AQA GCSE Geography - The Changing Economic World

LIC (Low Income Country)

GNI per capita: <US$1,045

~30 countries

NEE (Newly Emerging Economy)

GNI per capita: US$1,045-12,736

~80 countries

HIC (High Income Country)

GNI per capita: >US$12,736

~80 countries

GNI per capita

The total value of goods and services produced by a country divided by its population

Birth rate

How many people are born in a country each year

Death rate

How many people die in a country each year

IMR (Infant Mortality Rate)

The number of deaths of children less than 1 year old per 1,000 births

Life expectancy

The average number of years a person can expect to live

People per doctor

The number of people who depend on a single doctor for healthcare needs

Literacy rate

The % of a country’s population that has basic reading/writing skills

Access to safe water

The percentage of people who have access to water that does not carry a health risk

HDI (Human Development Index)

Accounts for income, life expectancy and education. Combines these factors for a 0-1 variable signifying development

DTM stage 1

Very high, fluctuating birth/death rate, very low population

DTM stage 2

High birth rate, sharp fall in death rate, growing population

DTM stage 3

Birth rates fall, death rates plateau at a low level, population grows rapidly

DTM stage 4

Very low, fluctuating birth/death rates, population peaks

DTM stage 5

Birth rate stagnates, death rate rises slowly, population begins to slowly decline

Causes of uneven development - Physical

• Climate - too hot/dry, less water available, barren land

• Natural disasters - earthquakes, hurricanes destroy buildings

Causes of uneven development - Economic

• Varying levels of economic development - some countries rely on agriculture, manufacturing, services

Causes of uneven development - Historical

• LIC borrowing from HICs - to initially develop, LICs took out large loans, interest has to be repaid

• Colonialism - other countries have exploited valuable resources from countries and left underdeveloped infrastructure/unstable governance

Consequences of uneven development - Wealth

• For some groups in LICs/NEEs, QoL is not improving/is worsening

• Need for aid from other countries/NGOs

Consequences of uneven development - Health

• Some countries have very low life expectancies, high IMR/death rates

• People miss days of work/school from illness, thus economy is hindered

Consequences of uneven development - International migration

• LICs → HICs - seeking better opportunities/SoL

• e.g. channel boats France → UK

• Can lead to brain drain or a smaller labour force in LICs

Investment

TNCs invest money into LICs/NEEs

• Improves taxation (better SoL)

• Can impact lots of people (mostly urban)

Aid

Comes from charities, NGOs, governments

• Boosts growth

• Can lead to dependence - political influence

• Potential mismanagement although not always monetary aid

Intermediate technology

Technology such as water pumps that doesn’t require specialists to operate

• Local communities can operate

• Not expensive to maintain, can be fixed easily

• Not very impactful on closing development gap

Industrial development

Investing in an industry hoping it will take off

• Very risky strategy

• Can yield very large profits

• e.g. BRICS, MINT nations

Fair trade

Paying extra for local products from LICs/NEEs

• Multinational, large scale

• Accusations of violating the agreement

Micro-finance loans

Small loan banks → small businesses

• Helps locals to escape poverty

• Can allow ideas to become reality

• Low risk

Debt relief

Erasing debt for an obligation

• Lowers costs from interest

• Political influence issues

• Won’t close development gap

Tourism

Attracting tourists to a country for growth

• Provides jobs, higher paid

• Puts money into local economy

• Only works for a few countries

• e.g. Tunisia