Living Standards in a Changing World

Measuring Development

Human Development Index

• Every year the United Nations ranks UN member countries according to standard of living in the Human Development Index. It includes: life expectancy, literacy rate, and GDP per capita.

• Per Capita GDP- gross domestic product is the value of all goods and services produced in a country in one year. Per capita is the amount each person produces.

• The 2009 report showed that people in 85 countries were worse off than they were in the 1980s.

• The wealth of 200 richest people in the world in 2008 was greater than the combined income of approximately 40% of the world’s population.

• Despite the efforts of the UN and non-government organizations (NGOs) such as Save the Children and Oxfam, the gap between the rich and poor countries continues to grow.

http://www.chf4youth.ca/disastrix/

Per Capita GDP: Gross Domestic Income How much money a country puts out

into economy Gross domestic income (total income) /

population Can show living standards; higher GDP

usu. indicates higher living standard

Canada’s GDP trend

Per Capita GDP

Canada

$37,808 in U.S dollars (2011)

“I am a girl. I have a home, a school, a car, clothes – everything I need. But it’d be nice if I could have the new iPad.”

Rwanda

$583 in U.S dollars (2011)

“I am a girl. I live in a hut filled with children, I barely have clothes, I don’t go to school. I am always hungry. It’d be nice to have a pair of sandals.”

Human Development Index

Helps measure countries’ development using:

1. GDP2. Education – literacy rate3. Health – life expectancy at birth High HDI:

1. Canada (6)

2. Norway (1) Low HDI:

1. Rwanda (166)

2. Sierra Leone (180)

Infrastructure

Structures (physical or organizational) that help society + economy function

Ex. Roads, railways, bridges, dams, water and sewage treatment, communications, schools, hospitals etc.

Infrastructure

Developed (Canada)

“When I go to school, I take the bus. There are hardly any bumps in the road, so the ride is never much fun. Last week, my brother broke his arm at the playground so he got to ride in the ambulance to the hospital. He is so lucky.”

Developing (Rwanda)

“Every morning, I must walk a long time to get to the well to bring back water to my home. The dirt gets caked between my toes. Sometimes I see people with bicycles carrying sick people. The trip must be long for there is no hospital near my village.”

The Divided Planet

• Developed countries- mostly the more affluent(wealthy) countries.

• Infrastructure-transportation, communication, links, schools, hospitals.

• Newly Industrialized countries (NICs)- those building up industries and infrastructure, such as Indonesia and Brazil.

• Developing countries- those that do not have a modern infrastructure or many industries.

• Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs)-Owe too much money therefore cannot industrialize or offer social services

Newly Industrialized Countries A country that begins to have a more

industrialized economy instead of relying on agriculture

Closing the Development Gap

Closing the Development Gap

In 2000, a major worldwide initiative was launched to close the gap in living standards between developed and developing countries.

All United Nations member states adopted eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

By 2015, the world would have less poverty, hunger, and disease, greater survival rates and prospects for mothers and their infants, education for all, equal opportunities for women, an improved physical environment.

http://www.developafrica.org/health-Africa

Closing the Development Gap

Developed (Canada)

“School is so boring. I get so much homework and I barely have time to hang out with my friends! I wish it was shorter and the teachers would stop giving us so many assignments…”

Developing (Rwanda)

“My brother is sick. But there is no hospital and I can’t let him die! Since our parents died, I’m the only one that can take care of the family. I had to drop out of school and how I wish I could go back…”

Measuring Quality

Measuring Living Standards

Levels of economic development are hard to measure accurately.

Developing economies have many people who make goods at home and trade them in local communities.

The wealth of a country is not shared among the people. For example, in Qatar the 2009 GDP was $121, 400 US because of the income from the sale of oil resources.

Quality of life includes : health, levels of nutrition, life expectancy, literacy rate, and the status of women and children

A person living in poverty in Canada has access to government programs that provide a safety net of services, such as health care and education. In developing countries, a very poor urban family is likely to live in a dwelling made from scrap materials with no electricity, sanitation or safe ware.

Quality of life depends on more than meeting the necessities of life. Many are denied freedom of expression, economic freedom, and the right to safe and clean environment.

Quality of Life

Poor person in Canada

Access to social welfare programs set up by gov’t

People can voice their opinion and try to help the poor

Occupy Vancouver

Poor person in developing country No clean water supply, live in

slums, no access to medical and welfare services

Uneducated unable to vote, or vote not counted

Sometimes gov’t can threaten people if they try to speak out or make their life better

An urban world

An Urban World and Globalization

More people live in cities than ever before. Various reasons can push people to leave land and others are attracted to cities for a better life.

