Causes of the inequality gap Colonialism Neo-colonialism Debt Governance

Colonialism  Relationship in which the ‘mother country’ was dominant and the colony was dependent.  The colonies supplied raw materials and the mother country did processing and sold it back to the colony.

Neo-colonialism  Neo means new; ‘new-colonialism’  When colonialism ended, the structures remained.  The colonial relationship continued so that the colonial power or companies within that nation would continue to benefit through trade.  The ‘mother country’ still uses resources (natural and people) from the colony, but doesn’t contribute to social development of country (education, health care)

Debt  Many colonies borrowed large sums of money from rich nations to speed up development in their countries. Because of this, these poor nations owed huge debts to richer nations  Tied Aid – rich nations loaned money to colonies, but the money could only be used to for buying certain things ( military support or specific goods)

Governance  After colonies became independent, government systems were often military in nature.  Government was often made up of rich elite citizens who had become powerful during colonialism.

Per Capita  When geographers measure data such as wealth, income, poverty, death, employment, etc., it is helpful to compare the data on a national level, as well as on a per capita basis. Per capita means for each person.

How do we measure a country’s wealth? (Economic)  GNP – Gross National Product- the total value of all goods and services produced by the residents of a country in a year, both at home and abroad.  GDP – Gross Domestic Product – the total value of all good and services produced by the residents of a country in a year.

How do we measure a country’s wealth? (Social)  Infant mortality rate (how many children die in their first years of life per 1000 births)  Life Expectancy ( average number of years a child can expect to live)  Literacy Rate  health care and education