Download Quality of Life + Living Standards File

Living Standards and
Human Development
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World population: 7+ billion (2011)
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Severe poverty: 1.2+ billion
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Without food: 850+ million
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Illiterate: 850+ million (540+million women)
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Living Standards:
◦ Measured in income people earn, health,
levels of nutrition, life expectancy,
literacy, and the status of women and
children.
◦ Is a measure of the prosperity and quality
of life of a country.
◦ Generally speaking the higher a countries’
standard of living, the better off are its
people.

How does one measure the standard of
living?
◦ To measure the standard of living for
countries one must use the UN Human
Development Index, a ranking of the
standard of living for every country in the
world.
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Quality of life is the degree of well-being an
individual or group of people feel about
their life.
◦ Unlike standard of living, quality of life is
not a tangible thing, and so it cannot be
measured directly= subjective/individual
feeling.
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It consists of two components:
◦ Physical
 The physical aspects includes: health, diet and
protection against pain and disease.
◦ Psychological
 The psychological aspects include: stress,
worry, pleasure, subjective life-satisfactions
and objective determinants of quality of life.
◦ Health
◦ Level of nutrition
◦ Life expectancy
◦ Literacy
◦ Status of women and children
◦ Freedom of expression/Rights
◦ The right to a safe, clean environment
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Every year the United Nations publishes a
Human Development Index Report.
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The report contains an index that ranks its
member countries according to three
measures:
◦ Adult Literacy
◦ Life Expectancy
◦ Per capita GDP (Per Person Gross Domestic
Product)
This map shows Human Development Index (HDI)
for 169 countries in the World. The HDI is a
comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy,
education, and standard of living for countries
worldwide.
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Where does (did) Canada rank according to
the HDR? (Hint: refer to the table on page
341)
◦ Today we are ranked 5th in the Human
Development Index Report.
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Overall, the index indicates living
conditions in 85 countries are worse then
they were in the 1980’s.
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Percentage of a population who read and
write to a standard.
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Measures level of education.
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Literacy higher in developed countries.
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What is GDP ? = Gross Domestic Product
◦ It is the gross national income of a
country = the total value of all goods and
services produced in a country in one
year.
◦ Canada = 2011 = $1.57 Trillion.
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Countries with massive wealth for only a
few (i.e. Saudi Arabia).
Countries have different costs of living (i.e.
per capita income in Canada vs. Cuba).
Some countries don’t measure their goods
and services (i.e. poor accounting;
corruption, trade, not money used).
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Per Capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

The total value of all goods and services
produced in a country divided by total
population you get the average GDP per
person/per capita.
◦ Canada = $40,457 (2011)
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The United Nations (UN) is:
◦ An international organization whose
stated aims are facilitating cooperation in
international law, international security,
economic development, social progress,
human rights, and the achieving of world
peace.
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The UN was founded in 1945 after World
War II to replace the League of Nations.
Its aim was to stop wars between countries
and to provide a platform for dialogue.

The organization has six principal
organs/sections:
 The General Assembly
 The Security Council
 The Economic and Social Council
 The Secretariat
 The International Court of Justice
 The UN Trusteeship Council (which is
currently inactive)
◦ Other prominent UN systems agencies
include:
 The World Health Organization (WHO)
 The World Food Programme (WFP)
 The United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF)
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The UN and other organizations have been
working to reduce the gap between:
◦ Developed countries
◦ Newly Industrialized countries (NICs)
◦ Developing countries
◦ HIPCs
◦ Infrastructure
◦ Developed countries:
 Wealthy nations with a
modern/developed infrastructure, have
industrialized, are wealthier, have high
literacy, smaller population that depend
on immigration (i.e. Canada, USA, Britain,
France, Germany, Japan).
◦ Developing countries:
 Those nations that have no modern
infrastructure or many
industries/resources, have not
industrialized or are just beginning to
industrialize, are relatively poor, have
low literacy, and high populations (i.e.
Rwanda, Kenya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran,
Poland, Cuba).
◦ Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs):
 Those nations that are building their
infrastructure and industry (i.e. South
Africa, Mexico, Malaysia, Thailand,
Philippines, Turkey).
 Infrastructure - transportation,
communication links (phone, Internet,
TV), schools, hospitals, sewage +
fresh water systems.
◦ HIPCs (Highly (or Heavily) indebted poor
country/countries):
 These developing nations owe developed
countries money; are in massive debt.
 i.e. Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, Sierra
Leone, Haiti, Bolivia.

