Paper 2: Section B: The changing economic world:
Quality of Life: how a person deems their life to be based on physical, economic, social, and psychological factors.
Development: an improvement in a country's capacity to produce goods and services for its population by the
progress of economic growth, technological advances, and human welfare. This usually improves people's standard
of living/ quality of life in that country.
The global development gap: the difference in the level of development (and quality of life) between developing
countries and developed countries.
Economic Development: A change in the balance between primary (raw materials), secondary (manufacturing),
tertiary (services), and quaternary (Technologies and research) economic development, which increase people’s
standard of living.
Indicators that measure development:
GNI (gross national The averaged amount of money earned by individuals/businesses per year (through overseas
income) per capita investments/goods/services), divided by the size of the population.
GNI = GDP (the total value of goods and services produced), add income received from other
countries, minus payments to other countries.
Whilst indicating the economic development/ wealth, it doesn’t account the standard of living.
Additionally, it disregards the poverty in the population because it is an average.
Poverty Line The number of people earning less than $1.90 a day.
Birth Rate The number of babies born per 1000 people in the population per year.
Whilst indicating social progress (as HIC women are more educated/have careers/are not
mothers), it may be misleading due to government policies like China’s ‘one child’ policy,
contraception, or tradition.
Death Rate The number of people who die per 1000 people in the population per year.
Whilst indicating the quality of healthcare and standard of living, a rich, elderly population
may affect its measured development as there is a conflict between wealth and death rate.
Death rate is becoming less useful because medical advancements lower the death rates
everywhere; the cause of death would be more useful now.
Infant Mortality Rate The number of babies who die before the age of 1, per 1000 babies born.
This measures the quality of healthcare and the attitudes towards babies, the most
vulnerable.
Life Expectancy The number of years the average person born in that year is expected to live.
This measures lifestyle and health based on predicted advances, current services, and risks of
diseases.
People per doctor The ratio of the number of people per doctor based on their dependency on a single doctor
for their healthcare needs.
Measured by dividing the population by the number of doctors in the population.
Access to safe water The percentage of people in a population who can regularly drink/ access clean water.
Literacy Rates The percentage of adults in a population with basic literacy (reading and writing) skills.
This measures the quality of education which correlates to a skilled, well-educated workforce
which can provide a high economic output.
Pollution Levels The volume of pollution in the air and water, showing how wasteful a country is, and how
efficient/advanced their technologies are.
Area of Greenspace The proportion of woodland lost/ gained, showing the country’s attitude to the environment.
HDI (Human Development Index): A measure of a mixture of different indicators based on life expectancy, income
(GNI) and level of education (literacy rate + time spent in school). It considers several social and economic factors
(like health and the standard of living which is determined by the economy and society), making it accurate. It is
measured on a scale of 0 to 1, making it easy and simple.
The Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI): the average of 3 social indicators: literacy rate, life expectancy and infant
mortality rates. This is all about finding out how good people’s quality of life is.__________________________
Limitations of Social and Economic Measures: Measuring development is complex and misleading because there are
a lot of interacting parts. For example, despite a country having lots of oil thus a high GNI, the government may be
,corrupt, and so the country is not developed. Therefore, using many factors like the HDI is most insightful and
accurate.
Different ways of classifying parts of the world according to their level of economic development and quality of
life:
Modern Low and High Income countries
HIC Countries with a GNI per capita above US$ 12,696; high levels of (tertiary) Germany,
(high income development. the USA
country)
Trends in developed countries:
Economies Large economies and advancing technology (quaternary) industries –
high GNI per capita and good wealth.
Well- Strong infrastructure and transport links; Excellent access to clean
Structured water, food, and electricity. Good standard of living and quality of
life.
Education Free education systems with many opportunities for employment
and further education – good economy and educated workforce.
NEE Countries experiencing rapid rates of economic growth and development, due to BRICS
(newly growing industrial developments/ standards of living. countries
emerging
economy)
MIC (middle Countries with a GNI per capita of more than $1,045 but less than $12,695; sufficient Mexico,
income country) levels of development. Iraq
LIC (low-income Countries with a lower GNI per capita of $1,045 or less; low levels of development, Chad,
country) mostly being farming and mining. Ethiopia
First, Second and Third World Countries 1945
First World Countries Rich, democratic, industrialised, capitalist, free-market countries in Europe and their old
colonies – USA and Australia.
Second World Countries Centrally organised, communist countries with more government control of services.
Third World Countries Developing countries, which were typically colonised.
The five-fold division of wealth: a new measurement of development that considers the reasons for development
Rich Industrialising Countries UK, USA, Japan, Australia
Oil exporting Countries UAE
New Industrialising Countries India, China, Mexico
Formerly centrally planned Countries Communist Russia
Heavily indebted poor Countries Congo, Chad
The Brandt Line 1980 The visual depiction of the Rich North
and Poor South separated by the North-
South divide. It is based on GDP per
capita (wealth), proposed by Willy
Brandt in 1980.
- Simple and understandable
depiction of HICs/LICs.
- Outdated, inaccurate and too
generalised; countries are
misplaced.
- Geographically inaccurate as
Australasia was included in the
, Rich North despite being in the
south.
- Disregards NEEs like BRICS
countries, China, and Brazil.
Happy Planet Index 2016 Depicts the country’s achievement of having long (life expectancy),
happy (wellbeing), sustainable (ecological footprint) lives.
- Honest and reliable survey.
- Is a combined index (life expect.).
- Doesn’t correlate with Brandt line since happiness doesn’t
correlate to money.
- Grey, unknown areas.
Gross National Income (GNI) 2016 Measurement of economic activity calculated by the GNI by the
population size to find an average.
- Accurate indication of industrial activity and the general Quality
of Life.
- It is a single indicator, so doesn’t indicate other factors.
Human Development Index (HDI) 2015 - Most accurate (composite indicator)
- Simple from 0 to 1.
Link between stages of the Demographic Transition Model and the level of development:
Demographic Transition Model (DTM): A model that describes how the population, death rates and birth rates
change as a country develops over time.
High Fluctuating Early Late Expanding Low Fluctuating Natural Decrease
Expanding
Example Remote tribes (in the Afghanistan Brazil USA Japan
Amazon Basin) Italy
Germany
UK Pre 1760s 1760-1870 1870-1950 Post 1950 2000+
Birth Rate High Fluctuating Decrease Rapid decrease Low fluctuating Slow decrease
1.Materialism:
1. Cultural/ religious beliefs 1. Improved access to contraception More value to
encouraging large families 2. Emancipation and increased female work than
2. Lack of contraception/ birth education and careers (less patriarchy, families, so less
control due to poverty woman have more roles) children.
3. Parents have lots of children to 3. Decreased infant mortality so less need 1.Aging
