Development & Globalisation: Measuring Development

Question 1

Economic Development

Answer 1

An increase in a country’s level of wealth.
Decrease in primary sector jobs, increase in secondary and eventually tertiary jobs.
Increase in sustainability.

Question 2

Demographic Development

Answer 2

Increased life expectancy.
Decreased death rate.
Falling birth rate.

Question 3

Social Development

Answer 3

Improved education and literacy.
Improved access to medical facilities.
Improved levels of sanitation.
Better housing.

Question 4

Political Development

Answer 4

People have a greater say in who forms the government and therefore the impact it can have on their lives.

Question 5

Cultural Development

Answer 5

Greater equality for women and better race relations.

Question 6

GDP

Answer 6

Gross Domestic Product is the total finished goods and services produced by a country in one year.

Question 7

GNP

Answer 7

Gross National Product is the GDP of a country plus it’s net income earned from overseas resources.

Question 8

PPP

Answer 8

GDP per capita. Countries with a high GDP won’t always have a high PPP; China has the highest GDP in the world but places 113th in PPP, whereas the UK places 10th in GDP and 39th in PPP.

Question 9

Early Classifications of Development

Answer 9

First world - WEurope, NAmerica, Japan, Australia, New Zealand.
Second world - state-controlled communist countries such as former USSR countries, and EEurope.
Third world - all other countries in Africa, Asia and LAmerica. Any country that is not considered capitalist or communist.

Question 10

The Development Continuum

Answer 10

Modern classifications of countries:
LDCs
LEDCs
FCCs/CPEs
RICs
OPECs
NICs
MEDCs
G8s/G7s

Question 11

LDCs

Answer 11

Least Developed Countries:
Very low living standards.
Low life expectancy, high infant mortality rate.
Low literacy levels (especially women).
Many are landlocked or small island nations.

Question 12

LEDCs

Answer 12

Low Economically Developed Countries:
Low development.
High primary sector employment & emerging secondary.
GDP & HDI remain low.
Some improvement evident.

Question 13

FCCs

Answer 13

Former Communist Countries - transition is difficult due to lack of entrepreneurship.

Question 14

CPEs

Answer 14

Centrally Planned Economy e.g. North Korea.

Question 15

RICs

Answer 15

Rapidly Industrialising Countries - more recent than NICs and wider global distribution.

Question 16

OPECs

Answer 16

Members of OPEC (the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries):
High GDP.
High wealth disparity.

Question 17

NICs

Answer 17

Newly Industrialised Countries:
Development over the last 40 years.
Overlap with MEDCs.
High literacy levels.
Low cost factory productions.

Question 18

MEDCs

Answer 18

More Economically Developed Countries:
High living standards.
High disposable income.
Highly developed.
Product development.
Wealth disparity.

Question 19

G8s/G7s

Answer 19

A group of 8 MEDCs which meet annually to discuss global issues. The members are the USA, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK. Russia is also a member sometimes.

Question 20

The Development Gap

Answer 20

More developed countries have high levels of economic growth and GDP per capita, but low levels of population growth, infant mortality and ratio of people to doctors. Less developed countries have the reverse of this. For example, Norway (HDI of 0.893) would be on the developed side of the ‘gap’, and Chad (HDI of 0.236) would be on the less developed side.

Question 21

The Brandt Line

Answer 21

Most MEDCs are in the Northern hemisphere while poorer countries tend to lie to the South. In 1980, Willy Brandt (then the chancellor of Germany) proposed a line showing this N-S divide. He said that all countries below the line should be integrated into the global economic system.

Question 22

Core

Answer 22

Original MEDCs - Western Europe, USA. Often the host countries for TNCs.
25% of global population.
80% of global income.
90% of global manufacturing output.
Controls finance & trade.
High level of education.

Question 23

Periphery

Answer 23

Less developed countries - Africa, SEAsia, LAmerica. Often the source countries for TNCs.
75% of global population.
20% of global income.
10% of global manufacturing output.
Dependent on core for aid, healthcare, loans, charities, etc.
Less than 50% of people attend school.

Question 24

Shocking Stats

Answer 24

The poorest 20% of the world received 1.5% of global income in 2006 (down from 2.3% in 1998).
The richest 20% of the world saw an increase from 70% to 85% of global income over the same amount of time.
Some sub-Saharan countries have seen their income fall to below 1980s levels in recent years.
The developing world spends $13 in debt repayment for every $1 it receives.

Question 25

GNI

Answer 25

Gross National Income per capita is used by the World Bank to classify countries in terms of their wealth. HIC - ≥ $11,456. MIC - $975 - $11,456. LIC - ≤ $975.

Question 26

HDI

Answer 26

The Human Development Index encompasses demographic, social and economic development. This helps to govern debates and determine policy, such as questioning why two countries with identical GNI have differing literacy rates.

Question 27

HDI Trends

Answer 27

Since the mid 1970s, nearly all nations have increased their HDI score. 28 of the 31 low HDI countries are in sub-Saharan Africa.

Question 28

Guatemala

Answer 28

In the 1980s 75% of their cotton crop was being exported raw due to unfair trade agreements, despite the fact that manufacturing the cotton into clothes would greatly increase their income. The cotton took up space which would normally be used to grow food.

Question 29

Ghana

Answer 29

EU tariffs forced Ghana to export raw cocoa at a low price or companies would look elsewhere. Since joining the WTO in 1995, some farmers have been unable to sell their produce because imported food is cheaper.

Question 30

Dependency Theory

Answer 30

Core countries depend on peripherals for increased wealth, whilst peripherals depend on the core for development. This meant peripherals grew export crops instead of food for themselves.