Development is a measurement of how advanced a
country is, based upon the standard of living in that country
Development can be measured using economic or social indicators
Factors of development
Economic
Income
Industries
Job security
Physical wellbeing
Diet
Clean water
Environment
Mental wellbeing
Freedom
Security
Happiness
Social
Education
Healthcare
Leisure facilities
Economic indicators
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
The total value of goods and services
produced by a country in a year
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)
Adjusts income to take into account
the cost of living in that country
Political indicators
How well governed is the country?
Is there corruption?
Is there free speech?
The development gap
Social indicators
Human Development Index (HDI)
A measure produced yearly by the UN
Combined measure of life expectancy, education and GDP per capita
High development ≥ 0.8
Medium development = 0.5 - 0.799
Low development < 0.5
Birth rate
No. of people per doctor
Gender equality
Life expectancy
Literacy rate
Infant mortality
North-South divide - most countries in the
northern hemisphere are more developed
Development in Malawi
Barriers to development
HIV/AIDS
20% of adults in Malawi have become infected
Affects people in their 20s and 30s, who are
of working age and so economically active
Those affected become weak and unable to work
Families cannot afford expensive drugs
Puts families into poverty
Landlocked
They must pay to export goods by train, which is expensive
Only one, slow, single-track
railway line running to the coast
Exports
Tobacco
Sugar
Tea
Imports
Fertiliser
Fuel
Manufactured goods
Trade
Malawi is only likely to develop if they
increase trade, the WTO helps to do this
If Malawi were to increase the value of
their product (e.g. by roasting coffee
beans) there would be higher tariffs
Theories of development
Rostow's modernisation theory
Traditional society
Pre-conditions for take off
Take off
The drive to maturity
Age of high mass consumption
Consumers enjoy a wide range of goods, societies have a disposable income
and choose to invest in the military, education, welfare or luxuries
A period of growth where technology is used throughout
the economy and goods are produced for the consumer
Rapid growth of manufacturing industry and new technologies
The shift from farming to manufacturing begins, and
trade increases profits which are invested in new industry
Most people are subsistence farmers and produce little surplus product to boost the economy
Dependency theory
The idea that undeveloped countries
cannot develop because they are
dependent upon the developed countries
Regional disparity (Case study: India)
Core (Maharashtra
Multiplier effect
When core regions get richer as development
occurs. Usually started by investment, followed
by increased workforce/population, therefore
increase in services etc.
Rich and often urban
Big businesses, industries and
government have their HQ here
High concentration of people
Good services available
Periphery (Bihar)
Downwards spiral
When periphery regions become
poorer due to lack of income and people leave
Poor and often rural
Often where the core
gets its raw materials
Low income
Lack of education
Below poverty line
Types of development
Top-down
e.g. Sardar Sarovar dam
One of the worlds largest dams, aims
to provide water (for drinking (3.5
billion litres/day) or irrigation) and
power (1450 megawatts/day
Positives
Environmentally
effective
Encourages
economic
development
Opens up dry land
for farming - feeding
a growing population
Negatives
Locals often lose out
Floods villages
Farmland becomes less fertile
Electricity too expensive for many locals
Locals do not get a say
Doesn't provide jobs -
uses machinery
Puts the country in debt
Bottom-up
e.g. Biogas plants in India
Positives
Involves local people
Brings communities together
Affordable
Gives locals new skills
Appropriate technology for the skill level
Negatives
Can be expensive, materials
cannot be bought in bulk