1. 1.3 REASONS FOR UNEVEN
DEVELOPMENT

2. Social
Social Environmental
H
Social istorical Environmental
Historical Environmental
Economic
Historical Economic
Political Economic
Political
Political
WHY ARE SOME COUNTRIES RICH
& OTHERS POOR?
S.H.E.E.P MODEL

3. 1. Social Reason
1.1. Rate of Population Growth
In LDCs (E.g. Ethiopia, Nigeria, India):
– Traditional mindsets: Large families seen as sign of
prosperity
– High Mortality due to poor healthcare have more to
ensure some live to adulthood
– Largely farming community: Need more hands to help
in fields
– High birth rate high population growth
overpopulation insufficient food & housing Low
Standard of Living

4. 1. Social Reason
1.1. Rate of Population Growth
In DCs (E.g. Norway, Japan, Singapore):
– Women more educated; more career‐minded
later marriages lower birth rate
– High Costs of Living deters large families
– Lower Population Growth more resources freed
up for development higher SOL
– Problem: Aging Population

5. 1. Social Reason
1.2 Education
In LDCs:
– Little Wealth to spend on education
– Majority of workforce in primary industries (i.e.
farming)
Low income + No schooling opportunities
– Low Standard of Living Low levels of Development
– E.g. Sierra Leone has low GDP per capita of US$548 &
low literacy rate of 29.6%

6. 1. Social Reason
1.2 Education
In DCs:
– More Wealth to build Schools & train Teachers
– Higher literacy rate More employment in
Secondary & Tertiary Industries (higher skilled jobs =
higher salaries) higher Standard of Living Brings
about Development
– E.g. Italy has a GDP per capita of US$27 119 and a
high literacy rate of 98.5%.

7. 2. Historical Reason
• Colonialism is the domination of a more
powerful country over another country.
• Dominated country: Colony
• More powerful country: Colonial power
• Reasons for Colonialism:
1. Raw materials. I.e. Angola
2. Gain control of important trade routes. I.e.
Singapore

8. 2005 UNDP Human Development Report
HDI Country HDI Value GDP per
Rank capita (US$)
012 Netherlands 0.943 29 371
Former Colonial
015 United Kingdom 0.939 27 147
Powers
027 Portugal 0.904 18 126
110 Indonesia 0.697 3 361
127 India 0.602 2 892
Former Colonies
160 Angola 0.445 2 344

9. 2.1 Historical Reason
Colonisation for Raw materials
(Case Study: Angola)
• Colonised by Portugal in the 15th C
• Climate & soil conditions suitable
for growing cash crops (i.e. cotton,
coffee & cocoa)
• Workers in colonies harvest cash
crops exported to colonial
powers for processing processed
goods sold at high price
• E.g. cotton clothing

10. View YouTube Video:
Blood Diamond

11. Recall: Core‐Periphery Model
Low‐value raw
materials E.g. Cotton,
Coffee, Cocoa Technology to
Little Profit process raw
Periphery: Core:
Colonial materials
Colonies Sold at Higher
Angola Portugal
Powers Profit
Economy
grows
Core helped develop infrastructure
such as roads & railways to enable
transport of raw materials but not
education

12. 3. Economic Reason
• How a country becomes RICH? Cumulative
Causation
Multiplier Effect:
Initial development
Cumulative
of CORE results in
Causation
benefits that drive its
Increase in profit
& wages further development
Increase Wealth More
income

13. 3. Economic Reason
• SO how does UNEVEN Development happen?
Backwash
- Raw materials
Effect - Labour
Peripher
CORE y
Brain‐drain
-Finished Products
-Little investment

14. 3. Economic Reason
Backwash Effect
1.CORE grows: Attracts labour from Periphery
• Brain‐drain in Periphery country; hinders
development
2.Profits controlled in the hands of rich, little
wealth redistributed to the rest of the
population
• Backwash Effect: Flow of labour & raw
materials from the periphery to the core,
leaving the periphery at a disadvantage

15. Core periphery development can have
+ Positive or ‐ Negative
effects on development
‐Negative + Positive
(Backwash) (Spread)

