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: some countries are very wealthy, others very poor. Geographers first need to **measure** that gap before they can explain or reduce it. This module covers how development is measured, and two rival theories for **why** the gap exists.
Measuring development 📊
Several indicators are used: - **GDP**: the total value of goods and services a country produces. - **GDP per capita**: GDP shared out per person (GDP divided by population). - **HDI**: the Human Development Index, a 0 to 1 score combining income, education and life expectancy. - **Inequality and corruption indices**: how fairly wealth is shared and how honest institutions are.
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
An interactive activity.
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
Rostow: stages of growth 📈
One explanation is **Rostow's modernisation theory**. It is a **stage model**: it argues every country moves through the same five stages of economic growth, given investment. The stages run from a traditional society up to an age of high mass consumption.
Order Rostow's stages
An interactive activity.
Frank: dependency theory 🔻
A rival explanation is **Frank's dependency theory**. It is a **critique**, not a stage model. It argues the world is split into a wealthy **core** and a poorer **periphery**. The core exploits the periphery, so wealth flows from poor to rich countries, keeping poorer nations **dependent** and underdeveloped.
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
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.