Overview What is development? Measures of development Models of development Policy Issues Economic Geography: Concepts of Development

What is development? Material well-being Quality-of-life terminology spatial elements and explanations Economic Geography: Concepts of Development

Measures of Development Economic – GDP, GNP, PPP – Technology – Resource inputs to production – Sectoral distribution Non-economic – Political system/political unrest – Education – Infrastructure – Health and nutrition Economic Geography: Concepts of Development

Models of Development Core-periphery – North Versus South Growth poles – spread and backwash effects – circular and cumulative causation Stages of Growth (Rostow) – preconditions for growth – takeoff – drive to maturity – age of mass consumption ‡ post-industrial Economic Geography: Concepts of Development

Models of Development (cont.) Entrepreneurship and Schumpeter New Growth Theory- Emphasizes the role of technology rather than capital in the growth process. Economic Geography: Concepts of Development

Core / Periphery Division of the World The world can be perceived as a core / periphery dichotomy where core countries are characterized by high levels of development, a capacity at innovation and a convergence of trade flows. The core has a level of dominance over the periphery which is reflected in trade and transportation. Accessibility is higher within the elements of the core than within the periphery. Most of high level economic activities and innovations are located at the core, with the periphery subjugated to those processes at various levels. This pattern was particularly prevalent during the colonial era where the development of transport systems in the developing world mainly favored the accessibility of core countries to the resources and markets of the periphery, a situation that endured until the 1960s and 1970s. The semi-periphery has a higher level of autonomy and has been the object of significant processes of economic development (China, Brazil, Malaysia, etc.). Concomitantly, the accessibility of the semi-periphery improved, permitting the exploitation of its comparative advantages in labor and resources.

Growth Poles Theory The core idea of the growth poles theory is that economic development, or growth, is not uniform over an entire region, but instead takes place around a specific pole. This pole is often characterized by a key industry around which linked industries develop, mainly through direct and indirect effects. The expansion of this key industry implies the expansion of output, employment, related investments, as well as new technologies and new industrial sectors. Because of scale and agglomeration economies near the growth pole, regional development is unbalanced. Transportation, especially transport terminals, can play a significant role in such a process. The more dependant or related an activity is to transportation, the more likely and strong this relationship. At a later stage, the emergence of a secondary growth pole is possible, mainly if a secondary industrial sector emerges with its own linked industries.

n Technology is the result of investment in creating technology (research and development). n Growth theory separates investment in capital from investment in technology. n Increases in technology are not as directly linked to investment as is capital. n Technological advances in one sector of the economy lead to advances in completely different unrelated sectors. New Growth Theory

Policy Issues Domestic versus international development trade-offs Growth versus equity Growth versus equity versus environment Economic Geography: Concepts of Development