Measuring Inequality
How big is the development gap? Learn the measures of development, work out GDP per capita, and compare Rostow's and Frank's explanations of global inequality.
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The development gap
The world is deeply unequal, and geographers have to measure that gap before they can explain or reduce it. Four indicators do the measuring, and a question naming one rarely accepts another:
Match each measure to what it captures
- GDP
- GDP per capita
- HDI
- Corruption index
- Total value of goods and services a country produces
- A country's GDP divided by its population
- A 0 to 1 score combining income, education and life expectancy
- How honest or corrupt institutions are seen to be
What is the HDI?
The Human Development Index (HDI) combines which three things?
- Income, education and life expectancy
- Income only
- Population and land area
- Imports and exports
Why one number is not enough
Every single measure has limits. GDP ignores how wealth is shared. An average like GDP per capita can look healthy even when a few are rich and most are poor. That is why geographers use several measures together, including inequality indices, to see the real picture.
Work out GDP per capita
A country has a GDP of 60 billion dollars and a population of 20 million. GDP per capita = GDP / population. What is it, in dollars?
The trouble with averages
Why can a single figure like GDP per capita be misleading?
- An average hides big inequalities between rich and poor within the country
- The number is always too big to understand
- It does not measure anything real
- It can only be worked out for rich countries
Two rival explanations
Geographers disagree about why the gap exists. Keep the two apart: one is a stage model, the other is a critique of the whole idea that every country follows the same path.
Order Rostow's stages
Put Rostow's five stages of development in order, earliest first.
- Traditional society
- Preconditions for take-off
- Take-off
- Drive to maturity
- High mass consumption
Rostow vs Frank
How do Rostow's and Frank's theories differ?
- Rostow says all countries pass through the same growth stages; Frank says rich countries keep poor ones dependent
- They are two names for exactly the same theory
- Both describe five fixed stages of growth
- Neither is about global inequality
Who drives development?
Efforts to reduce the gap come in two styles: - Top-down: large-scale projects led by governments or experts (like a big dam). - Bottom-up: small, community-led projects (like village water pumps). Key players are TNCs (transnational companies), NGOs (charities) and IGOs (intergovernmental organisations such as the World Bank).
Match each player or approach to its description
- TNC
- NGO
- IGO
- Top-down approach
- A business operating across several countries
- A non-profit charity, often running bottom-up projects
- A group of governments, such as the World Bank or IMF
- A large-scale project led by government or experts
Choose your measure
You are advising on three different questions about the same country. Choose the most useful measure or approach for each.
- The country's GDP per capita has risen sharply, but you suspect only a small elite has gained. What would show you whether that is true?
- You want one figure covering more than money: how long people live and how long they spend in education. Which measure?
- A village needs a reliable water supply. Local people know the terrain and will maintain it. Which approach fits?
Inequality summary
GDP per capita is a country's GDP divided by its _____, but an average can hide _____. The HDI also includes education and life _____. Rostow explains development as a series of _____, while Frank sees poor countries kept dependent.