Development Dilemnas
Year 11 revision
Key terms
Key term
Definition
Appropriate
technology
Equipment that the local community is able to use easily and without
much cost e.g. A water pump
Bottom up
approach
Where development comes from the local community. This is because
they can decide what best suits their needs e.g. A water pump for clean
water or solar panels to provide electricity for the village.
BRICS
The worlds 5 major developing economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China &
South Africa
Core region
This is the centre of economic activity. It’s where the majority of jobs are
and where the infrastructure is best. In India this place is Mumbai.
Dependency
theory
The idea that something (e.g. a country or region) is only able to survive
with outside support e.g. From another region or country.
Disparity
When there is variation in the distribution of wealth e.g. There is disparity
between the urban core and rural periphery.
Key terms
Key term
Definition
Environment
impact
How something effects the environment e.g. Large hydro-electric
dams cause flooding and can interfere with wildlife such as
migrating fish.
Development
indicator
These are factors that determine how developed a country is e.g.
Life expectancy, access to clean water and GDP.
Gross Domestic
Product (GDP)
This is the total value of goods and services within a country.
Gross National
Income (GNI)
This is the total value of goods and services within a country.
Happy Planet
Index (HPI)
A measure of a countries wellbeing i.e. How happy and content
people are, based upon social and environmental indicators like
access to clean water, ecological footprint and life expectancy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZPYI8BfnBs#t=14
Key terms
Key term
Definition
Hydro-electric
power (HEP)
When electricity is generated by water flowing over a turbine, which spins
and generates electricity. Usually present in dams (Hydro-Electric Dam)
Human
Development
Index (HDI)
A development indicator based on four economic and social development
indicators that allows comparisons between countries. Indicators include
GDP, poverty line, access to clean water, adult literacy and life expectancy
Micro-hydro
schemes
Small scale hydro-electric power (HEP) schemes that generate electricity
locally.
Millennium
Development
Goals
The development goals agreed by world governments at the UN summit in
September 2000 e.g. Halting the spread of HIV.
Rural periphery
Impacts caused indirectly by the volcano/earthquake, for example ‘a knock
on effect’ e.g. Fires caused by broken gas pipes.
Urban core
The way and which people react to a situation.
Poverty cycle
Help and aid provided to an area to prevent immediate loss of life because of
shortages of basics, such as water, food and shelter.
Key terms
Key term
Definition
Multiplier effect
How investment and job creation in turn creates more jobs , because people
earn money and spend it, creating new businesses, which in turn create
more new jobs.
Rostow model
The theory that countries pass through 5 stages of development. 1.
Traditional society 2. Pre-Take Off Society 3. Take off Stage 4. Drive to
Maturity 5. High Mass Consumption
Top-down
approach
When development is initiated by people from the top i.e. Government and
big business e.g. In the form of large hydro-electric dams such as the Katse
Dam in Lesotho.
Sustainable
development
Development that takes into account the needs of people (social), the needs
of the environment and the economy (money & jobs)
Development Indicators. These are ways of measuring a countries level of
development. The development indicator is in bold and an example of how
it can be used is written next to it.
1.
HDI (Human Development Index) a indicator that used a combination of
GDP, life expectancy and adult literacy.
2. % with access to clean water: Do people have access to clean water?
3. GDP per capita: What is the average earnings in a country? (Draw back; it does not
show the wealth distribution within a country, so all the wealth could be in the hands
of a few people)
4. Number of doctors per 1000: Do people have access to doctors?
5. Daily calorie consumption: Do people get enough food?
6. Adult literacy rate: Can people read and write by their 16th birthday
7. What is the average life expectancy? Living on average to 80
8.
9. % with access to clean water: Do people have access to clean water?
The Brandt line. This shows the development gap. The gap in wealth between the
worlds richest and poorest countries. However, is this still relevant? Are there
exceptions? E.g. South Korea is South of the Brandt line, however has a higher GDP
than many Eastern European countries and Chile and Argentina and have a higher life
expectancy than Russia.
Named example – Malawi. Why is it underdeveloped?
Malawi is one of the poorest
countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Life expectancy: 54
Access to clean water: 65%
Literacy rate: 62.7%
GDP per capita: $300
Reason 1:
Malawi is landlocked. This
means it has no access to the
sea, which reduces it’s ability
to export and import goods
cheaply. This makes goods
from Malawi expensive and
uncompetitive so other
countries often cannot afford
to buy them.
Reason 2:
Malawi has high levels of disease
e.g. HIV and Malaria. This stops
people from working and earning
money. It also means people end up
spending large sums of money on
medicines and funerals which
pushes them further into debt.
Diseases also create orphans and
orphans have to work to support
themselves instead of going to
school to get educated. This keeps
them trapped in poverty.
Reason 3:
Unfair trade rules. Malawi is stuck selling unroasted
coffee beans instead of roasted coffee beans or
processed coffee. This is because Western countries
place huge tariffs (taxes) on their finished goods,
making them more expensive to sell and too expensive
to buy. This is to protect the coffee manufacturers in
countries like the UK.
Rostow Theory
You should know what this is and be able to explain each stage of development. You should also be able
to give examples of where a range of different countries fit onto it, with some justification.
Country
GDP
Literacy rate
Doctors per
1000
% working in
farming
% working in
manufacturing
Australia
40,800
99
2991
3.6
21.1
Mali
1100
31
49
80.0
V.Few
Chile
17,400
96
1090
13.2
23.0
Sri Lanka
5700
8.3
91
492
32.7
The two diagrams above show the
characteristics of each stage of
Rostows theory of development.
Where would the countries in the
above table fit into the model? Could
you justify your answer?
Franks dependency theory
A chap called Frank had another theory about how some countries developed.
