Why Are Some Countries More Developed Than Others? What can be done to reduce the development gap

Why are some countries more developed than others? What can be done to reduce the development gap?

There are many reasons why some countries are more developed than others: Historical reasons, environmental, and social and economic reasons.

Some countries are more developed then others as to what happened in the past. The richer countries colonised the poorer countries and these countries now, still may have links to these countries benefiting them, however some may say that these countries are now being exploited e.g Africa, preventing these countries from developing as they should. However all of South America was colonised but it is still an MEDC.

Other reasons why some countries are more developed than others is that some countries are landlocked; meaning they have land around them, making trade more difficult to that country such as Bolivia and countries in the middle of Africa, also linking to the fact that due to the lack of technology these countries could not trade efficiently and how trade holds a big part in development.

In addition to this, the corrupt government in some countries slows down the level of development, as they are using the money they get from Aid and other places for the military and themselves, meaning the country is losing out and not getting what it needs to develop – Inequalities. [1] Many cities in the developing world don’t have a strong infrastructure and the government can’t cope with the increase in population, and can’t maintain the little facilities they have [2]. This is also linking to the fact that LEDC’s often have a lot of debt to pay of to MEDCs and the government must consider paying this off first before going on to developing. [5]

If you were in the middle of Africa, trade would be impossible as no ships can get there and airplanes were not invented then, this

preventing the development of some countries in Africa.

Bolivia is an example of a land locked country.

UK had an advantage to development as there’s a lot of coastline so trade was much easier in the past.

Countries also welcome foreign investment like Nike and Gap (Multinational companies (MNCs)). They build their factories in places like China and India introducing more Jobs to the country, so more people would work and there would be less poverty, developing that country, as the GDP would increase and levels of unemployment would be lower, but they sometimes become too dependant on MNCs and they can just close up and go at anytime.

According to Rostow, development requires a fairly large investment in a capital. For LEDCs to grow the right conditions economically then investment would have to be created [3].

But some countries may exploit countries with raw materials, as they import cheap raw materials and process them into manufactured goods. The countries then need to import these manufactured goods costing them more money than they earn selling raw materials in the first place, leaving them with no profits to develop the country, again holding them back.

If countries have natural resources, and the country has reached stage 2 then industries can be created for oil and coal, like Saudi Arabia, resulting in rapid growth.

For example Nike closed its factories in South Korea when wages started to rise, showing just how these MNCs exploit the developing countries.

The picture on the right showing developing countries percentage of exporting. Valuable proof that they are manipulating these countries for raw materials.

Climate in countries may also effect the development as the natural disasters occurring there can stop them from developing.

The development gap is the divide between rich and poor. Reducing the development gap is not an easy or short term task. LEDC’s face difficulties as they try and improve the living conditions for their citizens [5]. There have been numerous approaches, which fall into 2 categories: Aid programmes and Investment programmes.

Firstly there are the Aid programmes. This is one way MEDCs can help improve the quality of life in LEDCs. This is mostly in the form of money and can be donated or loaned to the LEDCs. This can be used for various things or programmes, but it is difficult to know where the money is going to go: the needy or the corrupt. If we provide food aid then market owners and farmers are losing out on selling their food [6]. If the money is used for the improvement of life it may be used on: new schools, hospitals, teaching of skills and developing new industries.

By introducing appropriate technology and limited loans on a local scale, people can be helped to break out of poverty [1]. However, aid may become a greater problem, associating with the fact that these countries will not build their own industries or develop the trade as they become reliable on aid from the MEDCs.

A section of a global map shows areas of high mortality risk from natural disasters in Africa and southern Europe and Asia. Orange indicates drought risk; blue indicates risk from floods and storms; green indicates geophysical risks such as earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides; black areas face a combination of risks.

Developing countries may suffer the most from natural disasters. More than 95% of all deaths caused by disasters occur in developing countries. Losses due to natural disasters are 20 times greater in developing countries than industrialized countries [4].Because of natural disasters the country may have to spend its money on

The map opposite shows which countries in Africa are most dependant on aid. These countries are all LEDCs and have problems developing.

Then there are also the investment programmes from which in recent years LEDCs have developed their economies rapidly through investment in and development of their manufacturing industries. The newly industrialized countries in Asia now account for 10% of world trade, with the products form these countries having a world wide reputation.

Development can obviously reduce the gap between LEDCs and MEDCs, and raise people out of poverty [8]. We ourselves can help do this by buying fair trade products. By doing this we are giving the farmers in LEDC’s their fair share in money, this again linking into the fact that MNC’s take advantage of these workers trying to gain their own profit.

In this report I have discussed all the important issues as to how over time countries have become more developed then others, and explored how we can reduce the development gap over time. In the future I think LEDCs will benefit from globalisation and MNCs to become more developed and reduce the levels of poverty and improvement of life.

Economic growth is how the development gap will be reduced but the economic growth Is not distributed evenly, so this may not happen.

The table opposite shows the annual growth of GDP from 1991-2000. The g8 countries continue to see their wealth grow and Newly industrialized countries have seen the most expeditious growth as they benefit from outsourcing and globalisation. [7]

Others like LEDCS have not seen much of a growth of GDP.

Annual per capita GDP growth 1991-2000

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

G8

Co

un

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s

NIC

s

RIC

s

FC

Cs

LE

DC

s

LD

Cs

ann

ual

%

Bibliography and evaluation of sources.

Source Trustworthy and Validity

[1] People, Places and Themes Heinemann Editor: Wendy Keeling

This source is trustworthy as it used as an exercise book for GCSE students at foundation and higher levels. It may not be valid as it is an older edition of the book and the figures used may have changed in recent years.

[2]http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/geography/urban-profiles/revise-it/problems-and-solutions-less-developed-countries

This source is trustworthy as it has been used for a-level students for revision purposes. In addition to this, it is also valid as it is updated constantly. The figures used are also up to date.

[3]http://welkerswikinomics.com/blog/2008/02/26/models-for-economic-growth-ib-economics/

I may not be able to trust all the information on this website as it is from a blog and anyone can edit the information. I also don’t think its very valid as Rostows model is not exactly new but it may hold some valuable stages of industrialization.

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disaster This source may not be trustworthy as it is from Wikipedia and anyone can change the information, however it has valuable information and the figures are up to date.

[5]http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/development/factors_develrev1.shtml

This source is trustworthy as it is used for GCSE student for revision purposes and it is also valid as it is updated constantly and the figures and information and the case studies are up to date.

[6]http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/geography/world-development/revise-it/reducing-inequalities

This source is trustworthy as it has been used for a-level students for revision purposes. In addition to this, it is also valid as it is updated constantly. The figures used are also up to date.

[7]http://www.wghs.org.uk/~geography/Year%2013/Globalisation/THE%20DEVELOPMENT%20GAP.doc

This source was an online document and is trustworthy as it uses figures and tables to show the information to back it up. It may not be valid as it uses old dates and things may have changed.

[8]http://www.school-portal.co.uk/GroupHomepage.asp?GroupID=804858

This source is used for the purpose of students so the information is likely to be trustworthy. It may not be valid.