Recent Solutions:
◦ Wealthy nations forgive debt load, provide
low-interest loans or no interest loans,
provide technology, education/knowledge
to build infrastructure . . .

But not an easy answer...
◦ Corruption in government, political instability
(coups/overthrow of government/civil
war/constant “elections”).
◦ Modernize too quickly (increase in
poverty/people pushed out).
◦ Rise in oil prices (need oil to run machines to
build).
◦ Rise in western goods (demand outweighs
supply).
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Air
Water
Food
Shelter
Clothing
Love
Education
Medical
WANTS:
Everything else
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
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The World Bank (an international lending
agency) classifies absolute poverty as:

Absolute poverty: People who receive
below one dollar a day.

There are 1.5 billion est. people below the
poverty line.

Poverty Line: The line that divides the poor
and rich in regards to 1) income 2) quality
of life.
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Poverty is:
◦ a shortage of common basic needs of life
such as food, clothing, shelter and safe
drinking water, all of which determine our
quality of life.
◦ Poverty may also include the lack of
access to opportunities such as education
and employment, which aid in the escape
from poverty and/or allow one to enjoy
the respect of fellow citizens.
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Poverty is measured differently in developed
and developing countries.
Poverty is hard to measure – it is difficult to
compare living standards.

Poverty in one country will not equal
poverty in another.
◦ For example, in Canada people in the
population living below the poverty line
can still get social benefits from the
government  not the case in many other
countries!
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The poor in Canada:
◦ 87% have flat screen TVs
◦ 98% have a radio
◦ 52% have a car
◦ 64% have a washing machine
◦ 90% have access to regular medical care
The poor in North or South Sudan?
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Accounting systems in the developed world
can find out:
◦ The level of industrialization (on a national
scale)
◦ The value of services
◦ Exports and imports (global trade)
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Different standards in less-developed
countries/developing countries:
◦ Trade done locally (vs internationally).
◦ Massive gap between the rich and the
poor.
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Prior to 1999 Canada set its poverty line
based on an income figure ($26,000).
Now it is based on % of income (56%) used
on the necessities of life to take in to
account the difference in the cost of living
between regions in the country.
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Families that spend above 56% of their
income on the basic necessities are
considered to be impoverished.
1 in 10 Canadians are considered poor.
About 9% or 3.2 million Canadians are living
in poverty.
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In BC, 20.6% of children live in poverty
(2014).
◦ That is 169,420 children.
◦ BC has the worst child
poverty rate in the nation =
(national average 15%).
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Approximately, 1 in 8 children in Canada
are living in poverty.
◦ Every month, 770,000 people in Canada
use food banks & 40% of those relying on
food banks are children.
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The poverty rate experienced by firstgeneration immigrant and refugee children
is 33 per cent (2013).
Poverty among visible minorities is at 22
per cent (2013).
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The poverty rate of status First Nations
children living on reserves was triple that of
non-Indigenous children.
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In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 62 and 64
per cent of status First Nations children
were living below the poverty line (2013),
compared with 15 and 16 per cent among
non-Indigenous children in most of the
other provinces.
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The Poverty Trap:
Is a spiraling mechanism (a “tornado”)
which forces people to remain poor.
It is so binding in itself that it doesn't allow
the poor people to escape it/makes it very
difficult to escape poverty.
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Because of Megaprojects:
◦ Funded by the UN via the World Bank, International
Monetary Fund (IMF), and national governments to
build infrastructure/large-scale projects.
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Developing countries borrow money to build
megaprojects to pay off debt yet never get
out of debt; keep spiralling in debt because
owe more $/never make more $!
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Example:
Africa’s Debt: $300 Billion (estimate)
◦ Africa spends about $15 billion a year on
debt repayments but gets only $12.7
billion in aid during the same period =
there is always a shortfall; remain in
poverty/in debt.
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Women’s Status in the world/developing
countries:
◦ Male dominated societies (patriarchal
societies; men in power in all parts of
society) = women are seen as less-than,
unimportant, expendable.
◦ No legal rights or viewed as property.
◦ Get married and have children under 15
(sometimes as young as 9).
◦ Gender-based violence/Violence against
women and girls.
◦ Education seen as “wasted” on girls.
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Women in developing countries:
