2013 Developing versus Developed Nations Interactive Notes
Introduction Statistics and Examples on State of the World:
Developed Countries:
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are considered to be socially and economically progressive and include
countries such as Canada, the US, Germany, France, Japan, etc.
Developed nations have high per capita GDPs, and a majority of their
populations are neither very rich nor very poor.
Developed nations have high levels of agricultural output, but
relatively few people work on farms. Most of the labor force work in
industry and services.
Developed nations have solid infrastructure. Infrastructure is the
services and facilities necessary for an economy to function.
In the developed countries there are fewer and fewer young people,
more and more elderly (2005).
In the developed world, 952 million people or 77% of the population
(of 1.23 billion) will live in urban areas by 2015
Developing Countries:
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are identified more on economic characteristics as countries that are
in a transitional stage and moving from an agriculturally based
economy to one that is industrial and/or service based such as India,
China, Brazil and Mexico.
Low levels of living and income inequality
Extent of Poverty
Health characterized by high IMRs and malnutrition
Low levels of education and literacy
Low levels of labor productivity
High rates of population growth and dependency burdens
Substantial dependence on agricultural production and primary
product exports
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Prevalence of Imperfect markets and incomplete information
Dominance, dependence, and vulnerability in international relations
Low standards of democratic governments
Low standards of industry
Low standards of social welfare and social programs
Low standards human rights
Other Characteristics:
Less Developed Countries:
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are considered to be moving towards more progressive social and
economic status. Examples of developing countries would be
Bangladesh, Haiti, Ethiopia, etc.
Less developed countries have low per capita GDPs, and their low
energy consumption levels signal lower levels of industrialization.
Unemployment rates are high in LDCs, often as high as 20 percent.
Most people in the labor force are subsistence farmers.
Literacy rates in LDCs are low due to limited resources for education.
Housing and food are often of poor quality in LDCs, leading to high
infant mortality rates and lower life expectancies.
Usually refers to countries with low levels of ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
Developing countries do not have a level of industry that will support
their populations and have a low standard of living. They almost
always have low incomes yet high populations
When a country fails to invest in human capital, the supplies of skilled
workers, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, government leaders,
doctors, and other professionals is limited.
– Health and Nutrition
• Proper food and nutrition are necessary for physical
and mental growth and development. Inadequate
nutrition is called malnutrition.
– Education and Training
• To be able to use technology and move beyond mere
subsistence, a nation must have an educated work
force.
– “Brain Drain”
• The scientists, engineers, teachers, and entrepreneurs
of LDCs are often enticed to the benefits of living in a
developed nation. The loss of educated citizens to the
developed world is called “brain drain.”
From Colonial Dependency to Central Planning
– Many LDCs are former colonies of European powers. Their
dependency on their colonizers for manufactured goods
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hindered their own development. Several LDCs turned to
central planning after gaining their independence in an effort
to modernize quickly.
Government Corruption
– Corruption in the governments of many LDCs holds back
development.
Political Instability
– Civil wars and social unrest prevent the necessary social
stability required for sustained development.
Debt
– Rising oil prices in the 1970s and a strong U.S. dollar have
made it hard for many LDCs to repay loans.
Other Characteristics:
Categories for Determining Development of Countries:
Population Density:
• The number of people per unit of land area.
• The population density of India is 869 people per square mile,
compared with 80 people per square mile in the United States
Urban versus Rural:
 Rural refers to how much of the population lives in the countryside in
villages and usually employed in agriculture
 Urban refers to living in a larger populated area with industry
 Urbanized area - One or more places and the adjacent densely
populated surrounding area that together have a minimum population
of 50,000.
 Megacities - Cities with 10 million residents or more.
