Environmental Interactions

HUMAN - Part I

Development

In this application you are going to find out about :

1. What is development?– How is it measured? – Reasons for differences in levels of development– Models of development

2. Problems of using development indicators3. Development differences between countries4. Contrasts in development within individual countries in

the developing world5. Case Study – Thailand (NIC) Burkino Faso (LEDC)6. Development Planning – India7. Aid8. Debt Crisis

1.WHAT IS DEVELOPMENT?

• Development means growth. As geographers we are interested in the levels of development and rates of growth between places across the world and within continents or countries.

• The development process is about changing the economies of countries and their social organisation to reduce the gap between rich and poor countries.

• A development indicator is a measurement or statistic that indicates the level of social or economic development of a country

How is it measured?

– Economic Indicators - these are a measure of the wealth and industrialization of a country

– Social Indicators – these show how a country uses it’s wealth to try and improve the quality of life of its people (health, education, diet)

– Human Development Index or Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) known as a Composite method of measuring development

Development Indicators

• Make two columns on your page; ECONOMIC and SOCIAL

• Put the following indicators into the correct columnGNP per capita, Birth rate, income per capita, death rate, Life Expectancy, electricity consumption, Adult literacy, Infant mortality, average calorie intake, % employed in primary industry, number of people per doctor, natural increase, % of population under 15

Economic Indicators.

This is the easiest to measure because it is based on wealth. The world can be divided into

• Economically more developed countries (EMDC’s) :-which include the richer more industrialised nations of the so called NORTH

• Economically less developed countries (ELDC’s) – which include the poorer, less industrialised countries of the developing SOUTH.

• Newly industrialised countries (NIC’s) – ELDC’s like Korea, which are developing faster than many of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, widening the gulf between them.

Gross National Product - GNP (also referred to as GDP – Gross Domestic Product)

• The wealth of a country is measured by its gross national product per capita i.e. the GNP per person.

• The GNP is the total value of all the goods and services produced by a country in a year, divided by the total number of people living in that country.

• Although easy to measure and obtain, there are limitations to the use and validity of GNP.

World MEDC NIC LEDC

$7,140 $22,060 $3,580 $3,470

GNP per capita (US$)

The disadvantage of using GNP is that:

– It is a crude average and hides extremes and uneven distribution in wealth between people and places within a country.

– It is most accurate in countries which have a “market economy” where goods and services are exchanged for money rather than through bartering………

– …….and in countries where goods are produced commercially rather than by subsistence methods i.e. cottage industry.

– Comparison of GNP requires use of a single currency usually the US$ but the exchange rate of the US$ fluctuates and distorts growth

– GNP makes no allowance for human and natural resources.

– It is still regarded as a good indicator of development and a good measure of comparing differences between countries.

Social Indicators

These indicators measure different things like

• health (doctors per 100 000), • diet (calories/per person per day) and • education (% adult literacy). They are dependent on the wealth of a

country and how the wealth is distributed within a country.

The Human Development Index or PQLI (Physical Quality of Life

Index)- gives every country a score between 0 and 1 based on its

citizens’ longevity, education and income. - is a social welfare index measuring the

– adult literacy rate (education), – life expectancy (health), and – the real GNP per country i.e. what an income will

actually buy within a country (economic). - The HDI is an attempt to compare the quality of life between

people and places and it can measure difference within a country. One disadvantage is that it cannot measure human rights or freedom.

- There are similarities to the GDP as longevity, a good education and a high purchasing power all depend fairly directly upon a country’s wealth.

Life Expectancy is the number of years a new born baby can expect to live.

Infant Mortality is the number of infants dying before their first birthday, expressed as a proportion of each 1000 live births

Development Indicators

Country Life Expectancy Infant Mortality Population1986 1986 per doctor

1981Canada 76 8 550Mozambique 48 120 36 970Haiti 54 119 9 200Austria 74 10 440France 77 8 460Mali 47 144 26 030Australia 78 10 520Afghanistan 35 no data no data

Task: Copy the table opposite, choose different colours for developed and developing countries.

