Development and globalisation

Development and globalisation

The development continuum:

·         Development is measured in terms of a continuum there is no clear cut off point between rich and poor

·         There are 3 types of continuum:

o   Between countries such as the UK and Uganda

o   Within countries

§  Between rural and urban areas

o   Within local areas

§  Cities with poorer and richer areas

Development and change:

·         A range of different changes affect a country’s development and progress along the development continuum:

o   Economic change:

§  Including an increase in a country’s level of wealth

§  It can also be affected by things like trade or debt

o   Demographic change:

§  Improvements in healthcare, sanitation and education can increase life expectancy and reduces birth and death rates

§  These improvements are also examples of social change

o   Political and cultural changes:

§  These include greater political freedom, an increase in democracy and equality for women

The beginning of globalisation:

·         The year 1492 was a major turning point in the worlds history

·         In that year Columbus first landed in America and established European control

·         He began a pattern of trade and development that shaped the global economy

The power of core:

·         The patterns that emerged from the 1500s onwards created a wealthy ‘core’ of European countries

·         The nations supplying the Europeans remained poor or periphery

·         Geographers use the core and periphery theory to explain the process by which some countries become wealthy and others poor

Core and periphery theory:

·         The core is where most of the wealth is produced

·         Global core areas include North America, Europe and Japan

·         This core:

o   Owns and consumes 80% of global goods and services

o   Earns the highest incomes

o   Makes most decisions about the global economy

o   Provides most global investment

·         The poorer periphery is usually distant from the core markets

·         Poorer countries:

o   Own and consume 20% of global goods and services, despite having 80% of the global population

o   Earn low incomes – 2.5 billion people live on under $2 per day

o   Make few decisions about the global economy

o   Provide little global investment

·         Recent global shifts of industry have meant that:

o   Manufacturing has fallen in old core and risen in ‘new’ peripheral areas because of cheaper labour. But core countries still profit because they dictate to the new production lines

o   Now flows of finished and semi-finished goods from peripheral countries are added to the traditional flows of commodities and raw materials. But investment and decision making remain at the core

Dependency theory:

·         Development of the core countries came at the expense of peripheral ones

·         Core countries depended on their investments in peripheral countries to increase…