part 2 midterm

Name of the economics Nobel Prize winner

Elinor Ostrom 2009. won it for showing that people do not always act in their narrow self-interest

what does Elinor Ostrom identify as a critical component? and is it nationalization or privatization or something else ?

her critical component is that she feels people can work together to manage shared resources

Something else. she instead wants communties to set their own rules

The examples of a ‘tragedy of the commons’ type situation given in class.

Gulf of mexico “dead Zone”

COLLAPSE OF GRAND BANKS Fisheries

TRAFFIC CONGESTION

Gulf of Mexico “Dead Zone”

• farmers are under pressures to use fertilizers that contain nutrients to maximize growth, this leads to a depletion of the environment through the dead zone

• shows how a lack of regulation and everyone acting in their innocent self-interest harms the environment

Collapse of Grand Banks Fisheries

there was no more fish so everyone decided to act on their own interest by depleting the envioronment

NEED regulation

Traffic congestion

Hardin’s theory

everyone acts on their own interest by driving but it is harmful because roads reach capacity

Demographic transition model (Phases)

Phase 1: pre-industrial societies are characterized by high death and birth rates

Phase 2: rapid fall in death rate= gap between death rate and birth rate

Phase 3: birth rates fall, but at a later date than death rates

Phase 4: death rates and birth rates equal each other but at a much lower level. Population is higher than previous

Phase 5:some countries entered phase 5

What is the resource curse?

countries with abundant natural resources
do not perform well economically compared to countries without resources

Study the population pyramids for Ghana and Kenya. Understand what the changing shape of the pyramid over time indicates, in terms of changing population growth rate

(1990)an increase of males and females in the 0-4 year category but as they aged the population would decrease

(2010) a significant decrease in both males and females in the 0-4 category. As ages increase, there is no specific pattern. Pyramid goes up and down randomly

The relationship between poverty, education level, and rural/urban location, and the number of children had by women.

high fertility rates are in rural areas with poor people who have little to no education

low fertility rates are evident in urban areas, with rich people who are educated

The fertility rate in Africa in the middle of the 20th century, the present day, and the predictions for the end of the 21st century

Middle of the 20th century: women have an average of 6.6 births

Present day: fertility rate now sits at 4.71 births, still almost twice the world average of 2.51

Predictions by the end of the 21st century: fertility rate is estimated to be 2.16 births, just above the world average of 1.99

two concepts of decoupling

reducing impact of resource use (impact decoupling)

• reducing oil spills, adding safety regulation, paying funds when mining

resource decoupling from economic activity

• as economic activity increases, resource use increases

temperature trends based on distance from equator

Equator = generally hot & wet

Above & below equator by 30 degrees = generally hot & dry

tropical wet climates

Equatorial latitudes (→Northern South America, Middle Africa)

tropical dry climate:

Subtropical high (30 degrees from equator) (Northern South America, top of South tip of Africa)

Arid Climate:

Mid Latitudes (60 degrees from the equator) (top half of Africa, west America, Middle East, Northern China

Polar Climate:

Polar Latitudes (further from the equator) (arctic, top bit of Canada, and Asia

globalization

process that breaks down boundaries, makes places similar, and connects them by encouraging ideas, products, and practices

Regionalization:

how & when & why regions emerge

solar energy at the Equator

Vernal and autumnal equinox (-March & September 21st) - neither hemisphere is tilted towards the sun, equal day and night length everywhere in the world

Tropic of cancer

23.5 north in JUNE summer solstice

Tropic of Capricorn

23.5 south in DECEMBER winter solstice