Measures of Income
- Rapid demographic and cultural change can lead to various economic and social issues in urban and rural areas, including:
- Conflict and tension
- Unwanted changes to the built environment e.g. gentrification and regeneration
- Social exclusion
- Increased pressure on services e.g. education and healthcare
- Higher levels of deprivation and unemployment
- Increased house prices
- Issues in rural and urban places need to be managed carefully to achieve a positive outcome
- A sequence of steps will be followed to enable the development of a suitable plan, which can be monitored, evaluated, and revised if necessary
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A change management model
- The success of management strategies used to reduce cultural and demographic issues can be assessed using economic measures of:
- Income e.g. household income and percentage of people on minimum wage
- Employment e.g. type of employment and unemployment rate
- Different areas can then be compared by looking at the variations within each measure
Exam Tip
Both absolute and relative change can be used to measure differences in numerical data:
- Absolute change considers the difference between the original number and the new one e.g. an actual increase or decrease in average income
- Relative change considers by what percentage the number changed from the original number e.g. the percentage increase or decrease in average income
x 100 = Relative change |
- You can compare absolute or relative changes between or within areas
Average per Capita Income in two Cities
2011 income | 2021 income | Absolute change | Relative change | |
City A | £49,250 | £56,902 | £7,652 | +15.5% |
City B | £29,980 | £37,114 | £7,134 | +23.8% |
- There is little difference in the absolute change in income between City A and City B
- However, the relative change is 8.3% higher
- Looking at absolute and relative change for different areas gives you a better picture of how places compare
- Economic indicators can be analysed in combination with demographic indicators, such as age and ethnic diversity, to provide more information about a place
UK Working Age Unemployment by region and ethnicity (2016)
Region | White (%) | BAME (%) |
North East | 8.0 | 12.1 |
North West | 5.3 | 12.4 |
Yorkshire and Humberside | 5.7 | 13.6 |
East Midlands | 4.4 | 9.6 |
West Midlands | 5.1 | 13.2 |
East | 4.5 | 6.3 |
London | 4.5 | 10.2 |
South East | 4.3 | 6.3 |
South West | 4.2 | 8.0 |
Scotland | 5.7 | 11.5 |
Wales | 6.5 | 7.1 |
- In the majority of regions, Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) workers are twice as likely as white workers to be unemployed
- This suggests that there are still levels of discrimination in areas across the UK
Exam Tip
Measuring the average income of internal and international migrants may show that migrants are economically successful, suggesting integration has been achieved. However, some migrants may still view themselves as outsiders despite their economic success.