Comprehensive Notes on Global Development Issues, Political Stability, and Trade

Unit 1: The Meaning of Development and the Three Aspects of Development

• Definition of Development: Development is a multi-dimensional concept that concerns money and wealth, living conditions, and the use of land and resources.

• The Three Aspects of Development:     * Economic: Related to wealth, money, and the financial state of a nation.     * Social: Related to communities, their welfare, and quality of life.     * Environmental: Related to natural resources and the state of the environment.

• Welfare: Defined as the state of health, comfort, and happiness of a population.

• Interconnectivity: All three aspects are connected and provide support for the general welfare of people.

Unit 2: Ways of Measuring Development and Specific Indicators

• Development Indicators: These are measurable pieces of information used to compare development levels between countries or regions. They focus on specific aspects of development (economic, social, or environmental).

• Economic Indicators: These provide information about income and wealth.     * Examples: Amount spent on luxury goods, number of computers in a society, electricity consumption.     * Gross Domestic Product (GDP): The total monetary value of all goods and services produced by a country in one year.     * GDP per capita: The GDP divided by the total population, representing the amount of money every person would have if total earnings were divided equally.     * Formula: $\text{GDP per capita} = \frac{\text{GDP}}{\text{Total population}}$     * Currency Standard: GDP is typically given in $US\,dollars$ to allow for easier international comparison.

• Purchasing Power Parity (PPP): A fairer method of comparing GDP per capita that adjusts figures to reflect the actual cost of buying the same goods (e.g., bread or electricity) in different countries.

• GDP per capita Data (2022 IMF Purchasing Power Parity):     * United States: $76,000\,USD$     * France: $57,000\,USD$     * China: $21,400\,USD$     * Brazil: $18,000\,USD$     * South Africa: $16,000\,USD$     * India: $8,400\,USD$     * Kenya: $5,700\,USD$

• Social Indicators: Measure conditions affecting the quality of life.     * Life Expectancy: The average age a person can expect to reach.     * Infant Mortality: The number of babies per $1,000$ live births who die before reaching one year of age (includes deaths at birth).     * Literacy: The percentage of the population over age $15$ who can read and write.

• Social Indicator Data Comparison:     * South Africa: Life Expectancy: $63$; Infant Mortality: $23$; Literacy: $95\%$     * Brazil: Life Expectancy: $77$; Infant Mortality: $12$; Literacy: $95\%$     * France: Life Expectancy: $82$; Infant Mortality: $3$; Literacy: $99\%$     * Kenya: Life Expectancy: $61$; Infant Mortality: $28$; Literacy: $83\%$     * United States: Life Expectancy: $79$; Infant Mortality: $5$; Literacy: $97\%$     * India: Life Expectancy: $67$; Infant Mortality: $26$; Literacy: $74\%$     * China: Life Expectancy: $79$; Infant Mortality: $5$; Literacy: $98\%$

• Environmental Indicators: Measure the impact of human activity on the environment and natural resources.     * Context: The world population grew from $3\,billion$ in $1960$ to $7\,billion$ in $2011$, and over $8\,billion$ by $2022$, an increase of almost $60\%$ in $50$ years.     * Human Impact: Current human impact on the environment is categorized as $60$ times greater than it was $50$ years ago.     * Specific Examples: Percentage of polluting gases in the atmosphere, drop in fish stocks in oceans, quantity of non-renewable resources used, and quality of water in rivers and lakes.

Unit 3: Human Development Index (HDI)

• Definition: The HDI is a composite indicator that includes three specific social and economic measures to represent human development levels.

• Components of HDI:     * Health: Measured by Life expectancy at birth.     * Education: Measured by average and expected years of schooling.     * Living Standards: Measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita.

• Classification Levels: Very High, High, Medium, and Low.

• 2022 HDI Rankings (out of 193 countries):     * Top Two: Norway and Eswatini.     * Bottom Two: South Sudan and Somalia.     * South Africa: Ranked $110$ out of $193$.

• Factors affecting HDI changes: Impact of climate change, Covid-19, famine, droughts, and wars.

Unit 4: Differences in Development Around the World - MEDCs and LEDCs

• Categorization:     * More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs): Wealthier countries with high income levels and high quality of life.     * Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs): Poorer countries aiming to improve low quality of life.

