IAD - Development Around the World Lesson

Development Around the World

Intro to Development

  • Development is a term used to explain the standard of living in any particular location or country. In order to be considered developed, a country must provide for and support the social, educational, economic and human rights of their citizens.
  • The concept of industrialization, or the change in economic activities from basic goods to mass-produced goods (through the use of machinery and technology), is directly correlated to development
    • Countries that are pre-industrial are normally not highly developed and those that have moved past manufacturing (post-industrial or service-based) are highly developed.
    • You will recall from earlier units, that economic activities are divided into sectors:
      • Primary (raw materials directly from the earth), Secondary (industry and manufacturing) and Tertiary (service-based) are the main sectors of economy
        • In service-based countries with very developed international economies, there are sub-sections of the third economic sector - Quaternary (non-tangible business service jobs) and Quinary (management level positions within consumer services)

Categorizing Countries of the World

  • MDCs (More Developed) vs. LDCs (Less Developed or Developing Nations)
    • Some Newly Industrializing Countries (mostly Asia and Latin America - Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam and the Philippines) are going through compressed modernity
      • Moving from agriculture to industry at a great speed due to democracies, growing economies and aid from non-government institutions
      • They are aided by the lessons of countries that went through the stages of development before them
  • Wallerstein's World-System Theory (Capitalist World Economy Model) created a core-periphery model in the 1970s that compared countries to each other based on their importance and power internationally
    • The power can be economic, military, social, etc.
      • Core - Europe, Japan, US , Canada, Australia, New Zealand (includes the major cities of the world)
      • Semi-periphery - Chile, Brazil, India, China, Indonesia
      • Periphery - Sub-Saharan Africa, some South American and Asian nations

World map showing countries by nominal GDP per capita in 2008, IMF estimates as of April 2009.

GDP PPP Per Capita

Indicators of Development

  • UN Human Development Index (HDI) compares three indicators to rank countries around the world (a perfect score does not exist, but would be a 1.0)
  • Standard of Living (the measure of wealth a person enjoys):
    • Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (value of a country's total output of goods and services within the borders of that country in one year) divided by the total population (per capita)
    • Gross National Product (GNP) is the value of all goods for a country's companies in one year internationally and domestically
    • Gross National Income (GNI) is the GNP + exports – imports, this shows the economic balance of trade
    • Gini coefficient – a measurement that shows the differences between the rich and poor within a country
    • Economic sectors - In MDCs people are mostly employed in the tertiary (service) sector and in LDCs they are mostly in the primary (agricultural) sector
    • Productivity (value compared to labor) is higher in MDCs and the value added (basic goods or crops taken through technological process to add value to the object) are much higher
      • Raw materials are more accessible (water, minerals, oil)
      • Availability of consumer goods (non-essentials)
      • An increased amount of expendable income, money left after the bills are paid
  • Access to Education:
      • Literacy rate (percentage of a population that can read and write)
      • Years of schooling
      • Student/teacher ratios (these numbers are much higher in LDCs)
    • Healthcare and Longevity:
      • Life expectancy
      • Infant mortality is an important factor to determine the growth of a nation (this is much higher in LDCs)
      • Rates of Natural Increase (RNI) are higher in LDCs
      • Crude death rates are different because they are similar in MDCs and LDCs
        • LDCs due to lack of medicine and education
        • MDCs due to large elderly population
    • Gender Equity is an important measure that does not necessary follow the patterns of MDC/LDC (there is a separate measurement for gender equity)
      • Women have less educational opportunities than men in most LDCs and some MDCs
    • The highest levels of HDI are located in Oceania, North America and Western Europe – regions such as Latin America and East Asia are considered above average and areas such as South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa have lower scores

Life Expectancy, 2008 Estimates from the CIA World Factbook

Life Expectancy Estimates 2008, CIA World Factbook

Matching Activity

IMAGES CREATED BY GAVS (Images are available in the Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)