Disparities and change

In the previous section (Origin of disparities) I attempted to explain some of the reasons why inter and intra-country disparities exist. Some of the reasons have been put into models. One theory to explain colonialism and exploitation is the dependency theory. The Rostow model which was mentioned in the section Measurements of regional and global disparities helps explain disparities caused by employment, transportation, communication, etc. Finally the world systems theory helps explain the development of core areas and peripheral areas.

Dependency Theory

Many of the 'Dependency Theory' ideas were popularised by Andre Gunder Frank in 1966. Frank carried out historical investigations to try and ascertain why some areas of the world were developed and other areas undeveloped. He argued that: The development of the rich world was achieved by exploitation of the developing world. The diagram to the right very simply shows how resources are moving from the periphery (developing) to the core (developed). That developing countries moved into production of cash crops (coffee, tea, cocoa) which meant that they were no longer subsistent and actually dependent on developed countries for food imports and food aid. That the development of many countries were slowed or stopped by the arrival of colonists. He points out that many countries were richer before colonisation than after. This dependency may have grown even greater since Frank produced his argument because: Many poor countries owe large debts to developed countries or international banks The world is now more globalised with many developed country TNCs operating in and possibly exploiting developing countries. Developed countries tend to specialise in more value added industries like banking and manufacturing, widening the development gap even more. The diagram to the right shows how goods flow to the periphery. This can increase debt and hamper there own independence and technological development Many international organisations are dominated by developed countries e.g. G20, World Bank, IMF and even the UN Security Council Many developing countries have now become reliant on NGO help Population growth is highest in developing countries so many are suffering from greater overpopulation and are more dependent on foreign help.

The Rostow Model

Very simply the Rostow model states that all countries are at different stages of development on the path to the stage 5 - mass consumption stage 5. Put simply the Rostow model suggests that any country in the lower levels are going to be less developed in terms of infrastructure, service provision, income, etc. when compared to a country in a higher stage. Like all Models, the Rostow Model is very simplistic and has been criticised for a number of reasons, including: Many countries seemed to have become stuck at stages and can't move onto to stage 4 and 5. Developed countries only reached stage 5 by exploiting countries, now making it impossible for poorer countries to develop further High levels of debt and corruption mean some countries struggle to progress It is probably not possible for all countries to enjoy mass consumption. Some countries will need to specialise in primary products to satisfy our demand for food and raw materials. Because jobs in primary industries are less well paid, it will probably mean that they are as wealthy and can not enjoy a mass consumption lifestyle.

World Systems Theory

Developed by Wallerstein in the 1970's, he argues that a capitalist world economy is a fairly new idea, that has only been in existence since the 16th Century. He stated that a number of countries forged ahead creating a core region with the result of the world being peripheral. He then stated that a semi-peripheral area then developed to bridge the gap between the two. He said the periphery became specialist in the primary sector while the core became specialist in the higher value secondary and tertiary sectors. World System theory doesn't state that countries become stuck in the periphery like dependency theory, but can develop and therefore reduce disparities. NICs and the BRICS countries are good example of semi-peripherial countries fast reducing the disparities between the have and the have nots.

Life Expectancy

Life Expectancy is the average age people are expected to live to at birth. The world's current average life expectancy is about 70 years, but there is a huge gap between the highest (Monaco at about 89 years) and the lowest (Angola at about 38 years). As can be seen from the graph to the right the world's average life expectancy has increased by about 25 years in just over 50 years. The reasons for the increase in life expectancy include: Improved diet and increased food production Better provision of clean water Immunisation programmes to eliminate diseases like small pox and reduce others like TB Better medical care Improved post natal care (reduced infant and child mortality) Better education about diet, hygiene, etc. Despite the impressive rise in the world's life expectancy there are some countries or regions that have only seen very small rises or even falls. Reasons may include: Prolonged civil war e.g. Sierra Leone Disease e.g. HIV in Botswana Famine and drought e.g. Ethiopia Also with countries there can be vary big differences in citizens life expectancies. The two maps to the right highlight this fact very clearly. The areas coloured red (light and dark) have the lowest life expectancies (between 70-78 for men and 70-80 for women) while the green areas have higher life expectancies (78+ for men and 80+ for women). From the map (especially the male map on the right) it is very obvious the people in Scotland, West Wales, Northern Ireland and some northern cities (Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and Sunderland) don't live as long as people from England and East Wales. The obvious reason for this would be health spending, but this is not true because the Scottish NHS spends more per capita than the English NHS. Research suggests that main reason is income, although other factors may have included: Smoking and drinking Dangerous jobs (fishermen, mining, oil drilling) Pollution, especially in northern industrial cities like Sunderland and Sheffield Distance from medical care. Diet (fruit and veg) Regional health gap is 30 years - BBC article UK life expectancy shows the difference that money makes - Guardian article