•
•
•
Frank said........
The development of the rich world was achieved by exploitation of the developing world. The
diagram to the right very simply shows how resources are moving from the periphery (developing)
to the core (developed).
That developing countries moved into production of cash crops (coffee, tea, cocoa) which meant
that they were no longer subsistent and actually dependent on developed countries for food
imports and food aid.
That the development of many countries were slowed or stopped by the arrival of colonists. He
points out that many countries were richer before colonisation than after.
Named example – Urban core, Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. Why is it so successful and what happens there?
Mumbai: Population
18 million
GDP: over 2 million
rupees
Location: West coast of
India in the state of
Maharashtra
Reason 1:
Mumbai is on the coast so
has always been a major
centre for trade (import &
export). This has generated
jobs and money for the
region. This in turn has lead
to a multiplier effect which
attracted investment,
improved infrastructure and
therefore attracted other
industries to move into the
city. These in turn created
more jobs and wealth.
Multiplier
effect
Reason 2:
Mumbai is the centre of the
Indian entertainment
industry known as
Bollywood. This employs
thousands of people and
generates huge taxes that
get used to support the local
area. The wealthy actors also
create a demand for high
end luxury goods such as
cars, designer clothes and
large homes.
Reason 3:
Mumbai is a centre for clothes manufacturing, an industry
which employs thousands of people.
The government in Mumbai has also offered tax-breaks to
large TNC’s to attract them to base themselves in the city.
Many banks and telecommunications companies such as BT
have offices in Mumbai
Named example – Rural periphery, Bihar India. Why is it so poor and what happens there?
Bihar:
50% of people live
below the poverty line.
86% of people live in
rural areas and work in
low skilled / low paid
jobs.
Location: North East
India.
Subsistence
agriculture
No
investment
in land,
machinery or
materials.
Reason 1:
Most people are subsistence
farmers. This is because they
do not own enough land to
grow enough crops to be
able to sell. This means they
never make any money,
further trapping them in
poverty.
Cycle of
poverty
Little or no
income
No surplus
farm
produce
Reason 3:
The area attracts very little
outside investment from
business and as a result job
creation is low. This also
means few taxes are paid so
there is little infrastructure
built, which in turn puts off
business from locating there.
Reason 2:
School attendance is poor. In some areas only 35% of
children attend school and only 2% of children reach Y12.
The literacy rate is 47%. This makes for an un-educated
population that are stuck in low skilled and low paid jobs.
Women are particularly poor in Bihar and literacy rates
amongst women are as low as 33%. Many marry very early,
often have lots of children and then work in low paid jobs.
Top down vs Bottom up approaches to development.
•
There are two approaches to development and you should know the pros and cons of both. You should be able to
give examples of both, but only a named example of top-down.
Bottom up development is a form of development that is small scale, is cheap and easy to fix and maintain and
sustainable because it benefits poor local communities and has little environmental impact. Examples of bottom
up. development are often known as appropriate technology e.g. a water pump in a rural village.
A water pump
saves time
collecting
Water so benefits
women and
children
Provides
clean water
& improves
health
Easy to use,
cheap to
fix & maintain
Empowers local communities
and gives them a sense of pride,
as they have a say in how
their village is run
More people go
to school or
work because
they are healthy
Katse Dam – Top Down development
Lesotho could sell their water
to South Africa for £35 million
p/year. They could re-invest
this money in better schools
and hospitals.
Thousands of jobs were
created during the
construction of the dam,
benefitting many local people.
Lesotho could sell their water to
South Africa for £35 million
p/year. They could re-invest this
money in better schools and
hospitals.
The dam also provided HEP
(hydro-electric power) which
could be used to power
industry and help with
development.
South Africa had to borrow
money to pay for the
construction of the dam. This
created debts that had to be
paid with interest.
Infrastructure improved
around the dam i.e. Better
roads were built and phone
lines were installed locally.
Peoples water bills increased,
particularly for some of the
poorer people in the
townships.
Wildlife such as migrating fish
and important wetland
habitats were effected as the
flow of rivers from the dam
was affected.
Lots of water was lost on route
to south Africa due to leaking
pipes. This was an expensive
waste.
Past Development Dilemmas Questions
1.
2.
3.
Other than income, identify two ways the level of development can be measured in a country. (2)
What is meant by the term global development gap? (1)
Identify two barriers to development some developing countries face and explain the problems they cause (4)
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Explain why coastal regions, such as those in China, are often more economically developed than inland regions. (2)
Suggest two reasons why some parts of a country are richer than others. (2)
Suggest two reasons why urban incomes are often higher than rural incomes. (2)
Explain why levels of development are often very low in rural areas in developing countries (4)
Examine why levels of development vary between rural and urban areas in the developing world (6)
9.
10.
Identify one characteristic of top-down development projects. (1)
Describe how a dam could help Ghana develop. (2)
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Describe the impact of top-down development projects on two different groups of people. (2)
Explain how a dam could have negative impacts on some people in Ghana. (2)
Suggest TWO reasons why top-down projects have been criticised. (2)
Using named examples, explain how bottom-up schemes meet the needs of developing countries, and how successful these have been. (6)
Using examples, explain how bottom-up schemes have benefited developing countries. (6)
16.
17.
For a named developing country, explain why ‘bottom-up’ development projects have both advantages and disadvantages. (6)
Using a named example, explain the impact of one ‘top-down’ project on different groups of people. (6)
18.
Using examples, explain why top-down development schemes are sometimes seen as being inappropriate. (6)
19.
20.
Using examples, compare the success of bottom-up and top-down development projects. (6)
For a named developing country, explain the differences between the urban cores and the rural periphery. (6)