Defining and Measuring Development (Edexcel GCSE Geography: B (1GB0))

• Development is defined as:

The progress of a country as it becomes more economically and technologically advanced

• It refers to positive changes in people’s quality of life, such as happiness, educational opportunities, increased incomes, human rights, access to clean water and healthier living conditions
• These different components are not independent of each other but linked. For example, health and the environment are dependent on income, which in turn may impact happiness
  
  • Physical: water supply, housing, power and heat, climate, diet and nutrition, etc
  • Social: family and friends, education, health, etc.
  • Psychological: happiness, security, freedom, etc. 
  • Economic: income, job security, standard of living, mobility, etc
• Development does not happen in a smooth, continuous process.
• It can be slowed, halted and even reversed through:
  • War/conflict
  • Disease
  • Disasters 
  • Economic recession

Strands of Development

• Progress is not just about a country's wealth but also other areas. These are called strands of development and include:
  • Economic: increasing levels of pay, the standard of living and productivity
  • Demographic: life expectancy, birth control, the right to migrate
  • Social: equal opportunities, access to services such as education and healthcare
  • Cultural: education, diversity, traditions and heritage
  • Political: free speech, democracy, human rights and the right to vote
  • Environmental: pollution controls, conservation

Economic Development

• Economic development is often the key to development in all the other areas
• This is dependent on three things:
  • Resources: every country has both natural resources (minerals, soils, climate, etc.) and human resources (workers, capital, technology, etc.)
  • Internal boosters: these are things which help to utilise the resources for example, government intervention, businesses
  • External boosters: are from outside the country and include Transnational Corporations (TNCs), globalisation and international agencies
• Development can occur through:
  • Investment in agriculture (tractors, fertilisers, etc.) improves food supplies, which in turn, improves the health of people
  • Improvements in supplies of power to rural areas 
  • Improvements in access to education for females and overall literacy rates

Development varies

• Levels of development vary on a local, national and international scale
• There are differences between areas of the same city, the same country and between countries
  • Germany is more developed than Mexico, but Egypt is less developed than Mexico

Categorising development

• At an international level, the development of a country can be categorised into one of three groups:
  • Developing country: a country with low human development (LHD), a poor country. Most people have a poor quality of life with inadequate services and few opportunities
  • Emerging country: a country with high and medium human development (HMHD), a recently emerging country. Countries are experiencing rapid economic growth and development based on industrial development. Incomes are rising and most people enjoy a reasonable standard of living
  • Developed country: a country with very high human development (VHHD). Countries that have modern industries and people enjoy a good standard of living with relatively high levels of income 
• The differences between levels of development is known as the development gap

• Development is hard to measure accurately as it covers so many features or strands
• It is measured using indicators 

Table of Indicators

Social Indicators	Economic Indicators
These relate to strands such as: Quality of life and social well-being Equal opportunities, access to services such as education and healthcare Life expectancy, birth control, education Diversity, traditions and heritage	These relate to strands such as: Employment, income and general wealth  Savings, house building, house sales, consumer spending International trade Resources, pollution controls and conservation

• Individual indicators are misleading when used alone, as some features develop before others
• Which can indicate that a country is more developed than it really is
• By using multiple indicators as a measure of development, a clearer picture of that country's development is produced

Measures of development

• The traditional method of measuring wealth is through the country's GNP (gross national product), GDP (gross domestic product) and GNI (gross national income)

Methods of Measuring Development

Measure	Definition	Measure of...	Effect on Development
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)	The total value of a country's output of goods and services produced in a given year There is no way of knowing what the GDP is spent on: for example, GDP increases after an earthquake due to the rebuilding which is needed this does not mean that the country is more developed or that everyone's quality of life has improved	Economic - wealth	Higher
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita	The total value of goods and services produced within a country in a year is divided by the population of the country. As this is an average, then any variation in wealth is hidden There can be huge differences in GDP depending on the size and population of a country Dividing it by the population means that more meaningful comparisons can be made between countries	Economic - wealth	Higher
Gross National Income (GNI)	Gross national income (GNI) is an alternative to gross domestic product (GDP) as a measure of wealth. It calculates income instead of output. It is, therefore, the measure of the total income received by a country from its residents and businesses regardless of whether they are located in the country or overseas	Economic - wealth	Increases
GNI per head	This is the total income of a country's goods and services, (including overseas income) divided by the number of people living in that country	Economic - wealth	Increases
Human Development Index (HDI)	This uses life expectancy, literacy rate, education level and GNI to calculate a country's score between 0 (least developed) and 1 (most developed)	Disparities between countries = social and economic	Higher

