Chapt9-Reasons For Uneven Development in the World

Uneven Levels of DevelopmentWhat are the reasons?--------SHEEP--------

Social & Cultural Reasons

Environmental FactorsHistorical

FactorsEconomic

FactorsPoliticalFactors

PopulationSocial norms and

cultural beliefsresult in large

population size Which hinders development.

EducationLow literacy

Makes it difficult to learn new skills

and technology.

ColonialismCountries under strong colonial

powers developed

faster.

Some countries became moredependent on

colonial powers.

Natural Disasters

LDCs do not have resources

to deal with them.

Food and income affected.

Man-made Environment

Problems Hinder

developmentby affecting

food.

Presence ofRaw MaterialsCountries with

rich naturalresources

develop faster.

However it depends on how wealth isredistributed.

GoodGovernance

Efficient,organised,free from

Corruption.

Social Factor: Population SizeSocial Factor: Population Size

A large population will hinder development in less developed countries (LDCs).

LDCs often have high birth rates and large family sizes.

This is because of:Social norms eg traditional belief in importance of having males.Cultural beliefs eg not necessary to educate females.

Social Factor: Population SizeSocial Factor: Population Size

What happens with a large population?What happens with a large population?

• Resources are spent on providing health and medical care, food and education for the young population.

Also resources are spent to provide care for young mothers and housing for young families.

Resources for development is diverted to meet the basic needs of the people.

This hinders development as fewer resources are left to improve quality of life of the general population.

Social factors: Literacy

The low literacy rate impacts development as the people with little or no education are reluctant to change and are unable to acquire new skills.

The result is an abundance of unskilled workers in less developed countries with low productivity and income.

Historical Factors- Historical Factors- ColonialismIt is the domination of a more powerful country over another

country. Most less developed countries were once under colonial rule,

for example, Indonesia was under Dutch and India was under British rule.

Some colonised countries developed faster. Why? Colonial governments help develop infrastructure for the

mining and exporting of natural resources such as roads, ports and trading relationships

They also helped introduced technology to process these raw materials

Colonialism: Negative ImpactColonialism: Negative Impact Colonies often became dependent on their colonial

governments. The benefits went to the colonial powers. It was not used to

develop the countries.

Environment FactorsEnvironment Factors1. Natural Disasters Natural hazards, pests and plant, animal and human

diseases can damage a country’s economy. Agricultural fields that are a vital source of food and

income are often ruined. The economic cost of repairing the damage uses up

resources of the country.2. Man-made Environmental Problems Man-made environmental disasters such as

deforestation, overgrazing etc. intensify problems and loss of valuable land for cultivation may require the construction of expensive irrigation systems and heavy use of chemical fertilisers to restore them.

Economic Factors

Many less developed countries have abundant natural resources but are unable to exploit them for development.

These resources tend to be controlled by a few industrialists that grow richer but little wealth is redistributed to the rest of the population.

The country remains undeveloped. The workforce is typically unskilled and earn low

wages. Savings and investment levels are low and the people remain trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty.

Cumulative Causation

Development can take place via the cumulative effect of movements of people and resources to increase wealth and spur greater economic development in a region.

Through cumulative causation, resources are utilised to enable development which further improves the availability of resources and standard of living.

Cumulative Causation

Political Factors

Stable governments are more likely to attract foreign multinational companies (MNCS) to invest in the country as they can create a peaceful environment for business to develop.

An incorruptible government inspires confidence amongst local and foreign investors.

Types of policies implemented by governments are very important.

Investments in education can build up skilled labour while infrastructure and tax relief encourage investment.