 LDCs had young age structures with between 30 to 40 percent of the
population age 15 or younger
 The consequence is that their fewer resources have to be stretched to
cover double the proportion of young dependents
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In developing countries workers flood into the cities, not so much
because of the availability of jobs, but because of the lack of
opportunity in the rural areas and small villages
Urban unemployment rates commonly exceed one-quarter of the
workforce
Major environmental risks are posed by such rapid growth,
overcrowding, and poverty:
o Housing
o Pollution
o Sanitation
o Water supply
o Contaminated water
o Inadequate disposal of human wastes
o Wastewater and garbage
o Insects, pests (e.g. rats) and parasites in homes
o Inadequate-sized houses, poor ventilation and overcrowding
o Children at risk from traffic, unsafe or contaminated sites
o Indoor air pollution
o House sites vulnerable to landslides or floods
o Nutritional deficiencies
o No or inadequate health care and advice
o No emergency services
Other Categories for Determining Development:
GDP:
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GDP Is the market value of all final goods and services produced within
a country in a given period of time
Consumption + investment + government spending + (exportsimports) Per Capita
Life Expectancy:
 Is the average age a person usually lives.
Rate of Population Natural Increase:
 The population growth rate is the increase in a country’s population in
a given year expressed as a percentage of the population figure at the
start of the year.
 Economists often focus on the natural rate of population increase, or
the difference between the birth rate and the death rate.
 If a country’s population doubles, it must also double the following if it
is to maintain its current level of development:
o Employment opportunities
o Health facilities
o Teachers and schoolrooms
o Industrial output
o Agricultural production
o Exports and imports
 Population change = (births + immigration) - (deaths + emigration)
 Demographers look at birth rates and death rates
Fertility Rates:
 the average number of children a women will have in her childbearing
years.
 Average number of children born to each woman.
 Replacement level fertility
 The level required to maintain the population size.
Influences on Birth Rates:
• Family planning programs – India, Thailand, Bangladesh, etc.
• Contraceptive technology
• Role of mass media
– Radio/TV Soap Operas
("Twende na Wakati" in 1990s Tanzania, which means "Let's
Go with the Times"
• Importance of children as part of labor force
• Cost of raising and educating children
• Availability of retirement systems
• Urbanization
• Educational and employment opportunities for women
• Infant mortality rate
• Average marriage age
• Availability of legal abortion and reliable birth control methods
• Religious beliefs, traditions, cultural norms
Literacy Rates and Education Availability and Levels of Education:
• The ability to read, write, listen, and speak a language at a level
adequate for communication.
• Literacy is a key skill that allows people to control their own lives.
• It affects a person’s ability to learn, work and interact with others.
• Literacy levels vary enormously from place to place.
• The availability of education for everyone and higher education
Roles of Women:
• While most attention is focused on the HDI, the UN also notes
additional measures of development.
• The Human Poverty Index measures the distribution of progress and
what deprivations exist.
• It is measured one way in developed countries – HPI-1,
and another way in the developing world – HPI-2
• The difference reflects different social norms in each.
– The Gender Development Index (GDI) examines inequalities in
achievement between genders.
– The Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) examines the
active participation of both genders in the economy and in
decision making.
 Major social factor determining family size is the role of women in
society.
• Early marriages foster high fertility rates.
• Lack of education opportunities for women reduces their options.
• When level of education increases, fertility rates fall.
• The most important factor is the ability of women to control the
size of their family.
• Access to birth control is key.
• Women tend to have fewer children if they are educated, have the
ability to control their own fertility, hold a paying job outside the
home, and live in societies that do not suppress their rights.
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Women account for 66% of all hours worked but receive only 10%
of the world’s income and own just 2% of the world’s land.
Women make up 70% of the world’s poor and 64% of its 800
million illiterate adults.
Poor women who cannot read often have an average of 5–7
children, compared to 2 or fewer children in societies where
almost all women can read.
Other Factors:
North Versus South:
• In a very simple division of the world, some observers note that most
of the developed countries lie in the Northern hemisphere and many
of the developing countries are in the southern.
• They refer to the rich countries as the North and the poor as the
South.