Indices of political corruption

• Political corruption can have a devastating impact on both development and human welfare
  • It means money is often not invested in infrastructure, development and human welfare but goes to wealthy individuals
  • It leads to a lack of trust between local/national governments and the population
• Transparency International scores 180 countries around the world out of 100 based on the levels of public sector corruption
• The higher the score the less corruption has been found
  • Denmark, New Zealand, Finland and Singapore have the lowest levels of public sector corruption scoring 85/100 or more
  • Somalia, Syria and South Sudan have the highest levels of public sector corruption scoring less than 15/100

• Other ways of measuring development look at social characteristics and needs, for example literacy and education, birth and life expectancy, or access to health care etc.
• These are called demographic data and include:
  
  • Fertility rates
  • Death rates
  • Population structures
  • Maternal and infant mortality 

Social Measures of Development

Measure	Definition	Measure of...	Effect on development
Literacy Rate	The percentage of adults who can read and write	Social: education	Lower
Life Expectancy	The average number of years a person can expect to live to	Social: health	The lower the age, the lower the development
People per Doctor	This measures the average number of people that could be seen by a doctor at any one time	Social: health and education	The lower the number of doctors, the lower the level of health care, but there is also a lack of suitable education to train people
Birth Rate	The number of live births per 1,000 of the total population in one year	Social: women's rights	The lower the birth rate, the higher the development. Women have access to better health care
Infant Mortality Rate	The number of children that do not survive to their first birthday per 1,000 babies born	Social: health	The higher the number, the lower the development
Death Rate	The number of deaths per 1,000 of the country's population in a year	Social: health	The lower the number, the higher the development
Access to Safe Water	The percentage of people who have access to safe drinking water	Social: health	Higher

• These rates vary for countries at different levels of development

	Fertility Rates	Death Rates	Population Structure	Maternal and Infant Mortality Rates
Developing Countries	Often high, but falls as education and access to contraception improve	High, life expectancy low, as access to basic healthcare and sanitation is poor	Youthful population	High rates as access to health care is limited
Emerging Countries	Falling as more people become wealthier and there are changes in  attitude towards having large families	Falls rapidly as economic wealth brings more health services and  improved standards of living	Life expectancy increases, and birth and death rates fall  Balanced structure	Rates fall as more people can access health care
Developed Countries	Rates are low as people choose not to have children or to have smaller  families; changing status of women	Low rates,  people living to old age, access to medical treatment, good  diet etc. May start to rise as result of an ageing population	Ageing population Birth and death rates are low: in some countries (e.g. Japan), birth rates are lower than death rates	Rates are low as health care and follow-up treatments become  available

Demographic transition model

• The demographic transition model (DTM) illustrates the five generalised stages of population change that countries pass through as they develop
• The graph is based on the changes that took place in western countries such as the UK
• It shows how birth and death rates change over time and how this affects the overall population as the country 
• The gap between the birth rate and death rate is called natural change

The DTM shows that as population move through the stages, the gap between birth rate and death rate at first widens, then narrows

