6GEO3 Unit 3 Contested Planet Topic 5: Bridging the Development Gap

1. 6GEO3 Unit 3 Contested PlanetTopic 5: Bridging the Development Gap

2. What is this topic about? • ‘Bridging the Development Gap’ should be seen as complimenting the ‘Superpower Geographies’ topic • The two topics represent two sides of the same coin – the rich and developing on one side, the poor and underdeveloped on the other • The topic explores the causes and consequences of the development gap • The last section of this topic focuses on solutions – can the ‘gap’ be narrowed?

3. CONTENTS • The causes of the gap • The consequences of the gap • Bridging the gap Click on the information icon to jump to that section. Click on the home button to return to this contents page

4. 1. The causes of the gap • The development gap relates to global inequality • Around 2.8 billion people live on under $2 per day (‘moderate poverty’) • Some 1.1 billion people live on less than $1.25 per day (‘extreme poverty’) • Over time a greater proportion of wealth has concentrated in the hands of the richest 20% of people, compared to the poorest 20% of people (see graph) Since 1980, the percentage of people living in extreme poverty has fallen from 40% to 20% of world population, but because of population growth the total number of people is extreme poverty is still very high.

5. Measuring development • Measuring development levels is a challenge. • Traditionally development has measured using economic data such as GDP or GNI per capita. • These measures fail to recognise: • Income distribution • The local value of money • The non-money economy e.g. barter and exchange • It is also important to recognise that development has social and quality of life aspects • Measures such as life expectancy, education level, access to sanitation are important This basket of goods costs 112 Indian Rupees in India, the equivalent of £1.50*. To buy the same basket of goods in the UK would cost around £6. The difference in how much goods and services really cost, is why PPP (purchasing power parity) GDP income is used rather than ‘raw’ GDP. Using raw GDP per capita average income in India is about $1000, but PPP GDP per capita income is $2800 *data for Dec 2009

6. As the development cable model (right) shows, development is a multi-faceted process • At its core is economic development, but to achieve real progress social, political, environmental and personaldevelopment is also needed. • Recognising the complex nature of development is why development is often measured using an index, which combines a range of data • Indices are considered more accurate than single data points such as GDP per capita. Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) Life expectancy + Literacy rate + Infant Mortality rate The Human Development Index (HDI) Life expectancy at birth + Literacy rate + Enrolment rate + GDP per capita PPP

7. The Millennium Development Goals • The MDG were adopted by the UN in the year 2000 • The MDG are a global attempt to measure, and actively improve, quality of life for the poorest people • There are 8 Goals, with 21 targets within these. The target date to achieve the MDG is 2015 • The most famous Goals are • Halve the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day • Halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger • Achieve universal primary education • Reduce by two thirds the under 5 mortality rate • Progress has been patchy, especially in Africa and South Asia were the problem tend to be most acute. Explore MDG progress and annual reports at http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

8. The development gap • The geography of the development gap is more complex than a simple ‘North-South divide’ • Latin America has HDI levels similar to eastern Europe; China’s HDI and some others in SE Asia are relatively high • South Asia has a concentration of levels below 0.6 • Level in the Middle East are relatively high, although not in Yemen, Syria and Iraq • The picture for Africa is very complex, with the extreme north and south having decent HDI levels, but some regions with shockingly low numbers

9. Core and Periphery • Some countries remain largely unconnected to the modern globalised world. • This is especially true in Sub-Saharan Africa , which remains very much part of the global periphery (see map) • Other peripheral regions include north South Asia, the Andean region, parts of East and Central Asia. • Growth areas (upward transition) are much better connected to the global core areas. Sub-Saharan Africa has a range of factors which make development very challenging; these include debt levels, landlocked states, conflict, corruption, Aids/ HIV, malaria, lack of infrastructure and communications, low education levels, drought and many others

10. Global Players • There are a range of players involved in the development process:

11. Trade and development • Trade is important to development, because it generates income. • Least developed countries play a limited role in trade: • LDCs tend not to be part of trade blocs, so their exports are subject to tariffs • LDCs often export commodities, the price of which fluctuates wildly (see graph) • Cheap commodity export earn few Dollars, but Dollars have to be used to import manufactured good – this creates poor terms of trade (see picture) • Much of the value of the products we buy is added outside the country which supplied the raw materials The 49 least developed countries account for only 0.9% of world trade, but have over 700 million people

12. The African countries shown all have infant mortality rates of over 80/1000 live births, and under 5 mortality of over 100/1000; Sierra Leone’s 2008 rates were 160 and 278 2. The consequences of the gap • The development gap means that poverty is common in least developed countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa • In many countries males still have more access to education than females, and this has an impact on opportunities later in life (see diagram for Pakistan) • In some situations, such as the Indian Caste system (still prevalent in rural India – see pyramid), society has built inequality into the social system

13. A UN-Habitat report in 2006 stated there was “concrete evidence that there are two cities within one city – one part of the urban population that has all the benefits of urban living, and the other part, the slums and squatter settlements, where the poor often live under worse conditions than their rural relatives.” Megacities • Poverty and lack of opportunity is often most acute in rural areas* • However, developing world megacities contain growing concentrations of urban poverty • Some 1 billion people live in urban slums, likely to grow to 2 billion by 2030 • Slums often have: Poorly built, shack housing Limited and expensive water supply Limited sanitation Informal, unreliable employment Lack of rubbish collection Social problems such as disease, crime Few services such as education and health *see the rural urban data for Pakistan and Guatemala on previous and next slides

