Theme B - Contrasts In World development Flashcards
Explain development indicators?
- Gross national income (GNI) per person (e)
MEDCs - usually over $10,000 per year, UK e.g. $33,800
LEDCs - usually less than $5000 per year, some countries under $500 e.g. Bangladesh, $1340 - Life expectancy (s)
MEDCs - over 75 years, UK - 79 years
LEDCs - under 60 years, Bangladesh - 63 years - Number of people per doctor (e)
MEDCs - not many people as there is lots of doctors, UK - 610
LEDCs - lots of people as there is very few doctors, Ban - 5556 - Literacy rate (s)
MEDCs - high. Many schools & qualified teachers, UK - 89.4%
LEDCs - low. Shortage of schools and teachers, Ban - 43.1% - % of workers employed in farming (e)
MEDCs - low. Farming highly mechanised, UK - 2.2%
LEDCs - high. Farming is labour intensive, Ban - 54% - % of population living in towns or cities (s)
MEDCs - high. Most people live in towns or cities, UK - 89.4%
LEDCs - low. Most people live in countryside, Ban - 20%
What is the HDI and why is it used?
An economic factor is good for telling us roughly whether a country is rich or poor but wrongly assumes everyone in the country had equal share of the wealth
Social indicators hide variations in society such as literacy rates which will hide that more boys may go to school than girls.
Using only one indicator of development can sometimes disguise the real story of a countries development.
This is why the HDI was devised. It considers:
- life expectancy as a measure of health
- adult literacy rates as a measure of education
- GDP per person as a measure of wealth
It is expressed as a figure between 0 and 1, countries closer to 1 being more developed. E.g UK - 0.946 and Bangladesh - 0.524
Advantages of HDI
- does not solely rely on wealth as an indicator, helps us get a picture of the countries quality of life by inducing health and education
- by including education it looks at the countries potential for future development as well as what it has already achieved through health and wealth
- it reveals how rich countries use their wealth. E.g oil rich countries with poor education will have a low HDI despite having a high GNI
Factors which hinder the development of LEDCs
Historical factors
- European countries such as the UK and Spain in the past took over large areas of the world as colonies. They imported raw materials from the colonies and the colonies did not get much money for this.
- in the past the UK imported its cotton from India
Environmental factors
- many LEDCs suffer earthquakes and floods.
- the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami destroyed large areas of India
- some diseases are common in hot, wet climates where LEDCs are.
Dependence on primary activities
- in most LEDCs large numbers of people work in primary activities such as mining or farming. This does not earn much money for the country.
- Zambia gets 98% of its income from exporting copper
Debt
- some LEDCs have large debts so spend their money on repayments instead of hospitals and schools
- Ecuador owes $10 billion
Politics
- some LEDCs have unstable governments which change frequently and have corrupt people working for them
Define globalisation and explain factors of it
Globalisation- the way people, goods, money and ideas move round the world faster and more cheaply than ever before
- world trade means brands can be sold everywhere e.g you can buy Coca-Cola anywhere
- countries sell to each other therefore they are interdependent, they depend on each other
- industries have become global - individual companies operate lots of counties as multinational corporations (MNCs) these are very powerful
- economic decisions or events in one country affects other countries quickly
What are NICs
Newly industrialising countries are countries with rapidly growing economies. They were LEDCs and are on the way to becoming MEDCs. At first most of them specialised in electronic goods like CDs and DVDs.
E.g BrICK - Brazil, India, China, South Korea
What is trade? What trading problems are there for LEDCs?
Trade is the buying and selling of goods and services between one country and another.
Problems for LEDCs:
- MEDCs control most of the trade and decide how much they pay
- many MEDCs are in clubs which trade and won’t let LEDCs sell them their goods. They try to stop LEDCs selling them goods by charging taxes and putting limits on how much they can sell. E.g the UK is in the European Union
- MEDCs make expensive goods that LEDCs have to pay lots of money for
- LEDCs mostly sell primary goods like food or materials. They get low prices for these and are badly effected if prices go down. E.g Kenya sells mostly tea and coffee
- most LEDCs have to buy more than they sell putting them in a trade deficit and they have to borrow money
Explain appropriate technology
Technology is a method or tool which is developed to carry out a task. Appropriate technology is technology appropriate to the situation. E.g it would be no good giving tractors to farmers in poor countries who can’t get fuel to run them it wouldn’t be appropriate.
Appropriate technology uses the skills and suits the needs and levels of wealth of local people. It aims to help with economic, environmental and social improvements.
What is fair trade?
Fair trade means people who make or grow something are paid a fair price for their work. This price is guaranteed so the producer will not lose out if world prices fall.
Without fair trade profits are shared as follows:
- 52% manufacturers
- 44% retailers
- 4% producers
what are fair trades advantages for LEDCs?
- guarantees a minimum wage for farmers
- farmers can provide for their families
- farmers have access to cheap loans
- farmers control the business
- profits used by groups of farmers to help provide healthcare, education and transport for their communities
- encourages sustainable farming practises
E.g St Lucia in the West Indies has 13 groups of fair trade banana farmers. Since 2002 they have used part of their income to build a community centre, provide science equipment in two schools and buy a new truck to deliver fertilisers and packaging materials to members.
What is aid?
Aid is resources given by one country or organisation to another country. These resources can include:
- money given or loaned
- expertise (people such as engineers, doctors, teachers)
- goods (food, technology, equipment such as tents or blankets)
Types of aid
- short term aid is given in an emergency e.g flood
- long-term aid is given to help a country develop
- bilateral aid is when one country gives aid directly to another
- multilateral aid is when lots of govts give money to world organisations such as the UN who give to countries who need it
- tied aid is when a country gives money to a country and tells them how to spend it
- voluntary organisations are charities such as comic relief or oxfam. They get money from people rather than govts
Benefits and problems of aid
Benefits
- fewer people die of preventable diseases
- medical care is provided
- people can provide for their families
- saves lives in emergencies
- people’s lives are made easier
- people can get education and jobs
Problems
- may be unsustainable
- countries get loans and end up in debt using all their money to pay interest
- doesn’t always reach people in most need
- govts may be corrupt and spend money on defence or on luxuries for themselves
- people can become dependant on aid
- local producers may lose out if free food is being given out
What is the development gap?
The difference in development between MEDCs and LEDCs.
Development is difficult to measure. We use lots of different pieces of information to indicate how developed a country is. these are called development indicators.
There are economic indicators and factors to do with the quality of life known as social indicators