The UN-HABITAT State of the World’s Cities 2006-2007 report found that poor people living in urban areas are as badly off than rural populations. They face similar issues in health, education, employment, mortality (death rate per 1000 people), and malnutrition.

Many people in the developed world believe globalization ( spread of ideas, information, and culture around the world) brings free trade, cheaper goods, and access to technology, which in turn contribute to wealth and standard of living.

Many see this as a threat because their job may be sent to a country with cheaper labour or fewer environmental protection policies.

China and India have benefited from globalization and have seen a rise in their standard of living.

Many developing nations are in debt and their industries and natural resources are controlled by multinational corporations (MNCs). Globalization – YouTube

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oh03fuIlQNIhttp://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DX1iplQQJTo

Globalization: countries interdependent on each other economically & culturallyPros

Raise living standards for everyone

Large companies help create jobs

Promote free trade Stronger economy

Cons

Multinational corporations (MNCs), or companies that have factories or business in many countries, have control over resources

Takes away power from gov’t Factories built in other countries

because there are less restrictions; cause nation to lose jobs

Can impact culture and society Some developing countries lack

the resources to be able to stay alfoat in a global market

Urban Centers

Push

Not enough jobs Disagreements between

different religions & cultures Natural disasters (floods,

drought) Not enough resources Soil overused Using too many resources

Pull

More opportunities Medical & welfare services Food & resources easy to get Groups of immigrants & family

already in city

Measuring poverty

Measuring Poverty

• Measured differently in developed and developed countries

• Poverty line-unable to afford a minimum of food, clothing, shelter, health care and education services

• in developing countries, the poverty line is about $1.25 per person per day

• The World Bank in 2008 showed 1.4 billion (one in four) people in developing countries were living on less than $1.25 per day

Statistics Canada uses a low income cut-off (LICO) to determine those living in poverty=household that spends 70% of its income on food, clothing, and shelter.

The National Council of Welfare (NCW) differs from Statistics Canada in determining LICOs. The NCW uses after-tax income to measure poverty.

The Poverty Trap About 1 billion people in developing countries go hungry every

day. Yet the world produces enough food to feed every single people on Earth.

The problem is that poor people can not afford the food that is available.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank (agencies of the United Nations) gave loans and development assistance to help improve standards of living through economic growth.

They encourage developing countries to engage in megaprojects to promote economic growth.

Many of these initiatives caused environmental damage and did not improve the countries’ economies.

In the 1960s, Western banks loaned billions of dollars to newly independent African countries for megaprojects. These nations’ main income came from exporting minerals and agricultural products. A world economic slowdown led to a collapse in prices for these commodities, making it difficult to repay the loans.

The Poverty Trap

1960s: banks in developed countries (i.e. U.S & Canada) gave money to African countries who recently became independent to build up their infrastructure through big projects

The African countries’ economies depended on the sale of minerals overseas and farming, recession cause the prices for exports to decrease

Countries spend so much trying to pay off loan, don’t have enough to fund education & welfare services

This in turn further increases the debt

The Cycle and Burden of Debt

Western banks and their governments encouraged the IMF and the World Bank to lend countries money to pay off their debts.

Today African countries owe $227 billion. IMF told these countries to also restructure their economies

to help repay their debts. IMF encouraged foreign investment, cash crops for export and private companies to run some gov’t services. These measures are called structural adjustment programs (SAPs)

Poor countries are forced to sacrifice spending on health and education to meet the demands of SAPs and repay debts.

Many countries that are in debt have few natural resources or receive low prices for them on the world market. Their resources are under control of foreign multinational corporations.

West Africa produces 70% of the world’s cocoa, but it must sell its crops to four multinational corp. that control the price. Very little of the profit filers back to the farmers. This makes it difficult to pay back their debts.

The Burden of Debt

IMF (International Monetary Fund): supposed to help developing countries pay off debt

World Bank: Created as part of UN Help countries’ economies become better through loans and projects Millennium Development Goals (eradicate hunger & poverty, education for all

etc.)

SAPs (structural adjustment programs): IMF can instruct a country to increase taxes or remove tariffs This is unfair to the citizens because a) they can’t afford food and shelter, even

without added taxes, and b) if an MNC ships goods in out of the country without tariffs, they will exploit the labour and resources of the country just because they can

Most of the country’s money will go towards paying off the debt when it could be used for education and health services

Kenya: Trapped in Poverty

Very low literacy rate – people can’t afford a better education Not enough jobs to accommodate the huge population Not enough suitable farmland:

1. Rainforests and beaches used for tourism

2. National parks used for tourism

3. Most of the farmland used for exporting food to other countries This leaves little land and food for the inhabitants Millions of people get infected with HIV/AIDs Since they don’t have access to medical services usually die from

diseases Many people move to Nairobi (capital city) in hopes of finding opportunity,

only to discover they can’t since they lack the necessary education End up living in dirty, cramped slums To make things worse, Kenya has a huge debt

Debt Relief

The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative was launched in 1996 by the International Development Association (IDA) and IMF. The goal was to ensure that poor countries are not crippled by their debts.

