Wendy A. MitteagerState University of New York, Oneonta

Ch. 7 - Geographies of Economic Development – Pt. 1

Key Concepts – Pt. I:• Economic development – prosperity levels resulting from economic

activities – measured in currency but not in Human development• Economic Measures – GDP, GNI, & PPP• Global Economic Shifts – Agriculture to Industrialization & Socialism to

Capitalism, Regional specialization to Globalization• Economic specialization – Core-Periphery - Core dominating development

& technology• Carrying capacity – how long it takes Earth to replenish resources used by

Humans• Sustainable development – balancing costs with human benefits• Key Resources to Economic Development - Cultivable Land, Energy, Valuable Minerals

Figure: Chapter 7 Opener: Migrant workers in China boarding a train home for a seasonal festival.

Core World Economic Regions:• North America• Europe• Japan• Australia• Singapore• Thailand• Diversified advanced

technology with highest productivity, levels of prosperity.

• Single most defining characteristic of economic development based on capitalism is the global Core-Periphery contrast – direct result of competitive economic system.

Economic Development defined as:• The level & rates of change in “prosperity” including “productivity” or

GDP, incomes, & purchasing power in a globalized capitalist economic system.

Broader changes as a result of Economic Development should include Improved Life Conditions:

• Better housing• Health care• Education• Social welfare or basic Human rights to sustain life• Economic & Physical Infrastructure to support society

Measures of Economic Growth:• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is measured AS TOTAL VALUE of all products,

goods, services produced by country in 1 years. Total Population/Monetary Value = GDP

• Gross National Income (GNI) – GNI=“INTERNATIONAL DOLLARS” = Income measure flows to country from production in other regions. Higher for Core vs. Periphery & direct reflection of this Paradigm

• Purchasing power parity (PPP) – how much goods & services each currency can purchase locally in a country.

Figure 7.1 GNI is one of the best single measures of economic development. Use this map to compare the core countries with the peripheral and semiperipheral countries.

Gross National Income – G.N.I. – World Regions

JAPAN

Core Nations/1st World – political stability – economic specialization

RUSSIA

BRAZIL

Semi-periphery – major resources,Minerals & Rainforests

1. THAILAND

INDIA2. SINGAPORE

2. 1.

S. AFRICA

Periphery Nations – political instability, natural resource issues 3rd World – post Cold War, newly independent African, South American, & Asian nations

Andes Mts., high elevation steppes & Atacama Desert – Subsistence Agriculture

The Sahel

Congo

Sahara Desert

INDONESIA

CHINA

Subsistence Agriculture Subsistence Agriculture

Patterns of Economic Development

• Major Global Economic Shifts in the past Century:

• Agriculture to Manufacturing

• Rural to Urban Migration of World’s Population

• Socialism to Free Market Capitalism

• Global pattern of Unevenness in Economic Development

• Core always has advantage vs. Developing Semi-periphery & Periphery Nations. Northern Core has advantage of better environment for agriculture, resulted in complex, highly specialized economic development from Industrial Revolution.

• European & U.S. Infrastructure reinforces pattern of advanced economic development via finance, technology, natural resources & minerals /manufacturing.

Patterns of Economic Development (cont.)

Post WWII Investment in Europe• The Marshall Plan in post WWII Europe was a comprehensive

economic recovery plan that rebuilt Europe back into Core region. • U.S. provided much of the economic aid. • Japan rebuilt into technologically advanced nation.

Socialism to Free Market Capitalism: China, former U.S.S.R., other former communist-bloc nations shifting to Capitalist economies• Formerly Communist nations of Europe & USSR participating in the European Union

Technological Advances, Use & Availability define Economic Growth Poles, P.237 – Regions & Companies that aren’t nation-specific but are Growth Engines & Centers of Innovation.• The 4 Motors of Europe & International Investment: Baden-Württemberg, Germany,

Catalonia, Spain, Lombardy, France, & Rhône-Alpes, Switzerland• The Silicon Valley - center of innovation, invention of Silicon chip that sped up

computing• US Transnational Corporations such as Apple Computers in China

Major Factors in Economic Development:• Cultivable land – Subtropical & Tropical lands at risk of deforestation &

soil erosion. Rainforests are complex, they’re not going to regenerate in 1 lifetime. Losing vegetation contributes to global warming, trees are Oxygen sources.

• Carrying capacity – how long it takes for the Land to regenerate the resources used by Humans in a year. U.S./Core overuses by 1.3 x’s carrying capacity, using natural resources of Periphery – Forests, Oil, etc.

• Industrial resources – Core nations have rich mineral deposits that underlie the Industrial Revolution & evolution of manufacturing.

Figure 7.3 Deforestation of rainforest in Cameroon.Figure 7.2 PERIPHERY NATIONS have OIL. BUT Major sources of energy are unevenly distributed.

% of Cultivable Land for Agriculture

• North of 30 degrees Latitude – “the North” with developed horizons, post-glacial soils, moderate humid climates & mineral wealth

• South of 30 degrees Latitude – “the South” soils with less developed horizons, iron accumulates at top, subtropical Arid & semi Arid environments

• Tropical Rainforest soils are the most vulnerable to depletion & erosion.

DESERTS

DESERT

DESERT

STEPPE

30 S. Latitude30 S. Latitude

30 North Latitude

Equator Equator

Mid-latitude Mid-latitude

Mid-latitude

RainforestRainforest Rainforest

Rainforest

30 North Latitude

Sustainable development & Ecological footprint

• Balancing environmental impacts & social equity of distribution of costs & benefits of economic growth. Nations in the periphery give up the rights to their natural resources to enrich Core nations & corporations. Ex.: Chevron in Nigeria. Why is Chevron profiting with the oil of Nigerians? Greed & corruption

• Ecological footprint – 1980’s energy use & 2006 use of resources > supply by 40%

• Barriers to both:• Reliance on fossil fuels• Rate of Population growth in periphery nations• Lack of Global leadership & Institutions to coordinate

& balance growth between core & periphery

Primary Economic Activities, 2002

Figure 7.7 The geography of the primary economic activities of:Agriculture, Forestry, & Fishing

Energy Access - Oil• Oil is the single most important commodity in world trade

today. Importing Oil is a huge cost to nations without it:• Most peripheral countries are energy poor.• India, Ghana, Paraguay, Egypt & Armenia• Semi-peripheral nations with Oil:• Algeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Libya, Nigeria, Venezuela,

& the Persian Gulf Nations.• Peak Discovery of Oil was in the 1960’s & demand exceeded

Oil Supply in 1981• 15% of World’s Population in Core nations use 1/2 of all

commercial energy as much as 10x’s as Periphery Nations.

Traditional energy sources - Firewood• 1.5 Billion People depend on collection Firewood for fuel =

Deforestation, Population pressure in Arid & Semi Arid Subtropical Regions of AFRICA & ASIA

• Firewood = 20% of World’s Energy Consumption• Up to 80% of energy use in Africa & Asia• Cooking, Heating, Lighting, & some Industrial use

• 22 Countries – 100 Million People cannot meet energy needs via Forests, 16 in Africa

• Global Distribution of Cultivable Land Factor in International Ec. Dev.: ½ of Earth’s land is unsuitable for Farming

• Shallow soils, arid climates, high elevations