Bridging the Development Gap

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Bridging the Development Gap

• Aim to understand the reasons for the gap
  between MEDCs and LEDCs

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Task 1

• Label these 20 countries onto your world map
  use the number as a key and write the countries
  in two columns into your book.
• In a different colour, can you draw one
  continuous line that separates the rich and poor
  countries?

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United Kingdom Australia
Mexico Brazil
Ethiopia Germany
Japan USA
Chile Nigeria
China Somalia
Saudi Arabia South Africa
New Zealand Peru
Canada Angola
Congo India
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Blue represents the More Economically Developed
Countries
Red represents the Less Economically Developed
Countries
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What is the development gap?

• While some countries, such as South Africa and
  Australia have made the jump from less
  economically developed to more economically
  developed, it still remains an impossible dream
  for some countries.
• Why do you think this could be? Discuss with your
  partner what you consider to be the key factors
  limiting development.

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Factors Limiting Development
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Why the Development Gap gets bigger - Debt

• Many countries, in their search for development,
  borrow huge sums of money from rich countries in
  order to finance the development of industry and
  infrastructure.
• They get into debt because the rich countries
  charge huge interest, which cannot be paid back.
  Therefore, the poor country often owes more than
  before they took the loan.

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Why the Development Gap gets bigger - Corruption

• When borrowing these huge sums of money, often
  some of it goes missing funding the
  politicians that dominate the country (case in
  point Mugabe in Zimbabwe)
• Often the poor do not reap the benefits of
  international aid or development projects,
  widening the gap between the rich and poor within
  a country as well as internationally.

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Why the Development Gap gets bigger Natural
Hazards

• Natural hazards, such as drought and famine are
  more common in LEDCs. They affect the lives of
  millions of people, and can on occasion cause
  civil unrest.
• While the rich may send aid so that the immediate
  impacts are dealt with, often aid will stop,
  leaving the country with the more expensive clean
  up operation.

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Task 2

• The Development Gap
• Under the headings Debt, Corruption and Natural
  Hazards, describe and explain how each of these
  factors widens the development gap.
• (9 marks)
• Remember to use PEGEX in your answer.