Geography- Development

First, second, third and fourth worlds- Early method from european perspective: europe the first, colonies the second, poor countries the third and very poor the fourth.

North/South- Line divides the rich north and the poor south. Measured using GNP. This system has decreased in popularity because the measurement is too simple. Rich countries called MEDC's and poor called LEDC's. Since many LEDC's are rapidly growing a new catergory was introduced NIC's (newly industrailising countries).

The five-fold division- rich industrialising countries, oil-exporting countries, newly industrailising countries, former communist countries and heavily indebted poor countries.

None of these methods are completely perfect. Not all classifications suited each country well and within countries there can also be huge variations of development particularly between urban and rural areas. New methods are being looked into.

• Any development measure should correlate with similar indicators.
• Birth rate is closely linked with development (DTM)
• HDI (Human Development Index) is based on three variables: life expectancy, level of education and purchasing power.
• Using a single development measure can be a poor indicator of development for example death rate will decrease as a country starts to develop but will then increase again as the elderly begin to die.
• Some like GNI give a narrow picture because they are only economic so give no indication of standard of life. They are averages which can be misleading.

Standard of Life - Only economic level of daily life. Below $1 a day is the absolute poverty line.

Quality of Life - Social measures od well-being can be measured using the physical quality of life index. (PQLI)

Ideally the two measures should be used together to give the best overall picture

Physical - Physical geography does not favour development eg. In Africa lots of countries are landlocked making trade difficult and droughts are common.

Economic- Poverty cause poverty. Low life expectancy and standard of living give no base to develop from. Famine and War play a part in this too. Tariffs are also placed on trade which can make importing manufactured goods very expensive.

Environmental- People abuse the land e.g. cutting down rainforest which cause soil erosion and other problems or overgrazing just south of the sahara.

Social- Poor water quality causes disease which prevents development, inadequate water supplies limit crop yields, unfunded education leads to uneducated workforce not appealing to investors and health. Poor health systems lead to poor health and it is difficult for sick people to work hard.

Political- Corrupt governments take money for themselves instead of putting it into development. This can stop aid as we cannot be sure it will reach the people.

Loans and aid- sums of money can be given that are needed to be paid back with interest these can be a success of they are put into a profitable project but things can go wrong making them hard to repay. Money/ supplies like food can be gifted as aid.
Debt relief- this can be reducing the interest, the amount to be repayed or the loan can be abolished completely and debtor nations can benifit hugely.
Conservation Swaps- governments/ Independant groups take over some of a countries debt in return for the protection of valuable areas of land e.g rainforest
Fair Trade- Ensures that producers get a fair deal for their product and a minimum price is set so they have a depndable living wage.

Small scale systems/schemes can also be put in place which can work well or even better than large scale scheme which have too much inappropriate technology.

Global recession could have a negative effect on the development of poor countries as richer have less to give and are willing to pay less for raw materials.

Economic core- A developed area where businesses thrive and people are wealthy.
Economic periphery- A less well developed area, maybe more remote where people are poorer and have fewer opportunities.
Sustainable development- economic growth that will not damage the environment.

Common Agricultural policy (CAP)- guarantees minumum level of food production, ensures a fair standard of living for farmers, ensures reasonable prices to customers.

Urban II fund- for sustainable development of troubled districts of European cities. Improves living conditions, creating new jobs, developing transport, green energy etc.

European Investment Bank (EIB)- Money comes from members who contributed according to wealth. The money is used to invest in regional development.

Structural funds- support poorer regions helping to improve infastructure in the hope that economic developed is speeded up so they catch up with the rest of the EU.