Explain why you think those chosen as developing countries are developing countries.

MODELS OF DEVELOPMENT

• Models are a theoretical framework which helps to explain reality in a more simplified way.

• Walt Rostow, an economist, devised a model for economic growth in developed countries.

• He suggested that all countries had the potential to pass through a series of stages of growth until they became fully industrialized and economically developed.

2. PROBLEMS OF USING INDICATORS GENERALLY

Indicators work well when comparing two or more countries but have some limitations when reflecting the quality of life within a country.

They are often too broad and too generalised to reflect all aspects of a country.

This may be because: -

1. They are averages which disguise or distort wide internal variations e.g. a few very wealthy families but the majority of the population may be living at subsistence level e.g. Saudi Arabia.

2. Some regions /areas of a country may be much better off than others – the north south divide or urban/ rural contrasts.

3. GNP figures are in some cases inflated by oil revenues but the benefits have not filtered through to other indicators like education of health care e.g. Saudi Arabia, Kazathsten

4. Certain Indicators as perhaps irrelevant to the real quality of life in many poor subsistence based economies

3. Differences between countries

• Make a table with two columns and add, in the correct columns, the information given below.

• Column titles: MEDC / LEDC • High GNP; Low GNP; Low Birth Rate; High Birth

Rate; Long life expectancy; Short life expectancy; High percentage in agriculture; Low percentage in agriculture; Low percentage in services; High percentage of urban dwellers; Low percentage of urban dwellers; High literacy levels; Low literacy levels.

Reasons for differences in development

Positive factors include

• accessibility for good trade,

• a pleasant climate or attractive scenery to encourage tourism,

• natural resources like oil or other minerals,

• stable government and

• an increasingly educated population.

Negative factors include:-• remoteness,

• a very cold or dry climate,

• disease,

• lack of natural resources,

• corrupt government,

• civil war,

• fast growing population and

• crippling debt.

4. Differences within countries

Development indicators describe the average conditions within a country but…

• They often hide wide variations which may exist between rural and urban areas.

• Conceal huge differences in wealth e.g. in oil rich countries between the wealthy few and the poverty stricken majority.

Important pointsRural areas less likely to have access to• Clean water• Sanitation• Health facilities• Education• Access to international aidSimilar comparisons could be made

between urban rich and poor – see notes on Thailand

Differences in Economic Development

• Economic Development is the growth of industry and commerce. It is concentrated in a few, favoured locations, leaving other places relatively poorly developed. The most prosperous part of a country may be called the Core. The periphery – those parts furthest from the core – is generally poorer.

Core – Periphery Model

CORE

Capital city, chief port, major industries and urban areas, most services and investment

Periphery – levels of wealth, development and standards of living decrease with distance from the core. There are fewer jobs and services. Less investment.

Features of the core• Main industrial areas and

a large local market• These attract services

like banking and insurance.

• The core can afford better services like schools, housing, modern transport networks

• The core attracts people from the surrounding area.

Features of the periphery• Fewer jobs and lower

rates of pay• Jobs are often mainly in

the primary sector• There is a lack of

opportunity• Poorer provision of

services• People may decide to

leave (attracted by the Core) leading to depopulation.

• In the UK, the core is in the South East , in and around London.

• Scotland, the north and Southwest of England and Wales are in the periphery – furthest from the South East.

Comparative Aid

Large Scale Project Aid

Western high technologypays for

Specialist help to build factories, roads power schemes, irrigation *

benefits

Factory owners, land ownersno help to

Landless farmworkers

Low paid farmworkers

Unemployed*money goes back to donor country to pay for salaries and machinery

Small Scale AidIntermediate technology (low - tech)

pays for

Health clinics, new crops for small scale farmers, local water supplies

benefits

Poorest people – improves their income - enables them to buy goods and food

stimulates

Local production of goods and food

Creates new jobs for local peopleprovides

Tax money for government to use to build schools, roads, hospitals & housing

Examples of Low Tech Aid

Stone gathering

Stones laid out along contours to hold back run-off in times of rain

Result – terracing – soil conservation - improved yields.