Country Life Expectancies

Education

Education is vital if countries want to reduce disparities, alleviate poverty and see an improvement in the standard of living. Education can be measured in numerous ways including: Adult literacy Percentage of university graduates Education spending Pupil teacher ratios Male female education equality Years of Schooling The UN see education as been important, not only is it a key measurement in their HDI, but it is also their Millennium Development Goal number 2 (Achieve universal primary education). The bar graph to the right does demonstrate that all regions are seeing an increase in the average years of schooling. However, even with the increase may children Middle Eastern and North African countries are only receiving halve as many years of education as the richest countries and children in sub-Saharan countries are only receiving as third many years of education. Education is vitally important for may reasons, including: If people can read and write they are less likely to be exploited because they know what they are being asked to do and/or what to sign They understand the importance of family planning and can reduce fertility rates and birth rates They understand the importance of health, diet and medicine. They will know how to prevent diseases e.g. HIV and malaria, how to remain fit and healthy by eating a good diet and how to cure diseases when sick. They have a better chance of getting a higher paid job. They have a better chance of being independent and not relying on a husband/wife, their family, community or country. Even the graph does show a reduction in global disparities, difference still exist because: Some groups in some countries appose female education Some countries are at war and youngsters and teachers are forced to fight. Some countries can not afford to provide free education for all. In many primary based countries children are needed to work on the land. In poorer countries children might have to contribute to family income, care for parents or look after the family home. Afghan Taliban end opposition to educating girls - BBC article

Map Showing Higher Education Spending

Income

Having a good income is important because it allows people to get an education for themselves and for their children, maintain a healthy diet and therefore stay fit and pay for a good house and services. In short it allows you to enjoy a positive cycle of wealth (completely opposite to the cycle of poverty in the last section). However, it must be remembered that we can''t simply look at peoples income and determine if they are wealthy or not. If we looking at the UK, the highest average income are going to be found in the SE. However, this is also the area where cost of living is most. Therefore it might be better looking at people's disposable income rather than their gross income. UK households face 780 pound drop in disposable income - BBC article The diagram right clearly shows that there is a massive gap between the rich and the poor, with the richest 5th controlling 74.1% of the world's wealth and the bottom 5th controlling only 1.5%. However, even though the world is still very polarised in terms of income, many countries are seeing there national incomes increase and move towards converging with some of the bigger more developed countries. Countries like South Korea and more recently China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia are seeing rapid and prolonged growth in income.

It is also important to remember that even when countries experience growth in income, it is very unlikely that this growth is universal. There will probably be groups that are marginalised creating inequalities. Asian economic forum addresses income inequality - BBC article China warns on wage gap unrest - BBC article Sub-Saharan Africa poverty grows - BBC article

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

The Millennium Development Goals are eight international goals that all members of the United Nations agreed to try and meet by 2015. The aim of the MDGs are to encourage economic and social development in all countries (especially LEDCs). The eight Millennium Goals are: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Ensure environmental sustainability Global partnership for development The UN has developed 48 technical indicators to measure the success in implementing the Millennium Development Goals Millennium Development Goal Indicators - UN

You need to understand the attempts and successes of the Millennium Development Goals in meeting three main targets:

1. Poverty Reduction
2. Education
3. Health

Poverty Reduction

The eradication of extreme poverty and hunger is Millennium Development Goal number one. Goal number one is basically two interlinked targets (Target 1. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day and Target 2. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger). Their success will be measured by: Indicators (Part 1 - Poverty) 1. Proportion of population below $1 (1993 PPP) per day (World Bank) 2. Poverty gap ratio [incidence x depth of poverty] (World Bank) 3. Share of poorest quintile in national consumption (World Bank) Indicators (Part 2 - Hunger) 4. Prevalence of underweight children under five years of age (UNICEF-WHO) 5. Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption (FAO) In terms of poverty the graph to the right indicates that all regions have seen a fall in absolute poverty accept West Africa. However, apart from SE Asia and E Asia no regions have yet met the Millennium Development Goal. Asia has seen a massive fall in poverty because of the massive success of countries like China, India, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam and Indonesia. However, even though many regions are seeing a fall in absolute poverty, rising food prices actually mean that many people are worse off, despite being above the UN threshold. So even though China and India will probably mean the goal is meant, the growing imbalance between food and resources will probably will ensure that millions still go hungry. In terms of hunger, there remains a huge imbalance in the distribution of food. In many developed countries people are malnourished because they are over eating or eating unhealthily, while in many developing countries people will remain undernourished, especially in countries like Somalia where human and physical factors damage food production.

