Defining & Measuring Development (Edexcel GCSE Geography B)

Defining 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 the environment are dependent on income, which 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

Strands of Development

• Progress is not just about a country's wealth but also other areas

• These are called strands of development and include:

  • Economic: increasing levels of pay, the standard of living and productivity

  • Demographic: life expectancy, birth control, the right to migrate

  • Social: equal opportunities, access to services such as education and healthcare

  • Cultural: education, diversity, traditions and heritage

  • Political: free speech, democracy, human rights and the right to vote

  • Environmental: pollution controls, conservation

Economic Development

• Economic development is often the key to development in all the other areas

• This is dependent on three things:

  • Resources: every country has both natural resources (minerals, soils, climate, etc.) and human resources (workers, capital, technology, etc.)

  • Internal boosters: these are things which help to utilise the resources for example, government intervention, businesses

  • External boosters: are from outside the country and include Transnational Corporations (TNCs), globalisation and international agencies

• 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

Development varies

• 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

Categorising development

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

  • Developing country: a country with low human development (LHD), a poor country. Most people have a poor quality of life with inadequate services and few opportunities

  • Emerging country: a country with high and medium human development (HMHD), a recently emerging country. Countries are experiencing rapid economic growth and development based on industrial development. Incomes are rising and most people enjoy a reasonable standard of living

  • Developed country: a country with very high human development (VHHD). Countries that have modern industries and people enjoy a good standard of living with relatively high levels of income 

• The differences between levels of development is known as the development gap

Measuring 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

• The traditional method of measuring wealth is through the country's GNP (gross national product), GDP (gross domestic product) and GNI (gross national income)

Methods of Measuring Development

Indices of political corruption

• Political corruption can have a devastating impact on both development and human welfare

  • It means money is often not invested in infrastructure, development and human welfare but goes to wealthy individuals

  • It leads to a lack of trust between local/national governments and the population

• Transparency International scores 180 countries around the world out of 100 based on the levels of public sector corruption

• The higher the score the less corruption has been found

  • Denmark, New Zealand, Finland and Singapore have the lowest levels of public sector corruption scoring 85/100 or more

  • Somalia, Syria and South Sudan have the highest levels of public sector corruption scoring less than 15/100

Differences in Demographic Data

• Other ways of measuring development look at social characteristics and needs, for example literacy and education, birth and life expectancy, or access to health care etc.

• These are called demographic data and include:

  • Fertility rates

  • Death rates

  • Population structures

  • Maternal and infant mortality 

Social Measures of Development

• These rates vary for countries at different levels of development

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

Stages of the Demographic Transition

Population pyramids

• The characteristics of a population, the distribution of age, sex, ethnicity, religion etc, is known as the population structure

• It is the result of changes in:

  • fertility

  • mortality

  • migration

• The two main components of age and sex can be shown on a population pyramid

• Population pyramids (also known as an age structure graph) are used to display the gender and age structure of a given population

• They illustrate the distribution of the population across age groups and between male/female

• They enable governments nationally and regionally to assess the needs of the population for services such as healthcare and education

• This means the governments can estimate and plan for spending

• As countries develop and pass through the stages of demographic transition, the shape of the population pyramid changes 

• The population pyramid can be used to identify the following groups:

  • Young dependents 

  • Old dependents 

  • Economically active (working population)

  • Dependency ratio 

Population Pyramid - Niger

Population Pyramid - Nepal

Implications of population structure

• Population pyramids mean that population issues can be identified

• There are range of issues including: 

  • Ageing populations

  • Falling birth rates 

  • Impacts of migration

Ageing populations

• Many developed countries are experiencing ageing populations and an increase in the older dependent population, the implications of this include increased:

  • Pension payments

  • Need for care homes

  • Pressure on the healthcare service and social care

• It also results in fewer workers which means:

  • Governments are not able to collect as much tax

  • Some areas suffer worker shortages

Falling birth rates

• Countries experiencing falling birth rates include many developed and emerging countries, the implications of this include:

  • School closures due to fewer children

  • Future workforce shortages 

Migration

• In some countries migration can lead to an in-balance in the population structure

• The UAE has significantly more males than females 

• 29% of the population are males between the ages of 25 and 39 whereas only 10.5% of the population are women 25-39

• This is the result of the migration of males to the UAE to work in the oil, gas and construction industries

• Rapid population growth in some areas as a result of migration can lead to:

  • Increased pressure on services such as healthcare and schools

  • A shortage of housing

  • Increased traffic congestion

  • Increased water and air pollution

  • Shortage of food

  • Lack of clean water

Birth rate

• As a country develops the birth rate decreases due to:

  • Increased availability of contraception and education about family planning

  • Infant mortality decreases so people have fewer children as they know children are more likely to survive

  • More education and employment opportunities for women

  • Changing cultural expectations about family size

Death rate

• As a country develops the death rate decreases due to:

  • Improvements in healthcare and availability of medicines

  • Improvements in diet and availability of food

• In stage 5 the death rate rises slightly as a result of the ageing population

Ageing and youthful populations

• In stages 1 and 2 of the demographic transition model the population is younger with large numbers of dependent children

• In stages 3 and 4 the numbers of young people (under 15) starts to decrease

• In stages 4 and 5 the numbers of older people increase creating a dependent ageing population