◦ Often have lower social status; males
dominate and rule; women are seen as
“less-than”.
◦ Often seen as property by the laws of the
state and by the men in their lives.
◦ Often have no or little legal rights.
◦ Experience high rates of violence and
various forms of abuse (several lead to
death); normalized and at times
“sanctioned” by law and cultural traditions.
◦ Literacy rates are often lower for women
than men.
◦ Often fewer girls go to school than boys;
denied education; “wasted”; “needed” to
do tradition gender roles at home.
◦ Where women do not get a secondary
education the average number of children
they will have is seven.
◦ While those women with a secondary
education have on average three children.
◦ Often do not have easy access to
contraceptives or education about birth
control, HIV/AIDS, and/or other sexually
transmitted infections/diseases.
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Girls under 15 are five times more likely to
die during pregnancy and childbirth than
women in their twenties.
If a mother is under 18, her baby’s chance
of dying in the first year of life is 60 per
cent greater than that of a baby born to a
mother older than 19.
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Even if the child survives, he or she is more
likely to suffer from low birth weight,
malnourishment and late physical and
cognitive development.
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United Nations (UN) Charter:
◦ “To achieve international co-operation …
in promoting and encouraging respect for
human rights and for fundamental
freedoms for all without distinction as to
race [racialized identity], sex [gender],
language, or religion.”
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
◦ “Whereas recognition of the inherent
dignity and of the equal and inalienable
rights of all members of the human family
is the foundation of freedom, justice and
peace in the world.”
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International monetary aid (with no interest;
via NGOs).
Training the people to take charge of their
own destiny – jobs, investment, collectives.
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Re-socializing the population to emphasize
gender-equality, non-violence, and human
being’s inherent rights.
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Free Public Elementary and Secondary
Education for all regardless of
traditions/gender/socio-economic status.
Access to free or low-cost post-secondary
education and subsequent jobs
opportunities.
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Malala Yousafzai, 16, and Her Miraculous
Story of Surviving Being Shot by the Taliban
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXvs1vw
iD0M
https://www.malala.org/malalas-story
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Children's Status in Developing Countries:
◦ Child malnutrition
◦ Child labour
◦ Tourism sex trade
◦ Child soldiers
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Vulnerable Dependants:
◦ Few too many children are uneducated
and exploited as labours, even forced into
the sex trade.
Children caught in the
Sex trade
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U5MR – Under 5 Mortality Rate:
◦ Used to measure human development;
used by UNICEF.
◦ Children who die under 5 years old
(causes = poverty: malnutrition, disease,
war, labour).
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In some African countries the mortality rate
is 50 times higher than industrialized
nations.
◦ The majority of deaths are due to
malnutrition.
◦ Disease, dirty water, lack of hygiene are
also important factors.
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Over 300,000 children and youth/young
adults (under 18) are in armed conflicts,
many in the various countries of Africa:
◦ Some societies see 16-17 year olds as
adults.
◦ In some nations service in the military is
not voluntary; it is a tribal tradition.
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Personal Stories of Child Soldiers:
◦ Ishmael Beah – A Long Way Gone
◦ Emmanuel Jal – War Child
◦ Rebelle/War Witch - film
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250 million 5-14 year olds are working.
◦ Half are in full-time jobs.
◦ The problem is the lack of labour laws in
many developing countries and absolute
poverty the forces all members of the
family to work.
◦ IQBAL MASIH: Pakistani anti-child laborer
campaigner who was assassinated in
1995.
◦ FREEDOM HERO: IQBAL MASIH
◦ 5:29 minutes
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0D6
K18wq8A
◦ Craig Kielburger of Free the Children
inspired by Iqbal
◦ It Takes a Child
◦ 3:23 minutes (clip from film)
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afClM
91uQFU
Mauritanian girls weave a straw rug.
Young boys carrying bricks at a
construction site to earn a living
in New Delhi, India.
Children selling handicrafts in
Bangkok, Thailand.
Columbia boy shifts through trash for items of value
to sell.
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Child Abuse in the Developing World:
◦ Prevented from attending school.
◦ Are used as child labourers.
◦ Are exploited sexually by organized crime.
◦ Suffer from poor nutrition and health.
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UN Convention on the Rights of Children:
◦ States an ideal situation for children.
◦ Difficult to negotiate with countries and
fund programs.
◦ Disagreement of age of a child between
16-18.
 According to the UN:
◦ Children have a right to a free primary
education.
◦ Children must be protected by the State
from economic exploitation and unhealthy
conditions.
◦ Children must be protected by the State
