IGCSE Economics Chapter 5

Living standards refer to: (3)

- General economic wealth

- Wellbeing

- Quality of life

How can living standards be measured?

- Real GDP per head

- HDI

Pros of GDP (4)

- Provides a useful indication of living standards

- Income is a good measure

- Data is easy to find

- Easy to compare

Cons of GDP (4)

- Ignores many factors

- It is an average

- Does not take into account what the country is producing

- Informal economies not taken into account

Pros of HDI (2)

- A wide measure of human development

- Produced by the UN, objective

Cons of HDI (2)

- Does not take everything into account

- The importance placed on eg healthcare may not be as important in real life

Why do living standards differ within a country? (4)

- Skilled workers benefit more from economic growth

- Primary sector workers have lower wages

- Limited access to education could affect living standards

- Tax systems affect the distribution of income

Why do living standards differ between countries? (5)

- Developed countries have higher incomes

- Countries with eg oil can be richer

- Countries with high inflation have lower living standards

- Some have better governments

- Wars

What is poverty?

When you are not able to provide yourself with everything you may need. There is relative and absolute poverty

Causes of poverty are: (7)

- Unemployment

- Low wages

- Old age

- Sickness

- Excessive spending

- Lack of opportunities

- War

Policies to reduce poverty are: (10)

- Progressive taxation

- Welfare benefits

- Education and training

- Minimum wages

- Job creation

- Subsidies on basic needs

- Direct provision of basic needs

- Encourage more MNC

- Education on finances

- Create income-generating opportunites

Factors affecting population growth (5)

- Birth rate

- Fertility rate

- Death rate

- Infant mortality rate

- Net migration

Variations in birth rates: (8)

- Cost of raising children

- Subsistence farming: Farmers need help

- Support for the old

- Infant mortality rate

- Social attitude toward women in work

- Age of marriage

- A young population

- Availability of contraceptives

Variations in death rates (7)

- Age structure of pop

- Access to healthcare

- Sanitation

- Lack of education

- Higher incomes

- Laws to protect people

- War and conflict

Variations in net migration between countries (2)

- Movement of migrants to better countries

- Refugees become problems of better countries

Advantages for developing countries of emigration (3)

- May send money home

- More skill when they return

- Slows pop growth

Disadvantages for developing countries of emigration (2)

- May stop growth

- Decreases working pop

Effects of an increase in pop (6)

- Competition for resources

- Overcrowding

- Increased demands

- Competition for jobs

- More dependant pop

- Pollution

Effects of a decrease in pop (5)

- Less demand

- Less productive capacity

- Inefficiently used resources

- Less overcrowding

- Change in government spending

Effects of an ageing pop (7)

- More dependant pop

- Higher income tax

- More government spending

- Shortage of workers

- Reduced labour mobility

- More skills

- People die less quickly

What helps against an ageing pop? (3)

- Encouraging more kids

- Raising retirement age

- Encourage immigration of skilled workers

Why are there more guys in Asia? (2)

- Preference for sons

- Immigration of male workers

What can more guys lead to? (4)

- Less economic growth

- Fewer marriages

- Rising crime rates

- More human trafficking

Economic development is:

An improvement in the living standards and quality of life of the population