Mastering the TEKS in World Geography Chapter 18 Economic Development Mastering the TEKS in World Geography Chapter 18

Student Expectations WG5B – Interpret political, economic, social, and demographic indicators (gross domestic product per capita, life expectancy, literacy, and infant mortality) to determine the level of development and standard of living in nations using the terms Human Development Index – less developed, newly industrialized and more developed.

Here’s what you will be learning… You will learn how various indicators are used to describe how developed a nation’s economy is. You will also learn how these same indicators are also used to measure the level of a country’s standards of living.

Essential Questions How do economists measure a country’s level of economic development?

Create a Circle Map with words to describe economics. Students will create a Circle Map with words defining or describing economics. After they have finished create a class Circle Map with contributions from everyone. Also, ask students how this image on the presentation reflects the concept of economics.

Important Ideas Various indicators are used to determine the level of development and standards of living of a country, including Gross Domestic Product (G.D.P.) per capita, life expectancy, infant mortality, and literacy rate. The type of economic activities in a country influence its level of development.

Geographic Terminology Human Development Index Less Developed Newly Industrialized More Developed G.D.P. G.D.P. per Capita Infant Mortality Literacy Primary Activities Secondary Activities Tertiary Activities Quaternary Activities See the vocabulary assignment on the Curriculum Planner for an assignment to go along with this.

Do you consider the United States to be a less developed country or a more developed country? Explain your answer.

What is an example of a developing country? What factors do you think make a country developing?

Economic Development Economic development refers to how advanced an economy is. More Developed Nations – countries with advanced economies Less Developed Nations – countries with lower standards of living and less advanced technologies “Newly industrialized” or “emerging economies” – are countries that are moving from less developed to more developed

Newly Industrialized Countries Teacher Notes: Students should identify the countries on the map. What surprises them about the countries? Would they have thought that the countries on the map were newly industrialized? Why or why not? What will it take to change a country from newly industrialized to more advanced? This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. What level of economic development do you think the countries on the map are in? Why?

Newly Industrialized Countries Newly industrialized countries can also be called emerging economies or developing economies. What does emerging mean? How does this relate to economics? Newly industrialized countries are those that are moving from less to more developed economies. An easy way to know the 4 major newly industrialized countries is to remember this …

B-R-I-C What countries do you think BRIC is referring to? Don’t forget, we are talking about emerging economies. Russia China India Students should realize that these are the four major developing countries. If they can remember the characteristics of these countries then they can associate other countries with them and it should be easier to tell the levels of development. Brazil

What common characteristics do the BRIC countries share regarding their economies? Where do you think the main source of income comes from for these countries? What do you think the majority of people in these countries do for work?

More Developed Countries Teacher Notes: Students should identify the countries on the map. What surprises them about the countries? Would they have thought that the countries on the map were more developed? Why or why not? Can countries go from developed to less developed? This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Spacepotato at the English Wikipedia project. This applies worldwide. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. What level of economic development do you think the countries on the map are in? Why?

Indicators of Development

Now you will need the chart called “Case Study of Various Countries.” Fill in the chart as you view the maps. You may need an atlas to identify where each country on the chart is located and to choose a country of your choice.

Human Development Index Developed by the United Nations in 1990 as a tool for ranking countries based on their level of economic development. What indicators do you think the United Nations took into account when deciding how to determine the level of economic development? Demographic Indicators Economic Indicators Social Indicators Political Indicators

Demographic Indicators

Demographic Indicators Level of poverty Diet and malnutrition Life Expectancy The average number of years an individual in the country is expected to live. Presence of infectious diseases in the population Number of doctors What are some factors that could affect life expectancy?

Life Expectancy Map, 2011 Ask students to compare and contrast the life expectancy map with the More Developed Countries map and with the Newly Industrialized countries. They should be able to make connections and determine how/ why life expectancy is one of the demographic indicators of the HDI. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Life Expectancy Cmglee, “Comparison Gender Life Expectancy” November 20, 2011 via Wikipedia Creative Commons Attribution.

Demographic Indicators Birth and Death Rates They are normally measured by how many people are born or die for every 1,000 people in that nation for a given year. What is another name for the death rate? Why does a high mortality rate generally mean a country is less developed? Mortality rate

Mortality Rate per 1,000 People per Year Roke, “Death Rate World Map” November 27, 2006 via Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License.

