development: defining development

Question 1

GDP

Answer 1

total value of goods and services produced within a country

Question 2

human development index (HDI)

Answer 2

measures the average well being of all people within a country
HDI is based on three factors:
1. Wealth
2. Education
3. Life expectancy

Question 3

happy planet index (HPI)

Answer 3

wellbeing, life expectancy, ecological footprint

Question 4

development (IB definition)

Answer 4

a sustained increase in the standard of living & well-being of a level of social organization

Question 5

3 ways development can be defined

Answer 5

Economic growth (GDP)
Improved well fair - HDI
Lifestyles that respect the environment (HPI)

Question 6

4 limitations of defining development

Answer 6

• There is no universally accepted definition of development
• Levels of development change over time but our perceptions make it hard to evaluate.
• “Average” development levels within a country can mask the inequality within a country.
• There are various measures for development- it is difficult to fully measure with just one indicator. Wealth does not always reflect wealth

Question 7

criticisms of Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel)

Answer 7

1. Geographic barriers are not more severe in America and Africa than in Europe - There were great civilizations
2. Greatest weapon Europeans had was neither guns, germs or steel but native alliances that they used to their advantage.
3. The most deadly diseases did not originate from domesticated animals (bubonic plague, Covid-19)
4. Too reliant on environmental determinism - there are many ways to study history.
5. China did not stagnate (Eurocentric idea)
6. Claims that one is more “advanced” than another- Eurocentric idea.

Question 8

6 features of physical geography that may impact a state’s development

Answer 8

Landlocked
Lack of navigable rivers
Lack of natural harbors
Arid conditions
Tropical conditions
Natural resources

Question 9

environmentalism

Answer 9

focuses on the well-being of the planet and the many ecological systems that sustain life. It seeks to understand, and critique, human impacts on environmental systems.

Question 10

non-state actors involved w/ environmentalism

Answer 10

Greenpeace
Sierra Club,
World Wildlife Fund,
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which is a branch of the United Nations.

Question 11

3 examples of global efforts for environment

Answer 11

1. The Montreal Protocol in 1987 brought drastic reductions in gases that were depleting the Earth’s ozone layer.
2. The Earth Summit in 1992 drew state attention to climate change and eventually led to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997
3. Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 which aim to limit global CO2 emissions in order to reduce the impacts of climate change.

Question 12

green party politics

Answer 12

Environmentalism is also represented in established party politics in many states. This theory of development is held most deeply by green parties. While green parties rarely achieve significant representation in national governments, they appear to be growing in popularity and overall recognition.
Although not created by a green party, a proposal has been made in the United States to address the issue of climate change known as the Green New Deal.

Question 13

European Green Party

Answer 13

a political party that is active across the entire European continent, both within the European Union and beyond.

Question 14

Why Nations Fail

Answer 14

Authors Daron Acemoglu (MIT economist) and James A. Robinson (U of Chicago Political Scientist) argue that it is political and economic institutions that underlie economic success.
* you need politically inclusive and economically inclusive institutions
before you achieve economic prosperity

Question 15

transparency

Answer 15

Developed countries have relatively high levels of government transparency. This means the actions of government officials can be reviewed by the public or an independent body. The purpose here is to prevent corrupt government officials from personally benefiting from their office.

Question 16

why is an independent judiciary system important?

Answer 16

A state that does not have an independent judiciary may be more vulnerable to corruption.

Question 17

corruption perceptions index (CPI)

Answer 17

The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

Question 18

Worldwide Governance Indicators (6)

Answer 18

1. voice & accountability
2. political stability & no violence
3. government effectiveness
4. regulatory quality
5. control of corruption
6. rule of law

Question 19

political factors that inhibit development

Answer 19

• poor management
• corruption
• political instability

Question 20

who wrote the bottom billion

Answer 20

Paul Collier, Professor of Economics at Oxford University

Question 21

4 traps of the bottom billion

Answer 21

1. conflict trap
2. natural resource dilemma
3. landlocked w/ bad neighbors
4. bad governance

Question 22

conflict trap

Answer 22

large economic costs to a country, relapse is high,
the longer it occurs the harder it is to overcome,
some people profit over it

Question 23

natural resource trap

Answer 23

Resources create conflict due to corruption
The more resources the less taxes and the less taxes the less accountability citizens have for their government
The exploitation of one resource leads to a drop off in other resources- The Dutch Disease

Question 24

landlocked trap

Answer 24

limited market for their goods
Conflicts can trickle over
High costs for exports and imports

Question 25

bad governance trap

Answer 25

Bad policies- detracts investors Finding development instruments that work become more difficult No rule of law- no protection Lack of incentives amongst local population

Question 26

instruments to deal w/ the 4 traps

Answer 26

- Aid - Military - Laws - Trade

Question 27

feminism

Answer 27

movements for the social advancements of women. It is based on two central beliefs: that women are disadvantages because of their sex; and this disadvantage can and should be overthrown. - Andrew Heywood (Global Politics)

Question 28

gender inequality index

Answer 28

measures gender inequalities in three important aspects of human development: - Reproductive health, measured by maternal mortality ratio and adolescent birth rates; - Empowerment measured by proportion of parliamentary seats occupied by females and proportion of adult females and males aged 25 years and older with at least some secondary education; - Economic status expressed as labour market participation and measured by labour force participation rate of female and male populations aged 15 years and older.