The HIPC provides debt relief to poor countries with external debts that severely burden export earnings.

By the end of 2008, the World Bank and IMF had committed more than US$57 billion to help HIPC restructure their debts.

Many governments of developed countries have forgiven the HIPC debt.

Canada has forgiven all overseas development aid debt to HIPCs (Highly Indebted Poor Countries) except Myanmar (formerly Burma) which has a military dictatorship.

more bilateral aid for development (assistance from one government to another) money given as grants now (instead of loans)

The vulnerable ones: Women & Children

The Vulnerable Ones : Women and Children

Male-dominated societies in developing countries Women and children may have no legal rights Women may even be killed to satisfy a family’s honour. May have to eat whatever is left after men have finished

their meals= malnutrition Women may have to work more than 12 hrs each day They are responsible for more than 2/3 of the food

production and are often left to support the family when men migrate in search of work.

Literacy rate is lower among women than men in the developing world.

Only 1/3 of girls in rural India go to school compared to more than half of boys.

Girls are kept at home to look after the younger children and help with chores.

http://www.chf.ca/newsroom/latest-news/812-how-can-goats-empower-women

Education is the Solution

A decline in the number of children a woman has in her lifetime frees her to improve her lot and that of her children. Studies show that better-educated women tend to marry later and have fewer children. Because they are literate, they have a better understanding of contraception, and may be able to resist family pressures to have more children.

The children of educated women are also more likely to survive because their mothers know the importance of immunization, clean water, and good nutrition.

Children in Crisis

Famine, disease, war, and a host of other problems prey on society’s most vulnerable people.

Children in some developing countries have few educational opportunities and are often exploited as child labour. Some are even trapped in the sex trade.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published a Progress of Nations Report (PNR) on the welfare of children. It is based on :the mortality rates of children under the age of 5, the percentage of children who are moderately or severely underweight, number of children who do not attend primary school, risks from armed conflict, and risks from HIV/AIDS

Working Children

Abandoned children in cities survive by begging, stealing, or selling sex.

Root causes of child labour are poverty and no access to education.

The first two Millennium Development Goals are to aim to wipe out extreme poverty and achieve universal primary education.

Children forced to work in unsafe conditions. Many children are forced to work as bonded labour to help pay

off their families’ debts. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates there are

100 million girls working as child labourers. Girls are sometimes pulled out of school to earn money so their brothers can get an education. They have double the burden as they have to work and complete house duties.

Children in Crisis Stuck in poverty trap:

Don’t have opportunity to go to school; if they do, they don’t do well since they can’t focus because they’re always hungry or suffer from mental disabilities because parents were born into poverty as well and didn’t receive a proper education

This means they weren’t able to get a high paying job to provide for child, or receive education on how to take care of a child (prenatal & postpartum)

Family problems – more likely to be alcoholic or abusive since that’s the only way they can escape despair and stress of living poverty

Didn’t receive love when they were kids, won’t know how to love their own kids

Boys cleaning new carpets in Fayum, Egypt.

     Rural farming boy in Bolivia tends his flock of sheep.

Mauritanian girls weave a straw rug.

Columbia boy shifts through trash for items of value to sell.

Children selling handicrafts in Bangkok, Thailand.

Young boys carrying bricks at a construction site to earn a living in New Delhi, India.

The Health crisis: Clean water – a basic necessity

Clean Water: A Basic Human Need In 2002, about 1.2 billion people around the world did not have access to

clean or enough water. Climate change, which has contributed to extreme droughts and damaging

floods, is adding to the problem. Open water sources are contaminated. Rivers that supply water are also

used for washing and disposing waste. Irrigation for agriculture takes the largest share of water supplies in the

developing world. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that improving drinking

water, sanitation, and hygiene could prevent about 10% of diseases worldwide.

Cholera and typhoid are among the diseases caused by bacteria that breed in unclean water.

