Economic development

Development occurs when there are improvements to individual factors making up the quality of life

For example development occurs in LEDC's when: A new well is dug and pump supplied to bring clean water to a village for the first time. Benefits will include improvements to health, and not having to walk long distances to collect water.

KEY TERM:

Sustainable development: Development that meets the needs of the present without harming the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Why are birth rates in MEDC's generally lower than in LEDC'S?

• More contraception
• Women want careers so start families later
• Need for children in poorer countries as less mechanisation/ need to support family members

How could life expentancy in LEDC'S be increased?

• Improvements in sanitation
• Improvement in food supply
• Improvements of health care/more doctors

How does an increase in GDP per person help to change life expectancy and infant mortality rates?

• Life expectancy: More better healthcare/medicalcare/hospitals/operations/mid-wifes
• Infant mortality rates: Improved living/housing conditions/access to clean safe water supply/hygienic sanitation/healthier diet/less prone to malnutrition

Measuring wealth:

• Common indicator of a country's wealth is the gross domestic product (GDP). This is the total value of goods and services produced by a country in a year.

• To take account of the different populations of countries, the gross domestic product per capita is often used, where the total GDP of a country is divided by the total population.

• Organisations such as the UN now publish GDP data at purchasing power parity (PPP) This takes account of differences in the cost of living between countries.

Identifying and explaining why countries are at different stages of development:

The North-south divide:

• The developed north
• The developing south

MEDC'S are LEDC'S and developed and developing are now terms used to distinguish between the richer and poorer nations:

Newly industrilised countries:

• A tiger economy is one that grows very rapidly

The reasons for the success of these countries were:

• a good level of infrastructure
• a skilled but relatively low-cost workforce
• cultural traditions that revere education and achievement.

How can development be affected by aid?

The first time aid was given by a country to help another was in the 1950's. The USA set out to reconstruct the war-torn economies of Western Europe and Japan after the 2nd world war.

Why is international aid necessary?

• 'Foreign exchange gap', whereby many LEDC's lack the hard currency to pay for imports such as oil and machinery which are vital for development.

• 'Technical gap', caused by a shortage of skills needed for development.

Different types of international aid:

Official government aid: Where the amount of aid given and who it is given to is decided by the government of an individual country.

• Bilateral aid: Given directly from one country to another
• Multilateral aid: Provided by many countries and organised by an internation body.
• Short-term emergency aid: Provided to help cope with unexpected disasters, such as earthquakes.
• Long-term development aid: Directed towards continuous improvement in the quality…