Download Measuring Development - IBGeography

Which has the higher child mortality?
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SRI LANKA V TURKEY
POLAND V SOUTH KOREA
MALAYSIA V RUSSIA
PAKISTAN V VIETNAM
THAILAND V SOUTH AFRICA
Which has the higher child mortality?
•
•
•
•
•
SRI LANKA V TURKEY
POLAND V SOUTH KOREA
MALAYSIA V RUSSIA
PAKISTAN V VIETNAM
THAILAND V SOUTH AFRICA
Measuring Development
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
1.
TO EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DEVELOPMENT
INDICATORS AND HOW THEY ARE CALCULATED
Economic Indicator
• is a statistic about the economy. Economic
indicators allow analysis of economic
performance and predictions of future
performance
Examples of Economic
Indicators
• GDP – Gross
Domestic Product
– The value of output
produced within a
country during a time
period
• GDP/GNP per
head/per capita
– Takes account of the
size of the population
• GNI - Gross National
Income
– The total value of
goods and services
produced within a
country together with
the balance of income
and payments from or
to other countries.
• Real GDP
– Accounts for
differences in price
levels in different
countries
Problems with using GDP/GNI
• Reliability of data?
– How accurate is the data that is collected?
• Distribution of income?
– How is the income distributed – does a small proportion of the
population earn a high percentage of the income or is income more
evenly spread? Quality of life?
– Can changes in economic growth measure changes in the quality of
life?
– Does additional earnings power bring with it additional stress,
increases in working hours, increased health and family problems?
• Impact of exchange rate?
– Difference in exchange rates can distort the comparisons – need to
express in one currency, but which one and at what value?
Problems with using GDP/GNI
• Black/informal economy?
• Some economic activity not recorded –
subsistence farming and barter activity, for
example
• Some economic activity is carried out illegally –
building work ‘cash in hand’, drug dealing, etc.
• Work of the non-paid may not be considered but
may contribute to welfare – charity work,
housework, etc.
Social Measures
Social Indicators
• are used to assess how well a country is
developing in key areas such as health,
education and diet. It is one way of finding
out what is happening within a country.
Examples of Social Indicators
• Life Expectancy - is the average lifespan of someone
born in that country. This can be affected by factors such
as wars, natural disasters and disease. The higher the
life expectancy the more developed the country.
• Birth Rate - Measures the number of babies born per
thousand people per year. The higher this is, the less
developed a country is supposed to be. The UK has
around 13 babies born per year for every 1,000 people.
• Adult Literacy - Is the percentage of the adult
population able to read and write.
• Infant Mortality - Measures the number of children who
die before they reach the age of one for every thousand
live births per year. The figure of 1000 is used so that
countries of vastly different size can be compared.
THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
INDEX
• The HDI measures a country in three basic dimensions of
human development:
• A long and healthy life, as measured by LIFE
EXPECTANCY at birth.
• Knowledge, as measured by the adult LITERACY rate (with
two-thirds weight) and the combined primary, secondary,
and tertiary GROSS ENROLLMENT RATION (with onethird weight).
• A decent standard of living, as measured by GROSS
DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) per capita at PURCHASING
POWER PARITY (PPP) in $US.
Happy Planet Index
• is an index of human well-being and
environmental impact that was introduced by the
New Economics Foundation (NEF) in July 2006.
The index is designed to challenge wellestablished indices of countries’ development,
such as GDP and the (HDI), which are seen as not
taking sustainability into account.
• In particular, GDP is seen as inappropriate, as the
usual ultimate aim of most people is not to be rich,
but to be happy and healthy.