• Comparative Table of Indicators:     * Diet: LEDCs - malnutrition (up to $20\%$); MEDCs - balanced, protein-rich, risk of being overweight.     * Jobs: LEDCs - mainly farming, high unemployment; MEDCs - manufacturing and services.     * People per Doctor: LEDCs - approx $3,000$; MEDCs - approx $500$.     * Life Expectancy: LEDCs - often under $45\,years$; MEDCs - usually over $70\,years$.     * Housing: LEDCs - poor quality, owner-built, few facilities; MEDCs - high standard, electricity, sewage, water.     * Population Growth: LEDCs - rapid, populations can double in less than $30\,years$; MEDCs - slow, small families.     * Exports: LEDCs - unprocessed raw materials; MEDCs - manufactured goods.     * Education: LEDCs - lower literacy, secondary school often not finished; MEDCs - high literacy, $12\,years$ of schooling.

Unit 5: Regional Differences in Development within South Africa

• Misleading Nature of National Statistics: Averages omit internal disparities between regions/provinces.

• South African Provincial Data (2011 context):     * Infant Mortality Rates (Deaths per 1,000 live births): Significant variation across provinces like Western Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo, and Eastern Cape.     * Child Poverty (Under 18s): Highest in Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and KwaZulu-Natal; lowest in Western Cape and Gauteng.     * Life Expectancy (2011): Women generally have higher life expectancy than men across all provinces, though rates vary by region.

Unit 6: Factors Affecting Development - Historical and Political

• Historical Factors (Colonialism and Colonisation):     * Colonialism: The policy of taking control of other countries to benefit from trade.     * Period: $1500$ to $1900$, where European countries conquered vast lands to control natural resources.     * Underdevelopment: A process where powerful countries used colonies for cheap resources and labour while selling them expensive manufactured goods, creating unequal wealth.     * Case Study (Portugal): Ruled colonies including Brazil and Mozambique. Brazil (independent since $1822$) has a GDP per capita of $10,400\,USD$ and literacy of $94\%$, whereas Mozambique (independent since $1975$) has a GDP per capita of $600\,USD$ and literacy of $63\%$.

• Political Stability:     * Definition: Regions not experiencing conflict, war, or social unrest. Essential for the smooth running of a country.     * Cost of Instability: In $2011$, the USA spent $70\,billion\,USD$ on the war in Afghanistan, while South Africa spent $20\,billion\,USD$ on education.     * South Africa: High risk on the stability index due to service delivery protests and labor strikes.

Topic 2, Unit 1: More Equitable Trading Relationships

• Equitable: Meaning equal and fair.

• Trade Gap: The difference between the low price of raw materials (LEDCs) and the high price of manufactured goods (MEDCs), which prevents LEDCs from earning enough to raise development levels.

• Case Study: Coffee in Ethiopia:     * Ethiopia has $120\,million$ people; many are farmers, and nearly half grow coffee.     * The Profit Division (per 100 cents):         * Ethiopia (35c): Shared between farm owners, workers, and the government for raw beans.         * Europe (65c): 15c for factory wages, 20c for company expenses/profit, 10c for shop retail, 5c for transport, and 15c for advertising.

• Case Study: The Tea Co-Op in Sri Lanka:     * Sri Lanka is the world's 4th largest tea producer ($19\%$ of global exports).     * Strategy: Processing raw tea into teabags within Sri Lanka rather than exporting loose leaves. Teabags sell for a higher price.     * The Tea Co-Op: Helps small producers bypass multinational middle-men to reach consumers in England and Australia directly.     * Benefits of On-site Processing: Increased local jobs, more money for education/health, worker skill development, higher tax collection for social services.

Unit 2: Alternative vs. Conventional Development

• Conventional Development: focuses on economic growth via industrialisation and technology. It is often top-down, controlled by governments or large businesses, and may increase inequality by favoring urban areas.

• Alternative Development: Focuses on meeting basic human needs (water, shelter, health) and reducing poverty. It is a response to the failures of conventional models in rural areas.

• Key Differences:     * Participation: Conventional has limited participation; Alternative uses a participatory approach involving local people in decisions.     * Focus: Conventional focuses on wealth; Alternative focuses on quality of life and empowerment.

• Case Study: Sewing for Development in Afghanistan (Zardozi):     * Helps $2,500$ poor women earn a living through sewing.     * Activities: Training in sewing/business skills, stimulating new designs, marketing assistance, and lending money for sewing machines.

Unit 3: Sustainable Development

• Definition: Development that meets present needs without making it difficult for future generations to meet theirs.

