Global Variations in Economic Development (AQA GCSE Geography)

Classifications of Economic Development

• Development is defined as:

The progress of a country as it becomes more economically and technologically advanced

• It refers to positive changes in people’s quality of life, such as happiness, educational opportunities, increased incomes, human rights, access to clean water and healthier living conditions

• These different components are not independent of each other but linked: For example health and environment are dependent on income and they in turn may impact happiness:

  • Physical: Water supply, housing, power and heat, climate, diet and nutrition etc

  • Social: Family and friends, education, health etc.

  • Psychological: Happiness, security, freedom etc. 

  • Economic: Income, job security, standard of living, mobility etc

• Development does not happen in a smooth, continuous process.

• It can be slowed, halted and even reversed through:

  • War/conflict

  • Disease

  • Disasters 

  • Economic recession

• Development can occur through:

  • Investment in agriculture (tractors, fertilisers etc.) improves food supplies, which in turn, improves the health of people

  • Improvements in supplies of power to rural areas 

  • Improvements in access to education for females and overall literacy rates

• Levels of development vary on a local, national and international scale

• There are differences between areas of the same city, the same country and between countries

  • Germany is more developed than Mexico, but Egypt is less developed than Mexico

• At an international level the development of a country can be categorised into one of three groups:

  • Low Income countries (LICs): Most people have a poor quality of life with inadequate services and few opportunities

  • Newly Emerging Economies (NEEs): Countries experiencing rapid economic growth and development based on industrial development. Incomes are rising and most people enjoy a reasonable standard of living

  • High Income Countries (HICs): Countries that have modern industries and people enjoy a good standard of living with relatively high levels of income 

• The differences between less and more development is known as the development gap

Economic & Social Measures of Development

• Development is hard to measure accurately as it covers so many features or strands

• It is measured using indicators 

Table of Indicators

• Individual indicators are misleading when used alone, as some features develop before others

• Which can indicate that a country is more developed than it really is

• By using multiple indicators as a measure of development, a clearer picture of that country's development is produced

Measures of Development

Limitations of Economic & Social Measures

Limitations of Development Measures

Demographic Transition Model

• The demographic transition model (DTM) illustrates the five generalised stages of population change that countries pass through as they develop

• The graph is based on the changes that took place in western countries such as the UK

• It shows how birth and death rates change over time and how this affects the overall population as the country 

• The gap between the birth rate and death rate is called natural change

The DTM shows that as population move through the stages, the gap between birth rate and death  rate at first widens, then it narrows

Stage 1

• The total population is low 

• High birth rates due to lack of contraception/family planning 

• High death rates due to poor healthcare, poor diet and famine

• High infant mortality which leads people to have more children so that some children survive to adulthood

• Example: Traditional rainforest tribes in parts of Indonesia, Brazil and Malaysia, have small groups of people live separately with little contact with the outside world. They have a high birth rate and death rate

Stage 2

• The total population starts to rise rapidly

• Birth rates remain high as people continue to have large families

• Death rates decrease as a result of improved diets, better healthcare, lower infant mortality and increased access to clean water

• Example: Afghanistan has a birth rate is 30 per 1000 and its death rate is 12 per 1000. About 80% of its population are farmers who need children to support them in the fields and tending livestock

Stage 3

• The total population continues to increase but the rate of growth begins to slow

• Birth rate begins to fall rapidly due to increased birth control, family planning, increased cost of raising children and low infant mortality rate 

• Death rate still decreasing but at a slower rate as improvements in medicine, hygiene, diet and water quality continue

• Example: Nigeria a NEE, is experiencing rapid economic growth. The death rate is much lower than the birth rate, therefore the country’s population is growing rapidly

Stage 4

• The total population is high and is increasing slowly 

• Birth rate is low and fluctuating due to accessible birth control and the choice of having fewer children as well as delaying the age women start to have children

• Death rate is low and fluctuating 

• Example: USA is one of the most developed countries in the world and has a good-quality health care which means death rates are low (8 per 1000). Women tend to have smaller families, choose to study and follow careers which keeps the birth rate lower at 13 per 1000. Population growth is due mainly to immigration

Stage 5

• The total population starts to slowly decline as the death rate exceeds the birth rate 

• Birth rate is low and slowly decreasing

• Death rate is low and fluctuating

• Example: South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world at 0.81 children per woman. In comparison the average rate across the world's HICs is 1.6 children per woman. A country needs at least 2.1 children per couple to keep their population at the same size without relying on migration

Causes of Uneven Development

• There are many factors which lead to the differences in development

Factors affecting development and human welfare

Physical causes of uneven development:

