Measuring and Understanding Global Development

Flashcards covering the definitions of development, economic and social indicators, growth models like Rostow's Theory, and methods for improving development through top-down and bottom-up schemes.

Development

The idea of what $21^{st}$ Century life should consist of, including essentials like access to clean water and electricity, as well as access to services and opportunities.

Economic Indicators

Measures used to judge a country based on its wealth and financial performance, such as GDP per capita and the poverty line.

GDP and GDP per capita

A measure of wealth and mean wealth through income; a high value may represent a productive workforce but can be skewed by very rich minorities.

Poverty Line

The number of people earning less than $1.90 per day; for example, it affects $0.2\%$ of the UK population compared to over $70\%$ in Zimbabwe, South Sudan, and Madagascar.

Economic Inequality

The difference in wealth between the richest $10\%$ and poorest $10\%$ of a population.

Social Indicators

Measures used to determine development based on the health and welfare of a country’s population, including life expectancy and literacy rates.

Life Expectancy

An estimate of how long a person will live, determined at birth, based on current services, predicted advances, and the risk of diseases.

Literacy Rate

The quality of education within a country, which typically correlates to economic output and higher wages for the workforce.

Infant Mortality Rate

A measure of the quality of healthcare and attitudes towards children, tracking the deaths of those most vulnerable to disease and malnutrition.

Environmental Indicators

Measures such as pollution levels and the proportion of woodland or green space that reflect a country's technology efficiency and government attitudes toward nature.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A mixed measure ranking countries between $0$ and $1$ based on income and inequality, levels of education (years in school), and life expectancy.

Rostow's Modernisation Theory

A model suggesting all countries follow a five-stage pathway to becoming developed over years, decades, or centuries.

Traditional Society

The first stage of Rostow’s model where the economy is based on primary industry (agriculture, mining, fishing) with low levels of technology.

Pre-conditions for Take Off

The second stage of Rostow’s model where a country starts creating resources in demand globally, like minerals or cotton, before official international trade begins.

Take Off

The third stage of Rostow’s model characterized by rapid industrialization, investment from businesses, and a shift from agriculture to regular-income industry jobs.

Drive to Maturity

The fourth stage of Rostow’s model where the government uses tax revenue to solve problems like pollution and poverty, and industries are refined or regulated.

High Mass Consumption

The final stage of Rostow’s model where high average incomes allow families to afford luxury items like televisions and laptops, with good access to services.

Brandt Line

An imaginary division that splits the world into the more developed northern hemisphere and the developing southern hemisphere.

Frank's Dependency Model

A model showing the movement of resources and goods in a cycle, explaining how the core becomes richer while the periphery remains poor.

Core and Periphery

A concept used in Frank's Dependency Model where the 'core' (e.g., Britain) trades manufactured goods for a higher profit than the 'periphery' (e.g., the Caribbean), which provides raw resources.

Topography

The shape of the land (mountainous vs. flat), which affects where communities can be built and how easily a country can develop infrastructure.

Corruption

Government dishonesty including bribery, forcing power, or 'losing' aid money; it is estimated that $5\%$ of global GDP is spent corruptly.

Top-Down Projects

Large-scale, expensive constructions like the Three Gorges Dam or HS2 Railway that are agreed upon by governments and international businesses.

Bottom-Up Projects

Small-scale projects organized by NGOs (like Heifer or Water Aid) that focus on helping individual families and communities directly.