Economic Development: Key Issue 1

Why Does Development Vary Among Countries?

Rubenstein, pp. 274-281

1. What four different factors does the UN consider when determining a country’s level of development, its HDI (Human Development Index)?

● ECONOMIC INDICATORS OF DEVELOPMENT

1a. What is gross domestic product (GDP)?

1b. What does per capita mean and how do you figure it out?

1c. What is the annual per capita GDP in an MDC? in an LDC?

1d. What has been happening to the gap between MDCs and LDCs in terms of GDP?

2. Explain this statement: “Per capita GDP measures average (mean) wealth, not its distribution.”

3a. What types of jobs comprise the each sector of the economy?

primary sector / secondary sector / tertiary sector

3b. How is the % of workers in agriculture different in LDCs and MDCs?

3c. Within MDCs, what is the trend (increasing or decreasing) for each of the sectors?

Primary –

Secondary –

Tertiary –

4. Define each of the following related terms:

·  productivity

·  value added

·  Why are workers in MDCs more productive than workers in LDCs? Explain

5a. Why are transportation and communication consumer goods so important in MDCs?

5b. Describe the availability differences for transportation and communication consumer goods in MDCs and how that compares to LDCs ?

5b. Is this pattern changing? If so how?

6a. What three “consumer goods” are considered to be particularly good indicators of development?

6b. What is the ratio of people to these types of goods in a typical MDC? in a typical LDC?

6c. The people in LDCs who do have access to consumer goods are usually concentrated in what regions?

● SOCIAL INDICATORS OF DEVELOPMENT

Summarize in your own words the paragraph that starts (pg 277) “MDCs use part of their greater wealth to provide…(Be sure to include the cause-effect relationship)

7a. Quantity of education: How many years of schooling does a person get in an average MDC? LDC? Use http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/edu_ave_yea_of_sch_of_adu-education-average-years-schooling-adults to find the answer. Average top 20 for MDC / bottom 20 LDC.

7b. Describe the pattern of student – teacher ratio for MDCs and LDCs. Why is this measurement important?

7c. What is the literacy rate in MDCs? in LDCs?

8. What are three ways in which the level of health and welfare are measured in a country? See maps (3)

9. Indicate the statistic for each of the following demographic characteristics.

MDC / LDC
Life Expectancy
Infant Mortality Rate
Natural Increase Rate
Crude Birth Rate