The Changing Economic World — AQA GCSE Geography
There are great inequalities in development around the world. This unit looks at how development is measured and how countries are reducing the development gap.
Measuring development
Development is the progress of a country in terms of wealth and quality of life. It can be measured by:
- Economic indicators — GNI per head, employment sectors.
- Social indicators — literacy, life expectancy, infant mortality.
- The Human Development Index (HDI) — a combined measure of income, education and life expectancy.
Single indicators can be misleading, so several are often used together. The Demographic Transition Model (DTM) links a country's population change to its level of development.
The development gap
The development gap is the difference in wealth and wellbeing between the richest and poorest countries. Its causes are physical (climate, natural hazards, landlocked, few resources), economic (trade, debt) and historical (colonialism). Consequences include differences in health, wealth and migration.
Strategies to reduce the gap include: investment, industrial development, tourism, aid, intermediate technology, fair trade, debt relief and microfinance loans. An example of how the growth of tourism in an LIC/NEE helps reduce the gap should be learned.
A case study of an NEE
A case study of a newly emerging economy (NEE) (e.g. Nigeria, India) should cover:
- its location and importance,
- the changing industrial structure and the role of transnational corporations (TNCs),
- the political, social, cultural and environmental impacts of economic development, and
- how aid and international relationships affect it.
Economic change in the UK
The UK's economy has shifted from manufacturing towards a post-industrial economy (services, finance, IT, research). Causes include de-industrialisation, globalisation and government policy. This affects science and business parks, the rural–urban economy, transport improvements (e.g. ports, airports) and the UK's place in the wider world.
Exam tips
- Learn several development indicators and why single measures can mislead.
- Explain the causes of the development gap (physical, economic, historical).
- Use a named NEE case study and the role of TNCs.
- Describe how the UK economy has become post-industrial.