3.7 Globalisation has led to dramatic increases in development for some countries
but also widening development gap extremities and disparities in environmental
quality
Measuring development
Development - the improvement of quality of life of a country's population
Economic indicators
GDP - the total value of goods and services produced in a country
GNI - total amount of money earned by people and businesses within a country, and citizens
abroad
Purchasing power parity - measures the price of certain goods in different countries which
can help compare the purchasing power of different countries
Social indicators
HDI - a composite indicator, using life expectancy, GDP per capita and years in schooling
(between 0-1)
Gender inequality index - measures gender inequality linked to: reproductive health,
empowerment and labour force participation
Environmental quality - looks at the amount of pollution outdoors and quality of air inside
homes
Reliability:
- Data is out of date as soon as its collected
- Developing and emerging countries may lack the resources to collect accurate data
- GDP - can be distorted by inequality (and any composite measures that use it)
Widening income inequality
- As globalisation has increased so has the development gap
- Average incomes have risen in all continents since the 1950, but the poorest parts
of Africa have seen very little and slow growth
- The increased wealth of Eurppe and North America has resulted in the widening gap
between the richest and poorest in the world
- Absolute poverty has fallen, as a result of the MDGs, but still is high
- Many low income countries have progressed to middle income since the 1970s,
creating a world of emerging economies
In an effort to attract foreign investment, developing countries may engage in a "race
to the bottom" by cutting labour standards and wages. (1) This competition can lead
to deteriorating working conditions (1) and stagnant wages (1) for workers in those
regions, while the benefits accrue predominantly to corporations and wealthier
nations. (1)
The Gini coefficient
Is a measure of inequality in the distribution of income - countries are scored between 0-100
(the higher the value the greater the income inequality)
- These resulted are plotted on the lorenz curve
, Winners and losers of globalisation
Winners Losers
- There are over 2500 billionaires - There are still isolated rural areas in
globally, most made their wealth Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa which
through ownership of TNCs remain isolated, with few global
connections
- Developed countries have been
good at maintaining their wealth, - Many workers in industrial cities
despite competition from emerging within developed countries have lost
economies jobs as manufacturing reallocated
(structural unemployment)
- Factory and call centre workers in
Asia have a better, more reliable - Workers in sweatshops are
income (improve standards of living) exploited, forced to work in poor
conditions for low pay
- People who work for TNCs in
developed countries have high - Slum dwellers in developing cities
income + job security (but live (eg Mumbai)- poor quality of life
high-stress lives)
Trends in economic development and environmental management
All regions have seen a rise in GDP per capita since 1820, however the ride in Africa, Asia
and latin America has been significantly less than Western Europe and the USA
Environmental issues
The majority of global environmental issues can be linked to globalisation eg
- 40% of the worlds terrain has been converted into productive agricultural land,
resulting in loss of habitats and biodiversity
- Intense agriculture and cattle ranching can cause a range of environmental impacts
from depleting groundwater sources to the removal of mangrove forest - increasing
flood risk
- Between 1990 and 2005,vietnam has lost 78% of its forest
These environmental issues have been felt more by developing and emerging countries
but also widening development gap extremities and disparities in environmental
quality
Measuring development
Development - the improvement of quality of life of a country's population
Economic indicators
GDP - the total value of goods and services produced in a country
GNI - total amount of money earned by people and businesses within a country, and citizens
abroad
Purchasing power parity - measures the price of certain goods in different countries which
can help compare the purchasing power of different countries
Social indicators
HDI - a composite indicator, using life expectancy, GDP per capita and years in schooling
(between 0-1)
Gender inequality index - measures gender inequality linked to: reproductive health,
empowerment and labour force participation
Environmental quality - looks at the amount of pollution outdoors and quality of air inside
homes
Reliability:
- Data is out of date as soon as its collected
- Developing and emerging countries may lack the resources to collect accurate data
- GDP - can be distorted by inequality (and any composite measures that use it)
Widening income inequality
- As globalisation has increased so has the development gap
- Average incomes have risen in all continents since the 1950, but the poorest parts
of Africa have seen very little and slow growth
- The increased wealth of Eurppe and North America has resulted in the widening gap
between the richest and poorest in the world
- Absolute poverty has fallen, as a result of the MDGs, but still is high
- Many low income countries have progressed to middle income since the 1970s,
creating a world of emerging economies
In an effort to attract foreign investment, developing countries may engage in a "race
to the bottom" by cutting labour standards and wages. (1) This competition can lead
to deteriorating working conditions (1) and stagnant wages (1) for workers in those
regions, while the benefits accrue predominantly to corporations and wealthier
nations. (1)
The Gini coefficient
Is a measure of inequality in the distribution of income - countries are scored between 0-100
(the higher the value the greater the income inequality)
- These resulted are plotted on the lorenz curve
, Winners and losers of globalisation
Winners Losers
- There are over 2500 billionaires - There are still isolated rural areas in
globally, most made their wealth Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa which
through ownership of TNCs remain isolated, with few global
connections
- Developed countries have been
good at maintaining their wealth, - Many workers in industrial cities
despite competition from emerging within developed countries have lost
economies jobs as manufacturing reallocated
(structural unemployment)
- Factory and call centre workers in
Asia have a better, more reliable - Workers in sweatshops are
income (improve standards of living) exploited, forced to work in poor
conditions for low pay
- People who work for TNCs in
developed countries have high - Slum dwellers in developing cities
income + job security (but live (eg Mumbai)- poor quality of life
high-stress lives)
Trends in economic development and environmental management
All regions have seen a rise in GDP per capita since 1820, however the ride in Africa, Asia
and latin America has been significantly less than Western Europe and the USA
Environmental issues
The majority of global environmental issues can be linked to globalisation eg
- 40% of the worlds terrain has been converted into productive agricultural land,
resulting in loss of habitats and biodiversity
- Intense agriculture and cattle ranching can cause a range of environmental impacts
from depleting groundwater sources to the removal of mangrove forest - increasing
flood risk
- Between 1990 and 2005,vietnam has lost 78% of its forest
These environmental issues have been felt more by developing and emerging countries