• Principles of Sustainable Development:     * Use of local resources and skills sustainably.     * Inexpensive to run and avoids large-scale debt.     * Uses simple and appropriate technology.     * Cares for renewable resources and does not damage the environment.

• Example: Community development programs in Mozambique use local resources for crafts to support small-scale community projects.

Unit 4: Technology, Industrialisation, and Economic Strategies

• Tanzania (The Arusha Declaration):     * Led by Julius Nyerere after independence in $1961$.     * Focus: Agriculture, self-sufficiency, and rural development (ujamaa villages).     * Result: Improved education and national identity, but did not achieve full economic independence.

• South Korea (Industrialisation Stages):     * Occupied by Japan until $1945$; later industrialised with aid from the USA and Japan.     * Stage 1: Focus on export-orientated light industries (textiles, sugar, flour) then heavy industry (steel, oil, chemicals).     * Stage 2: Exporting electronics (TVs, computers) and investing in skilled worker training.     * Stage 3: High-technology exports (space tech, bio-engineering, micro-electronics).     * Outcome: Rose from poverty in the $1950s$ to $15th$ on the HDI by $2011$.

Unit 5: Health, Welfare, and Education Impacts

• Health and Welfare: Societies with high illness rates cannot develop efficiently. Issues include overcrowding, domestic violence, and drug abuse in poor communities.

• Education's Role:     * Reduces poverty, spreads knowledge, and helps fight HIV.     * Produces skilled workers and creates a stable society.     * Statistical Comparison of Education Spending:         * South Africa: $20\%$ of government spending; average $7.2\,years$ of school.         * United States: $13\%$ of government spending; average $12.9\,years$ of school.         * Brazil: $16\%$ of government spending; average $6.8\,years$ of school.

Questions & Discussion

• Q: How does high political instability affect development?

• A: Political disturbances and social unrest (like strikes and wars) threaten the smooth running of the economy and society. Funds are diverted from development goals (like education) to military spending (e.g., the $70\,billion\,USD$ spent by the USA on the Afghan war).

• Q: Why do multinational companies prefer to buy raw products?

• A: By buying raw materials cheaply and processing them in MEDCs, these companies capture the majority of the profit (the "trade gap"), leaving the LEDCs with insufficient funds to raise their own development levels.

• Q: Why is it important to examine environmental indicators when measuring development?

• A: Some countries achieve high economic and social scores at the expense of the environment. Sustainable development requires a balance between economic, social, and environmental goals to ensure resources are available for the future.

• Q: How is the Zardozi organization empowering women in Afghanistan?

• A: By providing sewing and business skills training, identifying marketing opportunities, and lending money for equipment, which allows them to earn a living independently.

• Development: A multi-dimensional concept concerning money and wealth, living conditions, and the use of land and resources.

• Welfare: The state of health, comfort, and happiness of a population.

• Economic Indicators: Measurable information that provides insights into a country’s wealth, focusing on income and wealth aspects.

• Examples of Economic Indicators:

  • Amount spent on luxury goods

  • Number of computers in a society

  • Electricity consumption

• Gross Domestic Product (GDP): The total monetary value of all goods and services produced by a country in one year.

• GDP per capita: The GDP divided by the total population, representing the amount of money available to each individual if earnings were equally distributed.

• Purchasing Power Parity (PPP): An adjustment of GDP per capita to reflect the actual cost of purchasing goods across different countries.

• Social Indicators: Measurable factors affecting the quality of life, including life expectancy, infant mortality, and literacy rates.

• Environmental Indicators: Measurements of the impact of human activity on the environment and natural resources.

• Human Development Index (HDI): A composite indicator representing human development levels based on health, education, and living standards.

• More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs): Wealthier countries with high income levels and quality of life.

• Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs): Poorer countries with a need to improve their quality of life.

• Equitable: Meaning equal and fair, especially in terms of trade relations.

• Trade Gap: The disparity between the low price of raw materials from LEDCs and the high price of manufactured goods from MEDCs, which limits LEDC development.

• Life Expectancy: The average age a person can expect to reach.

• Infant Mortality: The number of babies per 1,000 live births who die before reaching one year of age.

• Literacy: The percentage of the population over age 15 who can read and write.

• Factors Affecting Development: Includes historical factors such as colonialism, political stability, and social unrest which impact economic growth and development levels.

• Sustainable Development: Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

• Alternative Development: Focuses on meeting basic human needs and reducing poverty, contrasting with conventional development methods.