from all forms of sexual exploitation and
abuse.
◦ Children have a right to the highest
attainable standard of health in a State.
◦ Children under 15 must not take part in
hostilities.
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Who loans $ and why are some countries in
debt?
◦ After WWII (1945) the IMF (International
Monetary Fund) and the World Bank were
set up as part of the United Nations to
loan money and help developing countries
improve their standards of living by
economic growth.
◦ Many projects failed and damaged the
environment.
◦ In the 1960’s, Western Banks (Western
Europe, USA, Canada) lent billions to
African countries with high interest.
◦ World economic slow downs hurts
countries’ exporting economy.
◦ Some have corrupt dictators who steal the
money for themselves and their closest
political friends or filter it into the military.
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IMF and World Bank lends more money to
pay off debts which have many conditions
attached to those loans/debts and this
ended up hurting the countries instead of
helping them.
◦ For instance, the IMF wanted the debtor
governments to agree to encourage
foreign investment, grow cash crops for
export, and have some government
services run by private companies = all of
these requirements took money out of the
hands of the state and left them with
nothing.
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Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs):
◦ A program that requires an indebted
country to restructure its economy by
encouraging foreign investment,
increasing exports, and turning
government services over to the private
sector in return for loans from the World
Bank and IMF.
◦ Result = Countries can’t pay debts and the
interest just keeps on growing (which
results in greater debt).
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Many debtor countries have few natural
resources, or receive low prices for them on
the world market because there is an
oversupply, or their resources are under the
control of foreign Multinational
Corporations/Companies (MNCs).
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Multinational Corporations/Companies
(MNCs):
◦ A corporation/enterprise that manages
production or delivers services in more
than one country.
◦ Can have a powerful influence in local
economies, and even the world economy,
and play an important role in international
relations and globalization.
◦ For example, Ghana, which produces 70%
of the world’s cocoa, must sell the crop to
four MNCs who control the price.
◦ Very little of the profit filters back to the
Ghanaian farmer  impossible to earn
money to pay off their debts.
◦ African countries have also suffered
droughts and floods – again indebted.
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Foreign Aid:
◦ In international relations, aid (also known
as international aid, overseas aid, or
foreign aid) is a voluntary transfer of
resources (often money) from one country
to another, given at least partly with the
objective of benefiting the recipient
country.
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1999 HIPC (Highly Indebted Poor Countries)
Agreement:
◦ Cancels $111 billion owned by HIPCs.
◦ $243 billion outstanding.
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Since 2000, Canada has forgiven all
overseas development aid debt to 15 HIPCs
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).
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1. debt is a major cause of poverty in some
developing countries.
2. many debts are old and much interest
has been collected.
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3. poorest people suffer the most.
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4. rich/poor gap grows with debt.
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1. borrowers knew they had to pay when
loans were accepted.
2. forgiving too much debt may have a
direct effect on the economies of developed
countries.
3. debt forgiveness can be tied to
conditions.
 Should
aid be given to
countries with a
dictatorship?
 What
are the arguments for
and against giving aid?
◦ There is no guarantee that aid will reach
who need it most.
◦ Aid might be used first for the military and
to support the dictatorship.
◦ The best way to change the practices of
dictatorships is to deny them money.
◦ Many cultures have values that differ from
those of the United Nations Declaration of
Human Rights.
◦ People should be able to follow their own
culture, even if their views conflict with
those of Western society.
◦ Change can be brought about best
through dialogue with dictatorships, not
by pressure.
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Different types of aid to developing
countries from Canada:
◦ 1. Multilateral Aid
◦ 2. Bilateral Aid ( also called Tied Aid)
◦ 3. CIDA
◦ 4. NGOs
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1. Multilateral: funded by a number of
governments:
◦ (+) Canadian aid makes large-scale,
infrastructure projects possible
◦ (+) CIDA (Canadian International
Development Agency) distributes aid
through UN – a trusted agency
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1. Multilateral: funded by a number of
governments
◦ (-) Affects Canada’s Economy by providing
funding for another country vs. our own
◦ (-) What about domestic affairs? = what is
happening in the country in regards to
human rights? Who does it really help?
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2. Bilateral/Tied Aid:
◦ Assistance given by one country to
another that requires the receiving country
to buy goods and services from donor
country; restructure its economy.
