Measuring Development
What is Development?
Development = the improvement of a country's social and economic conditions, so that citizens have a better quality of life. Development is multidimensional — it includes income, health, education, equality, political freedom and environmental sustainability.
Economic Indicators
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
- GDP = the total value of all goods and services produced by a country in a year
- GDP per capita = GDP divided by population = average income per person
- Higher GDP per capita generally = more money for healthcare, education, infrastructure
- Limitation: GDP tells you average income, not how equally it is distributed — a country could have a high GDP per capita but extreme inequality
GNI (Gross National Income)
- Similar to GDP but also includes money earned abroad (e.g., remittances)
- GNI per capita is used by the World Bank to classify countries as Low Income (< $1,085), Middle Income, or High Income (> $13,205)
Composite Indicators
Human Development Index (HDI)
The HDI (created by the UNDP) combines three dimensions:
- Life expectancy (health)
- Education (mean years of schooling + expected years)
- GNI per capita (income/living standards)
Score from 0 to 1. Countries above 0.8 = Very High Human Development; below 0.55 = Low Human Development.
Advantages of HDI over GDP: More rounded — captures health and education not just income. A country could have high income but poor education and health (e.g., oil states in the Middle East).
Limitations: Doesn't capture inequality, sustainability, political freedom, gender equality, happiness.
Gini Coefficient
- Measures income inequality within a country (0 = perfect equality; 1 = maximum inequality)
- Useful because two countries can have identical GDPs but very different distributions of wealth
- Example: Brazil has a high Gini (0.53) — very unequal despite being an upper-middle-income country
Other Indicators
| Indicator | What it Measures |
|---|---|
| Infant mortality rate | Deaths under 1 year per 1,000 births — reflects healthcare quality |
| Literacy rate | % of adults who can read — reflects education access |
| Access to safe water | % with clean water — reflects infrastructure/poverty |
| Birth rate / Death rate | Demographic transition stage |
| Life expectancy | Overall health and wellbeing |
| Gender Inequality Index (GII) | Female vs male inequalities in health, empowerment, labour |
The Development Gap
The development gap = the widening difference in wealth and quality of life between HICs (High Income Countries) and LICs (Low Income Countries).
North-South divide: The "Global North" (Europe, North America, Australasia) is broadly richer; the "Global South" (much of Africa, Asia, Latin America) is broadly poorer. This is a generalisation but captures a real pattern.
Why does the gap exist?
- Historical factors: Colonialism stripped resources from developing nations; colonial economies were set up to serve the colonisers
- Trade: Wealthy countries dominate global trade; LICs often export raw materials (low value) and import manufactured goods (high value) = unfavourable terms of trade
- Debt: Many LICs carry crushing international debts from IMF/World Bank loans; debt repayments hamper development
- Physical factors: Landlocked countries, climate (tropical disease burden), natural disaster risk
- Political factors: Conflict, corruption, governance failure
WJEC Exam Tips
- Know at least three different types of indicator (economic, social, composite)
- Understand why HDI is more useful than GDP for measuring development — and its limitations too
- "Evaluate" questions require you to assess the usefulness of an indicator, including its strengths AND weaknesses
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