Stages of the Demographic Transition

Stage	Expectation	Example
Stage 1	The total population is low  High birth rates due to lack of contraception and family planning  High death rates due to poor healthcare, poor diet and famine High infant mortality leads people to have more children so that some children survive to adulthood	Traditional rainforest tribes in parts of Indonesia, Brazil and Malaysia, have small groups of people who live separately with little contact with the outside world. They have a high birth rate and death rate
Stage 2	The total population starts to rise rapidly Birth rates remain high as people continue to have large families Death rates decrease as a result of improved diets, better healthcare, lower infant mortality and increased access to clean water	Afghanistan has a birth rate of 30 per 1000 and a death rate of 12 per 1000. About 80% of its population are farmers, who need children to support them in the fields and tend livestock
Stage 3	The total population continues to increase but the rate of growth slows down Birth rate starts to fall rapidly due to increased birth control, family planning, increased cost of raising children and low infant mortality rate  Death rate still decreasing, but at a slower rate as improvements in medicine, hygiene, diet and water quality continue	Nigeria, an emerging country, is experiencing rapid economic growth. The death rate is much lower than the birth rate; therefore, the country’s population is growing rapidly
Stage 4	The total population is high and is slowly increasing Birth rate is low and fluctuating as there is accessible birth control and more women are choosing to have fewer children and delay the age at which they start to have children Death rate is low and fluctuating	The USA is one of the most developed countries in the world and has good-quality health care, which means death rates are low (8 per 1000). Women tend to have smaller families, choose to study and follow careers, which keeps the birth rate lower at 13 per 1000. Population growth is due mainly to immigration
Stage 5	The total population starts to slowly decline as the death rate exceeds the birth rate  Birth rate is low and slowly decreasing Death rate is low and fluctuating	South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world, at 0.81 children per woman. In comparison, the average rate across the world's HICs is 1.6 children per woman. A country needs at least 2.1 children per couple to keep their population at the same size without relying on migration

Population pyramids

• The characteristics of a population, the distribution of age, sex, ethnicity, religion etc, is known as the population structure
• It is the result of changes in:
  • fertility
  • mortality
  • migration
• The two main components of age and sex can be shown on a population pyramid
• Population pyramids (also known as an age structure graph) are used to display the gender and age structure of a given population
• They illustrate the distribution of the population across age groups and between male/female
• They enable governments nationally and regionally to assess the needs of the population for services such as healthcare and education
• This means the governments can estimate and plan for spending
• As countries develop and pass through the stages of demographic transition, the shape of the population pyramid changes 
• The population pyramid can be used to identify the following groups:
  • Young dependents 
  • Old dependents 
  • Economically active (working population)
  • Dependency ratio 

Population Pyramid - Niger

Population Pyramid - Nepal

Country	Shape	Stage of DTM	Birth Rate	Life Expectancy	Death Rate	Infant Mortality	Population Structure
Niger	Concave	2	High	Low	High	High	Young dependent
Nepal	Pyramid	3	Decreasing	Increasing	Decreasing	Decreasing	Larger working age
USA	Column	4	Declined	Increasing	Low	Low	Large working age
Japan	Pentagon - narrow base	5	Very low	High	Low	Low	Ageing - older dependent

Population Pyramid - Japan

Population Pyramid - USA

Implications of population structure

• Population pyramids mean that population issues can be identified
• There are range of issues including: 
  • Ageing populations
  • Falling birth rates 
  • Impacts of migration

Ageing populations

• Many developed countries are experiencing ageing populations and an increase in the older dependent population, the implications of this include increased:
  • Pension payments
  • Need for care homes
  • Pressure on the healthcare service and social care
• It also results in fewer workers which means:
  • Governments are not able to collect as much tax
  • Some areas suffer worker shortages

Falling birth rates

• Countries experiencing falling birth rates include many developed and emerging countries, the implications of this include:
  • School closures due to fewer children
  • Future workforce shortages 

Migration

• In some countries migration can lead to an in-balance in the population structure
• The UAE has significantly more males than females 
• 29% of the population are males between the ages of 25 and 39 whereas only 10.5% of the population are women 25-39
• This is the result of the migration of males to the UAE to work in the oil, gas and construction industries
• Rapid population growth in some areas as a result of migration can lead to:
  • Increased pressure on services such as healthcare and schools
  • A shortage of housing
  • Increased traffic congestion
  • Increased water and air pollution
  • Shortage of food
  • Lack of clean water

Birth rate

• As a country develops the birth rate decreases due to:
  • Increased availability of contraception and education about family planning
  • Infant mortality decreases so people have fewer children as they know children are more likely to survive
  • More education and employment opportunities for women
  • Changing cultural expectations about family size

Death rate

• As a country develops the death rate decreases due to:
  • Improvements in healthcare and availability of medicines
  • Improvements in diet and availability of food
• In stage 5 the death rate rises slightly as a result of the ageing population

Ageing and youthful populations

• In stages 1 and 2 of the demographic transition model the population is younger with large numbers of dependent children
• In stages 3 and 4 the numbers of young people (under 15) starts to decrease
• In stages 4 and 5 the numbers of older people increase creating a dependent ageing population