achieve economic prosperity
transparency
Developed countries have relatively high levels of government transparency. This means the actions of government officials can be reviewed by the public or an independent body. The purpose here is to prevent corrupt government officials from personally benefiting from their office.