Conditions on Aboriginal Reserves1. Widespread alcoholism – easy access2. Drugs flow freely – gov’t doesn’t care3. Environmental – industrial factories

release pollutants into air and streams; contaminates drinking waster and causes disease

4. Poor education system – outdated textbooks, usually drop out and don’t continue on in post-secondary

Clean water

Difficulties in obtaining clean water source:

1. Global warming – causes land to dry & floods

2. Rivers used for cleaning and dumping wastes

3. Pesticides used in cash crops run-off into water sources

Diseases

Diarrhea: caused by bacteria & viruses in water Cause person to become dehydrated & weak because of nutrient-

loss – could lead to malnutrition & other diseases Washing hands with clean water & soap can prevent spread Also having water cleaning systems would help Arsenicosis: exposure to arsenic in water over a period of time

can lead to hard, thick skin (skin keratosis) which can lead to cancer

Arsenic would be cleaned out through water sanitation Cholera: intestinal infection – lead to severe diarrhea, which

can lead to dehydration, or death if person doesn’t receive medicine

Clean water & good habits of washing hands can help stop spread

The Scourge of Epidemics Malaria is prevalent in 106 countries, affecting half of

the world’s population. More than 240 million cases of malaria were diagnosed in 2008. At least a million of these people will die. Many of them will be under the age of five.

Why is it an epidemic in the developing world? Help is not available in slums, forest clearing in

South America and Asia allows sunlight to warm standing water, creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

THEY CANNOT AFFORD VACCINES Way of preventing malaria is to use insecticide-

treated bed nets to protect people from being bitten while they sleep.

DDT, a chemical that nearly eradicated malaria in the 1960s is also effective but it was banned because of its over use in agriculture.

HIV/ AIDS Pandemic Treatments are too costly for those who suffer in developing countries. HIV/AIDs pandemic affects 33 million people worldwide More than 2 million children under 15 years of age were living with HIV

and 430 000 children became newly infected. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the centre of this epidemic. Those dying from the pandemic are often productive workers so this

will have long-term effects culturally and economically. (Botswana) There are at least 1 million AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa. These children may face poverty, homelessness, or loss of education

and are often forced to take on the role of parent to younger siblings. The international community has been slow to react to the seriousness

of the problem. It requires the cooperation of many national and international agencies. Canada has been one of the leaders in establishing the Joint United

Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKrtG724Cek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lufN0dD-DU8

joinred - YouTube

Helping to improve Living Standards

Helping to Improve Living Standards Foreign aid: Official development assistance (ODA) is

delivered by governments. Non-government organizations (NGOs) give

another type of aid. Multilateral aid is funded by a number of

governments, and usually involves large-scale programs like dam building.

Bilateral aid goes directly from one country to another.

Much bilateral aid is tied aid, giving conditions attached. For example, donated money must be spent on goods bought from the donor country.

Canada’s Foreign Aid Program

In 1968 Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his government created the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to administer Canada’s aid to developing countries.

CIDA’s priorities: basic human needs, women in development, infrastructure services, human rights, democracy, and good government, private sector development, and the environment.

Multilateral Aid: help from many gov’ts

Pros

Large projects Many donors

Cons

Corrupt gov’t can pocket money for themselves

Country doesn’t get the help it needs

Bilateral Aid: from country to country

Pros

Country in need gets the money it needs

Developed country increases economy

How much aid is tied aid

Cons

Conditional/ tied aid: Developing country has

to buy products from nation providing aid

Ex. Canada gives some money to Kenya; in turn Kenya has to only buy Canadian lumber

This is a problem because then it only benefits developed country

Increases debt

CIDA: created by Trudeau to help countries industrialize

Pros

Helps nations come up with sustainable plans to better both the economy and the quality of people’s lives

Gains support from universities, NGOs, businesses, and gov’t

Cons

Has a priority list Some countries in

Africa not on priority so they don’t get as much help as others do

NGOs: non- governmental organizations Organizations that aren’t part of the

gov’t that advocate for human rights, health, and other issues

PROS: Usu. Local so aid is directly to the people CONS: Smaller projects Don’t deal with gov’t of developing

nation; can cause problems

Debts: should they be forgiven?

YES

This way the HIPC will be able to fund education and health services instead of trying to pay of massive debt

Wealth needs to be distributed more equally

NO

Donor nations’ economy not as strong

If you borrow you should pay back

Global Problems: How to make a better world1. Education – give people the power to make their

lives better because they have the tools and knowledge to make good decisions

2. Forgive debts – this will allow them to put the money they do have to good use such as education and health

3. Untied aid – provide help because it is the right thing to do, not because you will receive something in return

4. Clean water – this is vital to human survival and if everyone had access to this, they would lead healthier lives, be able to live a full life

World Map: Gapminder

www.gapminder.org