Birth Rate per 1,000 People per Year DWRcan, “Birth Rate Figures” June 26, 2009 via Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License.

Demographic Indicators Infant Mortality The number of infants who die for every thousand births. What factors could directly influence infant mortality rates? The most common causes of infant deaths in the world has traditionally been dehydration, diarrhea, malnutrition, malaria, and lack of prenatal care.

Infant Deaths per 1,000 (under 1 year) Powerkeys, “Mort.” December 9, 2009 via Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution.

Economic indicators tell how well an economy is performing.

Is it better for a country to have a high GDP or low GDP? Why? Economic Indicators The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total value of all goods and services produced by a nation in a year. The Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDP/# of people) is the value of goods and services produced in a year in a nation by an average person. Is it better for a country to have a high GDP or low GDP? Why?

Economic Indicators What are some other economic indicators of a country’s wealth or lack thereof?

What countries have the highest GDP? What color are they? Sadib, “BNP perhoofd 2010.png” December 18, 2011 via Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribute. Does the geographic location of a country have any bearing on its GDP? Explain your answer. What countries have the lowest GDP? What color are they?

Social Indicators

Social Indicators Because more developed nations are wealthier, they are able to provide more social services to their citizens. People are healthier, better educated and more productive than the citizens of less developed nations. Some of the social indicators that economists consider include: literacy rates The percentage of people attending colleges and universities The number of professional people – such as doctors and lawyers Housing Water supply Sanitation

Political Indicators Political indicators include the freedoms people enjoy, the degree of democracy and voting rights, the level of human rights, the degree of government oppression, and the tolerance for different points of view.

Russia and Portugal were downgraded. What could have caused this? One way the political indicators are measured is by using a democracy index. A group called the Economist Intelligence Unit has put together 5 indicators of democracy which can be used to rate countries on their level of democracy. 1. Electoral process and pluralism 2. Civil liberties 3. Functioning of government 4. Political participation 5. Political culture Think of a country you have learned about. How would you rate that country on each of these five points? Use a scale of 1 to 10 and explain your answers. The democracy index measures democracy (or lack of) in 167 countries, of which 165 are sovereign nations and 165 are UN members. Russia was downgraded from a hybrid regime to an authoritarian regime, which the report attributes to concerns over the December 4 legislative election and Vladimir Putin's decision to run again in the 2012 presidential election.[1] Portugal was also downgraded to the flawed democracy category, attributed to the effects of the global financial crisis. Tunisia, Mauritania, and Niger were all upgraded to hybrid regimes, and Zambia moved up to the flawed democracy category. Doesn’t it seem like countries would only increase their democratic index every year? Well, between 2010 and 2011 a few countries actually regressed and went backwards on the democratic scale. Any guess as to which ones? Russia and Portugal were downgraded. What could have caused this?

Norway has a democratic index of 9.80, the highest in the world. How about now? Which country do you think has the highest democracy index rating in the world? Know what it is yet? Norway

Which country has the lowest rating on the democracy index? Know what it is yet? What about now? Which country has the lowest rating on the democracy index? North Korea has the lowest rating on the democracy index. Their rating is a 1.08.

Democracy Index, 2010 Monocletophat123, “Democracy Index” December 20, 2011 via Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution.

Government’s Relation to Economic Development IS there a connection?

True or False There is no direct relationship between economic development and a nation’s system of government. True Some more developed economies have been ruled by dictators, while some democracies are less developed nations.

How can a democratic system lead to faster economic growth? provides People the freedom to start their own businesses Democratic Government A system of laws which allows All of this contributes to a Faster growing economy aided by… Many newly industrialized countries now have some form of democratic government. BUT – one of the world’s fastest growing economies, China, still does not have a democratic government Freedom of expression Checks and balances

Can a nation’s economic system help transform its political system Can a nation’s economic system help transform its political system? Why or why not? Some economists believe that the economic system can change a country’s political system. Economic development promotes a strong middle class , the basis of democracy. Economic development also promotes a strong sense of independence and personal freedom Greater wealth allows individuals and businesses to strengthen their independence from the government. Some experts even believe that China may gradually become more democratic as their economy continues to prosper.