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Bilateral/Tied Aid:
◦ Ex. Philippines get help from USA, in
return they need to buy US goods and
services.
◦ (+) grants (not loans to developing
countries); do not have to pay back the $
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Bilateral/Tied Aid:
◦ (-) donor country gets more benefits than
receiving country; sell produces + make $
◦ (-) conditions/rules (limitations) applied
with this type of aid; country receiving aid
it tied to country giving the aid via have to
buy products from the donor country only
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3. CIDA: Canadian International
Development Agency = work with people in
developing countries to develop the tools
for them to meet their own needs.
◦ (+) supports projects in 100 of the world’s
poorest countries
◦ (-) less than 20 % of Canada’s aid is for
BASIC health needs
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4. NGOs: Non-Governmental Organizations;
grassroots level (from the people not the
government or corporations)
◦ (+) direct assistance to communities
◦ (-) no aid from government (or very little)
 rely on donations and volunteers
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NGO = Non-Governmental Organization:
◦ Is any local, national or international
citizens’ group (i.e. not a part of
government) which does not work for
profit (a non-profit/not for profit
organization).
◦ NGOs work in diverse fields such as law,
refugee work, human rights, and
disarmament.
◦ Their work can range from influencing
policy or organizing communities around
special issues to providing technical or
medical assistance to conducting
research.
◦ Many are associated with the UN.
◦ Some prominent NGOs include: Oxfam, We
the Peoples, Earth Charter, Doctors
Without Borders, Canadian Red Cross, Free
the Children, the David Suzuki
Foundation, Greenpeace.
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Reasons in Favour:
◦ Aid projects have a positive effect on
improving people’s lives: health, nutrition,
and education.
◦ We live in a Global Village; a
globalized/interconnected world so what
affects another country affects us.
◦ We are wealthy, so Canada should share.
◦ To close the gap between rich and poor.
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Reasons Against:
◦ Aid does not concentrate/focus on basic
human needs; does not get to the root of
the problem.
◦ Should look at problems within Canada
before other countries; us first then share.
◦ Should deal with out own national debt
not get deeper into dept to help other
countries.
◦ Foreign aid not working; poverty persists.
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Net wealth of 10 richest billionaires:
◦ $133+ billion! more than 1.5x the total
national income of the Least Developed
Countries.
Cost of debt relief to the 20 poorest
countries:
◦ $ 5.5+ billion! equivalent to the cost of
building Euro Disney.
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$ spent on dog and cat food for six
countries in 9 days:
◦ $700 million.
$ spent today in world:
◦ $92 billion on junk food.
◦ $66 billion on cosmetics.
◦ $900 billion on military defence.
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Amount of money needed each year (in
addition to current expenditures) to provide
reproductive health care for all women in
developing countries:
$12 billion
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Amount of money spent annually (yearly) on
perfumes in Europe and the United States:
$12 billion
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Amount of money needed each year (in
addition to current expenditures) to provide
water and sanitation for all people in
developing nations:
$9 billion
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Amount of money spent annually on
cosmetics in the United States:
$8 billion
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Amount of money needed each year (in
addition to current expenditures) to provide
basic health an nutrition needs universally
in the developing world:
$13 billion
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Amount of money spent each year on pet
food in Europe and the United States:
$17 billion
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Amount of money needed each year (in
addition to current expenditures) to provide
basic education for all people in developing
nations:
$6 billion
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Amount of money spent each year on
militaries worldwide:
$780 billion
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Combined wealth of the world's richest 225
people:
$1+ trillion
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Combined annual income of the world's
poorest 2.5 billion people:
$1+ trillion
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
14:15 minutes
http://www.ted.com/talks/tristram_stuar
t_the_global_food_waste_scandal.html
Note down two thing that you found
important and/or interesting.
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The proportion of human kind living in
poverty has fallen faster in the past 50
years than in the previous 500 years.
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Since 1960 child death rates in developing
countries have more than halved,
malnutrition rates have declined by almost
a third, the proportion of children out of
primary school has fallen from more than
half to less than a quarter.
1.
2.
Do developed nations have an obligation
or duty to help? Why or why not? Explain
your thoughts.
Are there added benefits to helping
developing nations? Why or why not?
Explain your thoughts.