Revision Guide - OCR Geography For Enquiring Minds: Unit 6 - Dynamic Development

Revision Guide – OCR Geography for Enquiring Minds
Unit 6 – Dynamic Development

Development
In a geographical sense, we think of development as being about improving people’s lives. It is
often associated with wealth but it is much more complicated than that. For example, you might
consider human and environmental health as more important than wealth. The international
economist Hans Rosling said, ‘You move much faster if you are healthy first than if you are
wealthy first’. Or perhaps being able to feel safe in your country and have a democratic, fair
government with your human rights protected might be just as important as money.
Sustainable development
How are countries defined in terms of development?

Advanced countries (ACs) share a number of important economic
development characteristics including well-developed financial markets, high degrees of financial
intermediation and diversified
economic structures with rapidly growing service sectors. An
example of an AC is the UK.
Emerging developing countries (EDCs) do not share all the economic development
characteristics required to be advanced but are not eligible for the Poverty Reduction
and Growth Trust. An example of an EDC is South Africa.
Low-income developing countries (LIDCs) are eligible for the Poverty
Reduction and Growth Trust from the IMF. An example of an LIDC is
Ethiopia.
Measures of development
• Birth rate
• Death rate
• Doctors per 1000
• Infant mortality
• Life expectancy
• Secondary school attendance
• Primary school attendance
• Literacy rate
The Human Development Index (commonly abbreviated HDI) is a summary of human
development around the world and implies whether a country is developed, still
developing, or underdeveloped based on factors such as life expectancy, education,
literacy, gross domestic product per capita.
Today, the HDI examines three basic dimensions to measure a country’s growth and
achievements in human development. The first of these is health for the country’s
people. This is measured by life expectancy at birth and those with higher life
expectancies rank higher than those with lower life expectancies.
The second dimension measured in the HDI is a country’s overall knowledge level as
measured by the adult literacy rate combined with the gross enrolment ratios of
students in primary school through the university level.
The third and final dimension in the HDI is a country’s standard of living. Those with
higher standards of living rank higher than those with lower standards of living. This
dimension is measured with the gross domestic product per capita in purchasing power
parity terms, based on United States dollars.
The top five countries based on 2013 HDI were:
1) Norway
2) Australia
3) United States
4) Netherlands
5) Germany
The category of “Very High Human Development" includes places like Bahrain, Israel,
Estonia and Poland. Countries with “High Human Development” are next and include
Armenia, the Ukraine and Azerbaijan. There is a category called "Medium Human
Development" which includes Jordan, Honduras, and South Africa. Finally, countries
with “Low Human Development” include such places as Togo, Malawi and Benin.
Physical factors that affect development

Human factors affecting development
Cycle of poverty
Factors that make it difficult to break down poverty
Strategies to reduce poverty

Aid
Types of aid Features of aid Advantages Disadvantages
Bi-lateral (can be Given directly from one  Creates links between  LEDCs often have to
conditional aid) country to another. Often 2 countries pay back at high
tied interest rates
 LEDC benefits, can
develop (sometimes,
without having to pay
back)
Multilateral aid Provided by many countries  A block of countries  LEDCs often have to
(can be and organised by an can work together as pay back at high
conditional) international body such as a team to mitigate interest rates
the UN problems
 Some countries
 Countries can develop might not want to be
quicker with aid part of the team!
Non-governmental Run by NGOs or charities  Don’t expect anything  Not government

aid or charitable back funded so rely on
aid donations from the
 Quicker than
public
government aid
 They have to work
 Good for the
hard to get
government as they
donations (adverts
don’t have to pay
are expensive)
 Good inside
knowledge of LEDCs
Short term or relief Provided to help cope with  Sorts people out  Doesn’t last long
aid unexpected disasters such really quickly
 Reliant on the aid
as earthquakes, volcanoes
 Keeps people alive
and cyclones  Transport costs are
 Quick and effective high and sometimes
slow
 Can cause conflict
Developmental aid Directed towards  Lasts a long time  Isn’t always effective
continuous improvements if short term aid is
 Supports the country
in the quality of life more important
to develop
 Media coverage
 Stabilises the country
leads to a lack of
 Provides new skills funding for this type
of aid
Ethiopia
Rostow’s Model
Stage 1 – traditional society

