Development Dilemmas

Development Dilemmas

1. What is development?

   • Development is a measurement of how advanced a country is, based upon the standard of living in that country
     • Development can be measured using economic or social indicators
   • Factors of development
     • Economic
       • Income
       • Industries
       • Job security
     • Physical wellbeing
       • Diet
       • Clean water
       • Environment
     • Mental wellbeing
       • Freedom
       • Security
       • Happiness
     • Social
       • Education
       • Healthcare
       • Leisure facilities
   • Economic indicators
     • Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
       • The total value of goods and services produced by a country in a year
     • Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)
       • Adjusts income to take into account the cost of living in that country
   • Political indicators
     • How well governed is the country?
     • Is there corruption?
     • Is there free speech?

2. The development gap

   • Social indicators
     • Human Development Index (HDI)
       • A measure produced yearly by the UN
       • Combined measure of life expectancy, education and GDP per capita
       • High development ≥ 0.8
       • Medium development = 0.5 - 0.799
       • Low development < 0.5
     • Birth rate
     • No. of people per doctor
     • Gender equality
     • Life expectancy
     • Literacy rate
     • Infant mortality
   • North-South divide - most countries in the northern hemisphere are more developed

3. Development in Malawi

   • Barriers to development
     • HIV/AIDS
       • 20% of adults in Malawi have become infected
       • Affects people in their 20s and 30s, who are of working age and so economically active
       • Those affected become weak and unable to work
       • Families cannot afford expensive drugs
       • Puts families into poverty
     • Landlocked
       • They must pay to export goods by train, which is expensive
       • Only one, slow, single-track railway line running to the coast
       • Exports
         • Tobacco
         • Sugar
         • Tea
       • Imports
         • Fertiliser
         • Fuel
         • Manufactured goods
     • Trade
       • Malawi is only likely to develop if they increase trade, the WTO helps to do this
       • If Malawi were to increase the value of their product (e.g. by roasting coffee beans) there would be higher tariffs

4. Theories of development

   • Rostow's modernisation theory
     • Traditional society
       • Pre-conditions for take off
         • Take off
           • The drive to maturity
             • Age of high mass consumption
               • Consumers enjoy a wide range of goods, societies have a disposable income and choose to invest in the military, education, welfare or luxuries
             • A period of growth where technology is used throughout the economy and goods are produced for the consumer
           • Rapid growth of manufacturing industry and new technologies
         • The shift from farming to manufacturing begins, and trade increases profits which are invested in new industry
       • Most people are subsistence farmers and produce little surplus product to boost the economy
   • Dependency theory
     • The idea that undeveloped countries cannot develop because they are dependent upon the developed countries

5. Regional disparity (Case study: India)

   • Core (Maharashtra
     • Multiplier effect
       • When core regions get richer as development occurs. Usually started by investment, followed by increased workforce/population, therefore increase in services etc.
     • Rich and often urban
     • Big businesses, industries and government have their HQ here
     • High concentration of people
     • Good services available
   • Periphery (Bihar)
     • Downwards spiral
       • When periphery regions become poorer due to lack of income and people leave
     • Poor and often rural
     • Often where the core gets its raw materials
     • Low income
     • Lack of education
     • Below poverty line

6. Types of development

   • Top-down
     • e.g. Sardar Sarovar dam
       • One of the worlds largest dams, aims to provide water (for drinking (3.5 billion litres/day) or irrigation) and power (1450 megawatts/day
       • Positives
         • Environmentally effective
         • Encourages economic development
         • Opens up dry land for farming - feeding a growing population
       • Negatives
         • Locals often lose out
           • Floods villages
           • Farmland becomes less fertile
           • Electricity too expensive for many locals
         • Locals do not get a say
         • Doesn't provide jobs - uses machinery
         • Puts the country in debt
   • Bottom-up
     • e.g. Biogas plants in India
       • Positives
         • Involves local people
         • Brings communities together
         • Affordable
         • Gives locals new skills
         • Appropriate technology for the skill level
       • Negatives
         • Can be expensive, materials cannot be bought in bulk
         • Labour intensive
         • Little impact on poverty

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