Rising food prices increase squeeze on poor (Oxfam) - BBC article Food Prices: World Bank warns millions face poverty - BBC article Somalia Famine: UN warns of 750,000 deaths - BBC article Obesity as bad as climate risk - BBC article

Education

Universal primary education is Millennium Development Goal number two (Target 3. Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling). Success will be measured by: Indicators 6. Net enrollment ratio in primary education (UNESCO) 7. Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5 (UNESCO) 8. Literacy rate of 15-24 year-olds (UNESCO) The graph below shows that almost every region (except CEE/CIS - East Europe and former USSR states) has seen an increase in primary enrollment. However, even with the increase in some regions like Sub-Saharan Africa nearly 30% of children are not been educated. Maybe more encouraging is the graph to the right that shows the equality between female and male education is improving. Apart from Oceania and East Asia every region has seen a convergence to equality between males and females. Again though it can still be argued that even though gap is dropping, it is still too high because 55% of people who receive no education are females. Recent UN research all suggests that youth literacy is improving globally. This is important because it shows that they received an education and should allow them to get a better job and higher income and therefore be able to support their children and send them to school.

Graph Showing Primary School Enrollment 1991-2006

Health

The improvement of health falls under Millennium Development Goals four, five and six. Goal 4 (Target and Indicators) - Reduce Child Mortality Target 5. Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate. Indicators 13. Under-five mortality rate (UNICEF-WHO) 14. Infant mortality rate (UNICEF-WHO) 15. Proportion of 1 year-old children immunized against measles (UNICEF-WHO) There has been significant success in meeting this goal. All regions of the world have seen a fall in child mortality rates. However, it must be remembered that because some regions have got such high birth rates and fertility rates the absolute number of child deaths has not decreased e.g. Sub-Saharan Africa. It must also be remembered that roughly 21,000 children die everyday because of preventable diseases. The decrease has been achieved by: Improving immunisation programmes Improving parental education and providing pre and post natal care More females giving birth in hospitals or with trained medical staff Breast feeding and vitamin supplements Insect repellent bed nets. Goal 5 (Target and Indicators) - Improve Maternal Health Target 6. Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio Indicators 16. Maternal mortality ratio (UNICEF-WHO) 17. Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel (UNICEF-WHO) As can be seen from the graph to the right, maternal deaths (death of the mother during pregnancy and birth) are still extremely high in Africa and East Asia and a long way from meeting the the Millennium Development Goal target of reducing maternal deaths by two-thirds. The most common form of deaths are hemorrhaging (bleeding), infections and abortions. To reduce the amount of hemorrhaging and infections more births need to be in hospitals with suitably trained medical staff standing by. To reduce the amount of unsafe abortions, the amount of unwanted pregnancies has to be reduced or abortion clinics better managed and regulated. In many countries abortions are illegal, which forces many women to have so called back-street abortions which are dangerous. Goal 6 (Target and Indicators) - Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases Target 7. Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS Indicators 18. HIV prevalence among pregnant women aged 15-24 years (UNAIDS-WHO-UNICEF) 19. Condom use rate of the contraceptive prevalence rate (UN Population Division) 19a. Condom use at last high-risk sex (UNICEF-WHO) 19b. Percentage of population aged 15-24 years with comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS (UNICEF-WHO) 19c. Contraceptive prevalence rate (UN Population Division) 20. Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school attendance of non-orphans aged 10-14 years (UNICEF-UNAIDS-WHO) Target 8. Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases Indicators 21. Prevalence and death rates associated with malaria (WHO) 22. Proportion of population in malaria-risk areas using effective malaria prevention and treatment measures (UNICEF-WHO) 23. Prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis (WHO) 24. Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under DOTS (internationally recommended TB control strategy) (WHO) As can be seen from the graph to the right even though the overall number of people living with HIV is increasing, the actual number of new cases is decreasing, along with the number of AIDS deaths. However, the news is not all good, because in some regions like Eastern Europe and Central America the number of HIV infections is increasing. HIV epidemic halted says UN - BBC article The key to reducing HIV infection rates is to: Improve availability of condoms Improve knowledge of how HIV is transmitted Improve testing Ensure all blood for medical use is tested Reduce transmission between mother and baby Key to improve education is targetting education. Many countries with high HIV infection rates also have poor levels of literacy. It is therefore very important to target education at an accessible level e.g. posters, theatre groups, community meetings, etc. There have also been significant successes in reducing malarial deaths. Probably the biggest reason is increasing the number of children sleeping under mosquito nets. However, to eliminate malaria deaths, malaria testing will have to increase along with affordability and availability of malaria drugs. Living conditions and the removal of stagnant standing water will also have to be improved. UN efforts to end malaria deaths - BBC article Eradicating malaria will take more than bednets - Guardian article Malaria vaccine raises hope - BBC article Malaria Deaths Fall 20% in Decade - BBC article Third of malaria drugs 'are fake' - BBC article

Child Mortality at Record Low - BBC article Big drop in children under five dying says UN - BBC article Hospital births move has halved newborn deaths in China - BBC article Africa laggi8ng on child deaths - BBC article Maternal deaths fall sharply across the globe - NY Times article Millennium Development Goals on health will not be met - BBC article Momentum on tackling maternal deaths - BBC article Maternal deaths fall worldwide - BBC article