This is what we might have expected in the UK before the Industrial Revolution.
Economies are based upon subsistence which relies on collecting natural resources to
meet an individual’s basic needs for survival, with very little extra for trade. Primary
industries, such as farming, mining and logging, dominate employment. Agriculture is
the most important industry, with the most employment; you cannot become
developed without first having secure access to food and water.
Farming here is mostly small-scale and labour intensive. It often involves shifting
cultivation (where farmers move regularly), ‘slash and burn’ techniques and nomadic
lifestyles. During
Stage 1, the economy is very vulnerable to uncontrollable influences such as the
weather, disease, war, pests, famine, etc.
Stage 2 – pre-conditions for take off
By this stage, people are beginning to have surplus produce that they can trade, and
infrastructure (particularly roads and communications) has improved so that trade is
easier. Agriculture still dominates but now becomes more commercial and large scale,
using machinery and fewer workers. Because productivity increases, resources can be
processed more efficiently and some more profit is made. This leads to investment and
an increase in wealth. Secondary industries such as manufacturing start to take off,
particularly in textiles and processing raw materials extracted by primary workers.
Governments start to encourage trans-national companies (TNCs) to invest; for
example, an international clothing company may set up factories here. As a result, the
economy begins to experience globalisation: countries become interconnected by trade
and culture with other places.
Stage 3 – take off

During this stage, secondary manufacturing dominates the economy as industrialisation
occurs and more factories are built and machinery is introduced. The increase in wealth
means that governments can invest in social schemes like education and health, as well
as general infrastructure. TNCs often dominate the economy, which can lead to
dependency as the country relies upon these international companies to provide
investment and jobs. This may lead to problems such as workers being exploited, or
environmental damage. As workers increasingly switch from primary to secondary jobs,
this leads to rural–urban migration and urbanisation as towns and cities grow. There
might be some inequality of wealth; a rural–urban divide can exist between places that
have more wealth and services and those which do not. Increasingly the nation
becomes more modernised with new airports, roads, railways, public services,
education and healthcare as well as access to electricity and the internet. This continues
to encourage international investment and can lead to a ‘spiral of prosperity’, or the
multiplier effect, whereby investment leads to wealth, which leads to more investment,
etc.
Stage 4 – Drive to maturity
The country is becoming more self-sufficient as the economy diversifies and does not
have to rely upon foreign investment so much. A snowballing of government
investment leads to rapid urbanisation and a depopulation of rural areas. This can
cause issues of urban congestion and rural decline. As education and aspirations
improve, employment changes again so that more are involved in tertiary ‘service’ jobs,
such as customer care, sales, nursing, teaching, IT support, etc. Very few people now
work in primary jobs, as resources can often be imported cheaply from somewhere
else. Universities and easy school access mean that high-tech industry and the
beginnings of quaternary jobs (such as research and development) start to appear.
Stage 5 – High mass consumption
This is seen as the ultimate point to reach. Tertiary service jobs now dominate the
economy and secondary manufacturing shifts to smaller factories with less
environmental impact. As the population becomes wealthier, consumption (buying or
using resources) increasingly focuses on high-value goods such as cars, electronics,
leisure activities, designer goods, etc.
Timeline of recent Ethiopian history
What are the millennium development goals?

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development.
Ethiopian exports
Trading patterns
TNCS in Ethiopia
TNCs can bring both advantages and disadvantages. Investment in hotel infrastructure
can increase tourism. Workers in hotels are often paid a fair wage and may have access
to the facilities out of hours. However this is not always the case. Although TNCs bring
employment and therefore income, workers in LIDCs are often paid a low salary and
working conditions can be difficult. The companies wish to make a profit and the reason
they locate to LIDCs like Ethiopia is because regulations on wages and working
conditions are less strict than in more developed locations. For example, workers in
factories in Ethiopia may get $50 a month while workers in an EDC might receive $175
for the same job.
Aid to Ethiopia
Bottom-up strategies are led by local populations and are sometimes known as ‘self-
help’ schemes or ‘grassroots’ projects. They are likely to be supported in the early days
by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), especially charities, until they can be self-
sufficient. Bottom-up strategies are targeted on very specific small-scale needs, as
chosen by the people, which are likely to have an immediate impact.
Top-down schemes are larger in scale and bigger in impact. The potential costs can
seem excessive, but the ultimate aim is to reduce poverty and increase economic
development.

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Revision Guide – OCR Geography for Enquiring Minds

Unit 6 – Dynamic Development

How are countries defined in terms of development?

The top five countries based on 2013 HDI were:

Physical factors that affect development

Strategies to reduce poverty

Non-governmental Run by NGOs or charities  Don’t expect anything  Not government

 Can cause conflict

Stage 1 – traditional society

Stage 2 – pre-conditions for take off

Stage 3 – take off

Stage 4 – Drive to maturity

Stage 5 – High mass consumption

What are the millennium development goals?

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