Defining Development (Edexcel IGCSE Geography)

• Development is the progress (improvements) that countries make
  
  • The progress improves the lives of the population and makes the country more independent
  • For example, improving water infrastructure so more people have a supply of clean water
• Development does not happen in a smooth, continuous process.
• A range of factors may slow, halt, and even reverse development, including:
  • 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: These are from outside the country and include Transnational Corporations (TNCs), globalisation and international agencies

• 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
• At the international level, the development of a country can be categorised into one of three groups:
  • Developed - a country with very high human development
  • Emerging - a country with high or medium human development
  • Developing - a country with low human development

• The cycle of wealth is one of the keys to development
• Economic development creates wealth
• If a country has a stable and effective government, this also leads to development
• As the economy grows, more people work and earn more money:
  • The government can then collect more taxes and people have more disposable income to spend, which increases business profits
  • The taxes collected and profits made by companies can then be invested in future growth as well as infrastructure, education, healthcare, etc...

Cycle of Wealth

• Human welfare is often referred to as quality of life
• Quality of life includes many components and is difficult to define
• It includes subjective evaluations of life, such as happiness 
• The different components are linked together; for example, health and environment are dependent on income, which in turn may impact happiness 

Components of Quality of Life