14. Ethnic and religious dimensions • Ethnic and religious minorities often suffer worse poverty than the wider population • The data for Guatemala show a large different between poverty rates for Native Indians and the White Hispanic population • Such differences can result from subtle prejudice, and direct discrimination and persecution • In South Africa, the long history of apartheid has left a legacy of stark differences between black and white populations • Often different ethnic groups live in different geographical areas e.g. white gated communities versus black townships in South Africa

15. East Timor • East Timor (Timor-Leste) was a Portuguese colony which gained independence in 1975, and was invaded by Indonesia in the same year. • Indonesia occupied East Timor until 1999; East Timor regained its independence in 2002. • The Indonesian campaign against East Timorese resistance fighters involved forced resettlement of 1000s of people into camps • The death toll from fighting was high • Portuguese was banned • Around 150,000 Indonesians were settled on East Timor as part of the Transmigration Programme • Most businesses were taken over by Indonesians Indonesia’s occupation created a dual population of poor Timorese and better off Indonesian migrants, reflected in the post-independence differences in HDI and income

16. Social and Environmental Issues • Increased rural –v- urban inequality • Mass rural-urban migration and rise in urban slums • Increased air and water pollution from industry • Stress on forests and water supply as resource demands rise • Possibility of rising debt; financial crises • Social problems – urban crime and disease • Worker exploitation and human rights abuses • Breakdown of traditional family structures and community support Poverty reduction at a price? • The pressing need to reduce poverty has led some countries to ‘go for growth’ • Both China and India (and the ‘Asian Tigers’ before them) have opened their economies to world trade and investment • This has created employment, raised incomes and reduced poverty

17. 3. Bridging the gap • How should the development gap be bridged? • This question is important because there are a number of different approaches that might be taken • The choice of approach is influenced by political viewpoint

18. Strategies • Development projects are often characterised as either ‘top-down’ or ‘bottom-up’: (see the next slide for examples)

19. These three projects show contrasting strategies. • ‘A’ is a small-scale, bottom-up intermediate technology project • ‘C’ is a classic ‘top-down’ ‘big project’ with clear winners and losers • ‘B’ is less easy to pigeon-hole as it is a national scheme, hi-tech, but aimed at the poorest and led by an NGO with a private partner

20. Aid • Aid means assistance given to the developing world • Aid can be in the form of money, food, goods, advice and technical assistance • Aid comes from a variety of sources (see diagram). • Development Aid given by OECD countries is termed Official Development Assistance (ODA) • An UN target of OECD countries giving 0.7% of their GDP as ODA has existed for 40 years, but few countries actually give this amount (2006 data): OECD average = 0.45% USA = 0.17% UK = 0.52% Sweden = 1.02%

21. Governments use Export Processing Zones (EPZs)and Free Trade Zones (FTZs) to help attract FDI. China has over 50 of these. In these zones foreign investors receive special tax breaks, rents are low and unions are often banned. Investment • Flows of money to the developing world may be in the form of aid, but investment is important • When companies and TNCs invest in the developing world this flow is called Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) • FDI is motivated by profit • FDI is used to set up factories fund construction in the developing world • Most FDI flows towards NICs and RICs because they have a skilled workforce, and large markets • There are question marks over the environmental and social value of FDI is relation to pollution and worker rights

22. The Washington Consensus • This is a set of economic reforms which the WB and IMF advise developing nations to undertake as part of a SAP to qualify for debt relief, and to help development. The reforms include: • Cutting public spending • Currency devaluation in some cases • Removal of import / export barriers • Opening up to FDI • Removing subsidies • Privatisation and deregulation • The aim of these policies is to help a country enter the global economy and benefit trade. • Some of the least developed countries face stark development choices • In order to qualify for debt relief under the HIPC scheme they must undertake ‘structural adjustment policies’ (SAPs) • Critics argue that World Bank and IMF sponsored SAPs and HIPC are simply another way of OECD countries controlling the least developed world • Others say Washington Consensus reforms open countries and workers up to exploitation by TNCs • The counter argument is “Look at China”

23. Fair trade • There are alternatives to FDI and Free Trade • ‘Fair-trade’ is perhaps the most well known • Fair-trade coffee, cocoa, cotton and tea farmers receive a ‘fair price’ for their produce, above market prices. • The extra money improves income and some moneys is invested in community health and education projects • Fair trade has grown and spread, but how much difference does it actually make? In 2008 fair-trade coffee sales were $1.75 bil of the global $70 bil market; only $5 bil of that $70 bil went to the developing world • Fair Trade coffee price = $1.55 per lb,10% above market price. • Growers get 50¢ per lb. after Fair Trade cooperative fees, taxes and farm expenses. • Most farmers earn $1,000 ($2.75 per day). • According to Fair Trade researchers at the University of California, the price needed for farmers to rise above subsistence level is more than $2 / lb.

24. Development futures • Bridging the development Gap is a story of both good and bad news: