Development

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	Development
	What is an MEDC?
	An MEDC is a More Economically Developed Country. Therefore, MEDCs are relatively rich countries.
	What is a LEDC?
	An LEDC is a Less Economically Developed Country. Therefore, LEDCs are relatively poor countries.
	Economic Development
	Economic development is a measure of how wealthy a country is and of how this wealth is generated (for example agriculture is considered less economically advanced than banking).

	We would need to know its GNP (Gross National Product).
	Human Development
	Human development measures the extent to which people have access to wealth, jobs, knowledge, nutrition, health, leisure and safety - as well as political and cultural freedom. The more material elements in this list, such as wealth and nutrition, are often grouped together under the heading standard of living. The less material elements, such as health and leisure, are often referred to as quality of life.
	The Human Development Index was created by the United Nations in 1990. It uses 3 indicators to incorporate social and economic data 1) Income per person 2) Literacy rates 3) Life expectancy
	Development indicators
	Health.
	Do all the people in a country have access to medical care? What level of healthcare is available - basic or advanced? Is it free or paid for?

	Industry.
	What type of industry predominates? LEDCs tend to focus more on primary industries, such as farming, fishing and mining. MEDCs focus on secondary industries, such as manufacturing. The most advanced countries tend to focus more on tertiary industries - services businesses, such as banking and information technology.

	Education.
	Do all the people in a country have access education? Is it free? What level of education is available (ie primary education, secondary education or further/higher education)?

	North and South
	MEDCs are countries which have a high standard of living and (usually) a large GDP. LEDCs are countries with a low standard of living and (usually) a much lower GDP.

	Economic development indicators
	Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
	Measures the wealth or income of a country. GDP is the total value of goods and services produced by a country in a year.
	Gross National Product (GNP)
	Is another measure of a country's wealth or income. GNP measures the total economic output of a country, including earnings from foreign investments which are not included in GDP
	GNP per capita
	Is a country's GNP divided by its population. (Per capita means per person.)
	Economic growth
	Measures the annual increase in GDP, GNP, GDP per capita, or GNP per capita.
	Inequality of wealth
	Is an indication of the gap in wealth and income between a country's richest and poorest people. It can be measured in many ways (eg, the proportion of a country's wealth owned by the richest 10% of the population, compared with the proportion owed by the remaining 90%).
	Inflation
	Measures how much the prices of goods, services and wages are increasing each year. High inflation (above a few percent) is believed by many to be a bad thing, and suggests a government lacks of control over the economy.
	Unemployment
	Is measured by the number of people who cannot find work.
	Economic structure
	Shows a country's economy is divided between primary, secondary and tertiary industries.
	Demographics
	Studies population growth and population structure. It compares birth rates to death rates, shows average ages, and compares numbers of people living in towns with numbers living in the countryside. (Many LEDCs have a younger, faster-growing population than MEDCs, with more people living in the countryside than in towns.)

	Human development indicators
	Life expectancy
	Is the average age to which a person lives.
	Infant mortality rate
	Counts the number of babies, per 1,000 live births, who die under the age of one year.
	Poverty indices
	Counts the percentage of people living below the poverty level, or on very small incomes (eg under £1 per day).
	Access to basic services
	Measures the availability of services necessary for a healthy life, such as clean water and sanitation.
	Access to healthcare
	Takes into account statistics such as how many doctors there are for every patient.
	Risk of disease
	Calculates the percentage of people with dangerous diseases such as AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, etc.
	Access to education
	Measures how many people attend primary school, secondary school and higher education.
	Literacy rate
	Is the percentage of adults who can read and write.
	Access to technology
	Includes statistics such as the percentage of people with access to phones, mobile phones, television and the internet.
	Male/female equality
	Compares statistics such as the literacy rates and employment between the sexes.
	Government spending priorities
	Compares health and education expenditure with military expenditure and paying off debts.

	Water Supply
	•The wettest parts of the world are those with equatorial and monsoon climates. • • The World’s biggest dry area stretches from the Midle East across North Africa to the Atlantic Ocean. •Places with Monsoon climates get most of their rain in one season, for the rest of the year they don’t get any. • Rainfall can be unreliable.
	• 1 billion people in the World don’t have access to clean piped water. • More than 5 million people die from water-borne diseases every year. • People spend hours every day walking to fetch water.


	Why are People still Hungry ?
	•Poverty, people are too poor to buy the food they need. • Some LEDCs have been encouraged by MEDCs to grow cash crops, so fewer crops are grown for local people to eat. •MEDCs export subsidised crops, which works against farmers in LEDCs. • Food production is uneven across the world. • Local physical factors: • the climate means crops might fail • soil erosion has reduced the amount of land available for farming • a lot of good irrigated land has been damaged by salinisation and waterlogging.

	Food Supply
	Over the last 50 years the World’s population has doubled, but global food production has trebled.
	• Poverty, people are too poor to buy the food they need. • Some LEDCs have been encouraged by MEDCs to grow cash crops, so fewer crops are grown for local people to eat. • MEDCs export subsidised crops, which works against farmers in LEDCs. • Food production is uneven across the world. • Local physical factors: • the climate means crops might fail • soil erosion has reduced the amount of land available for farming • a lot of good irrigated land has been damaged by salinisation and waterlogging.

	What can be done ?
	• Making farming more sustainable. • Make trade fairer. • Provide short-term aid – food. • Help countries develop so people can afford to buy the food they need year after year.

	What is Trade ?

	Exports bigger than Imports = trade surplus Imports bigger than Exports = trade deficit
	Simplified model of trade
	Export
	MEDCs --- Expensive manufactured goods. LEDCs --- Cheap primary products (tea,coffee, flowers, fish …)
	Import
	MEDCs --- Cheap primary products to make into manufactured goods. LEDCs --- Manufactured goods they can’t make (if they can afford them)
	Problems with Trade
	•Primary products like tea or sugar are sold cheaply, their price goes up and down. • Manufactured goods are sold for more and the price usually stays steady.
	Imbalance in Trade Causes …
	• A trade deficit for many LEDCs. • A trade surplus for MEDCs. • A bigger share of world trade for MEDCs, and less for LEDCs • The rich North gets richer, the poor South gets poorer.
	Free trade – Tariffs and Quotas
	Tariffs
	Taxes or customs duties paid on imports. This is usually done to make the improve.
	Quotas
	Are limits on the amount of goods that can be imported. They are usually restricted to primary goods, and so work against LEDCs.
	Free Trade
	Is when countries don’t discourage, or restrict, the movement of goods. Producers in LEDCs get a guaranteed price for their product even when world prices are low.

	WTO (The World Trade Organisation)

	• The WTO makes the rules on world trade. • It policies free trade agreements, settles trade disputes and organises trade negotiations. • It promotes free trade by persuading countries to get rid of tariffs and other trade barriers.

	Foreign aid
	Bilateral aid
	•This is aid given from one country to another, in the form of money, goods or services. • Money is given for specific projects like big dams which don’t benefit poor people. • If the LEDC can’t repay the money, they get further into debt. • Can provide grants for students to study in MEDCs
	Multilateral aid
	• This is aid which comes from several different countries - often through international agencies such as the World Bank. • Encourages farming and industry but products are exported to MEDCs. • LEDCs depend in aid and get into debt. • Helps LEDCs develop new crops, raw materials and industry.

	Types of aid
	Tied aid
	Is gifts of money, goods or services that come with conditions attached. For example, the recipient country may have to agree to • spend the money in particular ways • introduce specific economic reforms • allow companies from the donor country to set up or sell goods in the recipient country • spend the money on goods and services from the donor country
	Non-governmental aid
	This comes from NGOs such as Save the Children, UNICEF and Oxfam, which provide money and professional support paid for by donations from members of the public across the world. This type of aid is less likely to come with any conditions attached.

	Short-term or long-term aid
	Short-term aid (emergency)
	Deals with emergencies such as the tsunami that devastated parts of Asia on Boxing Day 2004. Other disasters requiring short-term aid are earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, drought, and wars. This type of aid brings immediate help to people - flying in food to prevent starvation, tending the injured and sick, and trying to prevent the spread of disease.
	Long-term aid (sustainable)
	Is required where problems are deep-rooted or cyclical. For example, the climate in some parts of Africa means that drought commonly occurs. This requires long term development to try to prevent water shortages - for example sinking a well and providing a village with a water pump so it can have permanent access to underground water.