Development geography

Gunder Frank commented on the global economic forces that lead to the development of underdevelopment.

They try to find by what characteristics they can measure development by looking at economic, political and social factors.

Thirdly, the GNP figure rarely takes into account the unofficial economy, which includes subsistence agriculture and cash-in-hand or unpaid work, which is often substantial in LEDCs.

In LEDCs it is often too expensive to accurately collect this data and some governments intentionally or unintentionally release inaccurate figures[citation needed].

In addition, the GNP figure is usually given in US dollars which due to changing currency exchange rates can distort the money's true street value so it is often converted using purchasing power parity (PPP) in which the actual comparative purchasing power of the money in the country is calculated.

The GDI (Gender-related Development Index) measures gender equality in a country in terms of life expectancy, literacy rates, school attendance and income.

They are useful in analyzing features that are not easily calculated or measured in numbers such as freedom, corruption, or security, which are largely non-material benefits.

Global wealth also increased in material terms, and during the period 1947 to 2000, average per capita incomes tripled as global GDP increased almost tenfold (from $US3 trillion to $US30 trillion)... Over 25% of the 4.5 billion people in LEDCs still have life expectancies below 40 years.

The North-South divide separates the rich North or the developed world, from the poor South.

These countries are experiencing sustained fast development on the back of growing manufacturing industries and exports.

Noticeably some of the former Soviet Union countries has experienced major disruption of industry in the transition to a market economy.

Many African nations have recently experienced reduced GNPs due to wars and the AIDS epidemic, including Angola, Congo, Sierra Leone and others.

Countries which rely on only a few exports for much of their income are very vulnerable to changes in the market value of those commodities and are often derogatively called banana republics.

Analysis of current data sets show three significant implications of geography on developing nations.

Sea travel is much cheaper and faster than that of land, leading to a wider and quicker dissemination of both resources and ideas, both of which are integral to economic stimulus.

Geography also dictates the prevalence of disease: for example, the World Health Organization estimates roughly 300–500 million new cases of malaria every year.

Not only does disease decrease labor productivity, but it changes the age structure of the country, forcing the population to lean heavily toward children as adults die from disease and the population sees an increase of fertility to keep up with the high death rates.

This, in turn, discourages technological advance: an essential source of development for the twenty-first century.

Many scholars agree that foreign aid provided to developing nations is ineffective and in many instances counter productive.

Mostly short-term or emergency aid help people in LEDCs to survive a natural (earthquake, tsunami, volcano eruption etc.)