GEG 100 ONLINE!

Cultural Geography

Outline of Chapter 7
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I. Defining Development

A. Huge global disparities in development, and getting larger

B. No longer defined strictly in economic terms.

B. The extent to which a society is making effective use of its human and natural resources.

C. Development labels

  • More-developed country (MDC)
  • Less-developed country (LDC)

D. Gap is widening between richest and poorest, although at the same time, there are more in-between countries.

II. The Geography of Development

A. 40 years ago, the developed world consisted of those areas populated by people of European ancestry, plus Japan.

B. Today, this stereotype no longer applies, and the distinction between MDC and LDC is blurred:

  • Oil-rich Middle East
  • Collapse of Soviet Union
  • Newly industrializing East Asian "tigers"

C. Maps do show, however, a general North-South pattern.

III. History of Ideas and Strategies in Development (Table 7.1)

A. Modernization School
  • Structural change
  • Stages of development
  • Policies based on technology transfer and appropriate technology

B. Dependency School focused on the dynamic between MDCs and LDCs

  • Core-periphery model
  • Spread versus trickle-down effects
  • Circular and cumulative causation
  • Neocolonialism
  • Policies based on import substitution

C. Neoliberal Counterrevolution School

  • Eschews protectionism (i.e. supports free trade)
  • Policies based on deregulation and currency devaluation to make products competitive
  • Transition economies, e.g., China

D. Sustainable Development

  • Links development to environmental protection
  • Emphasis on renewable technologies
  • Policies based on ecotourism and clean technologies
  • Appropriate technology
  • Social sustainability
  • Gender issues

  • Microcredit
  • Debt crisis
  • Globalization protests

IV. Economic indicators vs. human welfare indicators

A. Economic indicators measure a country's economic base:
  • What they produce
  • How much value they create
  • How they produce things (factors of production)

B. Human welfare indicators measure how well a country is able to provide necessary resources for its citizens:

  • Physical needs
  • Health needs
  • Social needs
  • Political needs

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