Ch 28 - The Economic and Sustainable Development 

  • Economic growth: an increase in the real output of an economy over time (less multidimensional)

  • Economic development: qualitative measure of the county’s standard of living (more multidimensional)
      * involves reducing widespread poverty and reducing income inequalities and decreasing employment opportunities

  • Sources of economic growth in less developed countries:
      * Increases in human capital (improvements in training and education)
      * Increases in physical capital ( improvements in machinery will benefit productivity)
      * New technologies (can induce economic growth as efficiency in manufacturing increases)
      * Institutional change (encouragement of entrepreneurship)
      * In the long term, economic growth is usually necessary for economic development
        * an increase in the quality of life tends to require an increase in real incomes

  • Sustainable development: economic development that is conducted with depletion of natural resources
      * Relationship between sustainability and poverty: poor people in LEDC’s have to rely more on the environment than rich countries/people
        * Environment may be their source of food, fuel, sanitation, and waste disposal. However, the use of the environment results in further environmental problems

  • Characteristics of LEDC’s: (Less economically developed countries)
      * Low levels of GDP per capita
      * High levels of poverty
      * Relatively large agriculture sector
      * Large urban informal sector
      * High birth rate

  • Formulas:
      * Child dependency ratio: % of population under 15 / % of population 15 to 64
      * Old age dependency ratio: % of population over 64 / % of population 15 to 64

  • Millennium Development Goals
      * These are the world's targets for addressing poverty and improving the global standards of living. These goals are to…
        * Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
        * Achieve universal primary education
        * Promote gender equality and empower women
        * Reduce child mortality
        * Improve maternal health
        * Combat HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases
        * Ensure environmental sustainability
        * Global partnership for development

 

  • The role of Aid:
      * Programme aid: funding provided for specific programmes which is dependent on the recipient adhering to specific conditions.
      * Project aid: aid which is given for a specific purpose, including support for schools and hospitals.
      * Humanitarian aid: food aid, medical relief and emergency relief aid which is often provided by nongovernmental organisations (NGOs)
      * Official development assistance: aid which is granted to economically less developed countries by governments is called.
      * Foreign aid: money, food or resources given or lent by one country to another.