• Landlocked countries are cut-off from seaborne trade routes which are important to economic growth

  • Africa has some of the most landlocked countries on earth. E.g. Chad

• Small countries develop more slowly due to having fewer human and natural resources

• Climate related diseases and pests such as Malaria, affect the ability of the population to stay healthy enough to work

  • Locust swarms can decimate crops

• Extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and tropical storms can slow development and can incur costly repairs to infrastructure e.g. Bangladesh

• Limited access to clean water can slow development by making people sick and unable to work. e.g. Angola

• The physical geography also impacts the natural resources available

• The natural resources are those things provided by the physical environment

Table of Uses of Resources

• Some countries are able to meet all their needs from the natural resources they have

• Many countries have to import some natural resources that are not available within their borders

• When countries have to import natural resources, this means they do not have the security of supply as imports could be affected by war or political issues

• Water, food and energy security are particularly important to support a country's development

Economic causes of uneven development:

• Poverty

  • A lack of money in a country slows development because it prevents improvements to living standards, education, sanitation and infrastructure

  • Without these, development in agriculture and industry will be slow and the economy cannot get going

• Trade

  • Wealthy regions, such as Asia, Europe and North America dominate trade because they export secondary (processed) goods which earn more income

  • As these countries accumulate wealth, they become more powerful

  • Which means they are able to dictate the terms of trade to their advantage, usually at the expense of LICs

• Technology

  • Can help to increase water, food and energy security

  • Mechanisation of farming increases yields and improved land surveying may reveal more energy sources

  • Technology can also mean that existing resources are used more efficiently

Historical causes of uneven development:

• Colonisation: 

  • Many LICs were colonised by powerful trading nations such as France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and the UK

  • Much of Africa, South America and Asia were exploited for their resources and their people: Over 10 million people were transported from Africa to North America as slaves

  • It was during this time that global development became uneven

  • Despite many countries becoming independent in the 20th century, they have been affected by power struggles and civil wars, as a legacy of hundreds of years of exploitation, with many still facing challenges in terms of development

• Conflict:

  • Wars reduce levels of development as men are often fighting instead of working

  • Money is used buying weapons rather than improving the country’s roads, schools, hospitals etc.

  • There is damage to infrastructure: Buildings and roads

Social causes of uneven development:

• Levels of education affect the skills people have. The more educated a population is the more a country will develop

• Healthcare affects how well people are which affects their ability to work

• Lack of equality can mean that the overall productivity of a country is affected

• Demography

  • The population structure of a country

  • The birth and death rates, as well as immigration, affect the available workforce

  • Those countries where birth rates have fallen the most, show the highest rates of growth 

• Government policies

  • The stability and effectiveness of government can have a significant impact on development and human welfare

  • Development and human welfare are greatest where there is a democratically elected government

  • Corrupt governments do not invest in the country's development or in improving the quality of life for the population

  • A government's economic policy affects development and human welfare through:

    • Open economy: where foreign investment is encouraged, which generates faster development

    • Higher rates of saving and lower spending compared to GDP, results in further development

Effects of Uneven Development

• Imbalance between rich and poor

  • Some countries have lower levels of development and poorer quality of life than others.

  • Imbalances also exist within countries

• Disparities in wealth: In 2014 the fastest growth of wealth was in North America which holds 35% of global 
  wealth. Africa’s share of global wealth is about 1%. 

• Disparities in health: There is a link between a country’s development and the health of its population

  • LICs are unable to invest in good quality health care which creates disparities between the causes of death in HICs and LICs

  • LICs tend to have higher complications during childbirth

  • Higher rates of infectious diseases e.g. HIV and Malaria

  • HICs main cause of death is chronic diseases e.g. cancer with fewer infant mortality

• Inequality can lead to migration

  • Migration is the movement of people from place to place which can be voluntary or forced

  • International migration is a consequence of uneven development, as people seek to improve their quality of life

  • Movement can be two ways: Poor wanting a better life or the rich not wanting to live near squatter settlements

  • Mexico an NEE, borders the USA an HIC, every year over 130,000 Mexicans migrate to the USA legally, yet thousands enter illegally hoping for a better quality of life and paid jobs

• International migration can be a positive for countries:

  • Since the Arab Spring uprising in 2010, thousands of people have migrated into Europe from war torn regions of the Middle East and North Africa (e.g. Syria, Libya, and Yemen)

  • Risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean into Italy, Turkey, Greece and then especially onto Germany

  • It is estimated that in 2016 alone, 1.1 million migrants entered Germany

  • As Germany is at stage 5 of the DTM with a declining population, this influx of migrants could potentially benefit Germany's future economy