16. 3. Economic Reason
Spread Effect
1.Spread of wealth and knowledge from core to
periphery
2.Benefits reaped by companies are distributed to
the rest of the population
3.Happens with strong governance
• Spread Effect: Benefits of development spread
from CORE to the PERIPHERY narrow
inequalities between CORE & PERIPHERY
Known as Centrifugal Growth

17. 3. Economic Reason
Illustrating Spread Effect (Centrifugal Growth)
Case Study of Thailand’s Automobile Industry:
In 1990s,
• Rising car manufacturing costs in Japan
• Relocate factories to Thailand
• Created jobs for locals in Thailand
• Transfer of skills and knowledge in automobile
manufacturing from Japan counterparts

18. Illustrating Spread Effect (Centrifugal Growth)
Case Study of Thailand’s Automobile Industry:
Japanese car
manufacturers
benefitted from
cheaper labour & Thailand benefitted
operating costs from the
investment:
1.Jobs creation
2.Transfer skills
and knowledge

19. 4. Environment Reason
4. 1 Presence of raw materials
– Money made from the sale of raw materials
– Used to improve infrastructure and develop the
country
– E.g. Norway (Timber: Furniture, Crude Oil: Petrol)
– Limitations: Not all countries with natural resources
are rich
– E.g. Nigeria

20. Case Study: Crude Oil in Nigeria
– Nigeria still poor despite having extracted & sold
crude oil for large sums of money.
– Reasons:
– Money used to develop urban areas & not rural areas
– Lack of good governance
Negative impacts:
– Environmental degradation
– Environment damaged from oil exploration
– Local water supplies contaminated by oil spillages &
pollution
– Poor health due to pollution
– Low SOL and QOL

21. 4. Environmental Reason
4.2 Climate
– Climate determines the type of natural vegetation
that can be grown.
– Top 10 DCs located in Temperate Climate Zone
– Low to moderate temperatures (below 00C to 340C)
– Moderate rainfall (300 – 1000mm)
– Bottom 10 LDCs located in Tropical Climate Zone
(esp. tropical grassland regions of Africa)
– High temperatures
– Low seasonal rainfall

22. 4. Environmental Reason
Why?
• Cool moist climate: Suitable for growing important
crops, E.g. Canada
• Large scale sale & export of crops allows country to
make profit Brings development
• Dry and arid climate: Droughts make it difficult to
grow crops, E.g. Mali, Ethiopia
• Seasonal rainfall: Floods destroy homes &
farmlands;
• LDCs lack money to rebuild lives & livelihoods unlike
DCs Remain Poor. E.g. Rural areas along major
rivers in China

23. Technology can be used to overcome
environmental constraints. But, only the RICH
can afford prevention & reconstruction
whereas the POOR countries continues to
poor with low standards of living.

24. 4. Environmental Reason
Case Study: Zuider Zee Project in Netherlands
• Flat and low‐lying
• Prone to flooding
• Flood management strategy: Zuider Zee Project
– Land reclamation from an inland sea (i.e. polders)
– Building of dykes and a dam
• Solved flooding issue
• Polders used for farming & building settlements

25. 5. Political Reason
• Development is affected by:
• Political Conflict
• Wars and political instability
• Loss of properties and lives
• Deters foreign investors
• Leadership

26. 5. Political Reason
1. Political Conflicts
– Civil War in Sierra Leone since early 1990s
caused it to be one of the poorest & least
developed country (ranked 2nd last in HDI)
– Civil War in Cambodia (in 1970s)
One the other hand,
– Switzerland: high GDP of US$30 552 attributed
to long history of political stability and peace
(ranked top 7th in HDI)

27. 5. Political Reason
2. Leadership:
• Good leadership sets directions, motivate
people into action towards a common goal
• Good governance: Fair, just & honest
government
• stable and peaceful environment that attracts
foreign investors (i.e. MNCs) to set to business in the
country
• Efficient and development‐oriented
• E.g. Norway (Profit cap for petroleum co.s),

28. View YouTube video:
Blood Diamonds (National Geographic)
1. What are some of the reasons why Sierra
Leone is so poor despite having so much
natural resources?
2. How has having diamonds as a natural
resource worked against Sierra Leone?
3. Suggest ways in which they can overcome
poverty and develop.

29. THE END