AP Human Geography

Development and Industrialization

Chapter 10 questions
Daniel Wolfson
1. What are GNP, GDP, and GNI and what do they have to do with a nations
development?
GNP (Gross National Product) is a measure of the total value of the
officially recorded goods and services produced by the citizens and
corporations of a country in a given year. GDP (Gross Domestic
Product) is the same thing, but does not include any goods produced or
services rendered outside of a country. GNI (Gross National Income)
calculates the monetary worth of what is produced within a country
plus income received from investments outside the country. These
indices are ways of comparing countries economies and development
in economic welfare.
2. What are the limitations of these figures when attempting to understand
development?
First of all, these figures only take into account statistics dealing with
the formal economy in many countries, the informal economy is at
the forefront, instead, but is omitted in these figures. Additionally,
these figures do not say anything about the distribution of wealth in a
society a characteristic that is very important to understanding
development. Finally, these figures only measure outputs, without
taking into account the costs of production. As such, these figures give
an incomplete portrait of development.
3. What other measures are currently used to determine the rate of
development?
Other measures include the Occupational Structure of the Labor Force,
which concerns itself with the percentage of workers employed in
various sectors of the economy, the Productivity per Worker, which
concerns itself with the annual production of each worker, and the
Transportation and Communications Facilities per Person, which
concerns itself with the number of outlets for communication per
person.
4. What are the primary differences between dependency theory and worldsystems theory? Which do you feel is more relevant in todays world and
why?
Dependency theory holds that the political and economic relationships
between countries and regions of the world control and limit the

economic development possibilities of poorer areas. World-systems

theory divides the world into a three-tier structure of a core, periphery,
and semiperiphery. I believe that world-systems theory is a more
accurate representation of the global economy, given that at present,
nearly every country has some sort of influence on the economy in
varying stages (corresponding to the different tiers).
5. What is the human development index and what does it tell us about
economic growth?
The HDI incorporates per capita GDP, literacy rates, school enrollment
rates, and life expectancy at birth. It tells us the relative development
or potential for development that a certain country faces.
6. In periphery countries, what are some of the barriers to development? If you
could select one that is most harmful, which would it be and why?
Some barriers to development include malnutrition, AIDS, natural
hazards, high population growth rates, lack of education, foreign debt,
political instability, and lack of infrastructure. I believe that
malnutrition is the most harmful, as food and nutrition is the primary
goal of any human being. If they are hungry, people cannot function
effectively. Hunger also limits womens rights, which is a very
important factor in development, as women will be forced to work for
food instead of going to school.
7. Although the World Bank and IMF loan significant amounts of money to
periphery nations, they have also been heavily criticized. Why? Do you
agree with the criticism?
The problem with loaning significant amounts of money to periphery
nations is that these nations have to eventually pay the money back.
Paying back these loans begins to consume an extraordinary amount
of these countries efforts and revenues. Public works projects and
other programs that benefit the citizens are forced to be put aside and
instead, funds become concentrated on paying back this money.
8. Why is malaria such a serious concern in the developing world and what
initiatives have attempted to stop its spread?
Malaria is a serious concern because it is a major factor in infant and
child mortality and more than 1 million die from it each year. Initiatives
taken to stop its spread include the distribution of antimalarial drugs as
well as programs to kill the mosquito vector using DDT. Other
initiatives include a program to introduce genetically modified
mosquitos that cannot transmit the disease.
9. How does political instability affect economic development?

Political instability leads to corrupt politicians, who misuse aid money

and exacerbate the plight of the poor. Instability makes it difficult to
institute a proper infrastructure, and corrupt governments hinder
economic development.
10. Although there are barriers to economic development, once achieved, there
are also significant costs. Among these, industrialization, agricultural
problems, and tourism have presented new challenges to replace prior
concerns with economic development. Which of the three do you think have
been most detrimental to developing nations? Do you think its still more
beneficial for these countries to develop economically even with these new
challenges? Why/why not? (yes, this is a long one.more like a brief essay)
I believe that agricultural problems are the biggest problems facing
developing countries. Human beings cannot live without food. Before
any other advancements or social developments can occur, issues with
food must be solved. Agriculture, by nature, is the process by which
people get their nutrition/food. Any issues with agriculture are most
threatening because of their long-reaching impact. When people are
hungry, work slows, infrastructure decays, kids dont go to school, and
conflicts break out.
However, I do believe that it is still more beneficial for these countries
to develop economically even with these challenges. The thing about
agriculture is that though the problems are steep and often difficult to
solve, if solutions can be found, their effects are wide and extremely
effective. Crops with better yields, produce with higher nutrition,
perhaps new growing techniques that increase efficiency each of
these would have a significant effect on the development of a
developing country.