HHRI EQ1 Flashcards
(28 cards)
Define development
Development is the process of growth, or changing from one condition to another (hopefully for the better)
Disadvantages of GDP
It is a crude average and masks the income gap between the rich and the poor
It doesn’t consider the informal economy e.g. 94% of Uganda’s population work in untaxed jobs
3 building blocks to development
Human Capital
Infrastructure
Good Governance / Innovation
What is the happy planet index?
** Happy Planet Index (HPI) – a composite measure of sustainable well-being**
- Experienced well-being – how satisfied people are with their lives (Gallup World Poll)
- Life expectancy - how long people on average live for (UN)
- Ecological footprint per capita – the amount of land needed to sustain the country’s resource consumption (World Wildlife Fund)
Downsides of HPI?
Weighs ecological footprint too heavily to the point that the US would have to be universally happy and have a life expectancy of 439 years to = Vanuatu’s score. This is cuz low development = lower pollution.
Also it covers only some of the worlds nations and carried out every 5 years meaning data is unreliable.
Wellbeing is subjectiveish?
Complete opposition to development measurements?
There are some governments who do not wish to adopt Western approaches to measuring development.
For instance, Sharia Law.
Summarise Sharia Law
Code of living that all muslims adhere to.
Incompatable with UN’s perception of human rights as in some interpretations women can be beaten for disobedience and covernting from Islam is punishable by death.
It is applied on varying scales (Turky -> Saudia Arabia)
Summarise Evo Morales
Bolivia since 2005
Morales nationalised key industries and revenues channeled into welfare programmes to tackle poverty, taxes increased oil profits of TNCs. Poverty fell by 43%.
Essentially, it is a socialist view of development with values of communal ownership and cooperation.
Importance of education
Investing in education creates a literate and skilled workforce, which is crucial for countries wanting to economically develop
- Better human capital = more productive potential economy
- Education is the key to asserting your human rights which improve as people are educated on equality, respect etc
- Increases life expectancy as people know more about hygiene, diet and personal health.
- Women in education = better educated children = lower infant mortality rate
What are the barriers to education?
Gender discrimination - there are 129 million girls worldwide without access to education; possible reasons are early marriage, pregnancy, religion
Extremism - Extreme religious groups often prevent children, especially females, from accessing education, such as the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan - Malala
Cultural identity - some cultures state that the sexes should be separated where possible, so a lack of female teachers means less education for girls
Poverty - some families prevent their children from attending school, instead sending them to work from an early age
What is HDI
Combines 3 factors - life expectancy, education and GNI / average income level.
However, no inequality or enviromental measure.
What is GINI?
Measures income inequality - good measure of economic injust.
No indication of economic structures / politics / quite scoped.
Hong Kong Life Expectancy
85.77
Good diets (fish, veg etc) and low smoking rate
HIGH GDP = wealth
Strong community engagement - low lonliness
Good healthcare
Japan Life Expectancy
85
Cultural respect for elders, younger people look after the older population and there is amazing healthcare and housing quality.
Lesotho Life Expectancy
58.22
22.8% of 15 - 49 year olds have HIV / AIDS
High unemployment rate
1.5 doctors every 10,000 people
Somalia Life Expectancy
59.11
- Political isolation - conflict killing thousands of young men and destroying enviroment.
Haiti Life Expectancy
65.11
- Natural Disasters
- High unemployment
- Poverty / bad quality housing
GLOBAL LIFE EXPECTANCY
73.16
Aborigonals in Australia
Aboriginal Australians have faced discrimination, genocide and marginalisation within their own lands.
Aboriginals did not receive any acceptance from the Australian government until 1967
This has led to poverty amongst Aboriginal Australians as they have struggled to access services (education, healthcare, housing) and experienced discrimination
LE is 10 years younger than AVG australian
MDGs?
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
Timeframe: 2000–2015
* Focus: 8 global goals aimed at reducing extreme poverty and improving health and education.
SOME Key Areas:
- Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- Achieve universal primary education
- Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria
- Ensure environmental sustainability
SDGs?
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Timeframe: 2015–2030 - replaced MDGs
* Focus: 17 goals for global sustainable development (social, economic, environmental).
SOME Key Areas:
- No poverty, zero hunger
- Quality education, gender equality
- Climate action, reduced inequalities
Successes of MDGs
Global extreme poverty was halved (from 36% in 1990 to 12% in 2015).
New HIV infections fell by 40% from the peak in 1997.
Many gains were not equally distributed — Sub-Saharan Africa and conflict-affected regions lagged behind.
SDGs successes so far
Rapid expansion of renewable energy sources, especially solar and wind.
More women in leadership positions; legal reforms to support women’s rights in many countries.
Many countries lack the resources to implement SDG strategies.
no real consequence for non-compliance.
Why are democracies better for development than a dictator?
In democracies, leavers are accountable to voters - re election / public opinion. There are active civil societs, trade unions and strong media pushing for progress.
