Why is it that some countries are classified as developed and others not? What is the criteria used to determine this? Some people believe that within the criteria to evaluate a country’s development, democracy and economic development must be taken into consideration, and that a link exists between them. Democracy can be defined as a form of government in which people choose their leaders by voting, it also implies equal rights and treatment. (Merriam Webster n.d.) By the other hand, economic development can be defined as the progress in an economy referring to an improvement of living standards, the adoption of new technologies and the transition form an agricultural to an industrial based economy. (Business Dictionary n.d.)
Mexico and
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In the other hand, Russia has a GDP per capita of 14,037US$, considered as high income for Russians. (The World Bank 2014)
I believe that having a GDP per capita as an indicator of economic development in a country is totally wrong, because it is not taking into consideration how the gross domestic product of a country is being distributed. They are not valid indicators to talk about the economic development of a country, because in the case of Mexico at least, there is a 52.3% of the population who are poor and their income is by far, less than the average GDP per capita. (The World Bank 2014) For the freedom indicators, I believe that they are valid and truly represent the situation of both countries.
As stated before, some people argue that there is a relationship between both indicators, with economic development causing democracy. Based on the data presented here, I would say that that might be true in some countries, but not in the ones that have been addressed here. For example, Russia has a greater GDP per capita than Mexico, but it is considered to be a not free country, while Mexico is a partly free one with a lower GDP per capita. Yes, Russians might have a greater income per capita, but they are not free people. In sum, it can be said that democracy and economic development play huge roles in the development of a country, however these are not the only factors that need to be taken into consideration, and it
1. The difference between a developing and a developed country are typically based on economics. A developing country usually has a low level of affluent citizens, and higher levels of unemployment. Developing countries also have lower education rates, and often times undeveloped, rural type villages. Developed countries usually have technological advantages, better roads, stable governments, higher education rates, and good health care.
In the early 20th century, both Russian and Mexican peoples were both verily dissatisfied with their respective governments. Archaic standards and unjust politics led to unrest and the stirring of the winds of rebellion. With similar political and economic motives, these geographically distanced and different groups of nearly uniform peasantry both stood against their leaders in dynamic revolutions that would eventually end in vastly different sociopolitical positions in their newly claimed nations.
The United States today is known as an industrialized nation. This means that we have a high standard of living. However, there are many countries that do not have a high standard of living and they are called developing nations. Many things could keep them from becoming a developed nation such as no international trade, lack of factories, and a lack of tariffs.
Throughout the world countries are often characterized as being developed or developing. Two countries that are examples of being developed and developing are the United States and India. This classification of countries is often based on their economic status. Examples of economic categories that differentiate which countries are developed and developing are unemployment levels, living conditions, and economic growth. Despite countries being developed and developing, they all are always trying to improve their economic status. Comparing India and the United States, one can gain a better understanding of the differences of developed and developing countries.
Democracy is an essential factor in governance. If we govern democratically, we are likely to get more gains in the society since everyone feels that they get fair treatment. Democracy, however, has its weaknesses since it is not a perfect process. In this section, we are going to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of democracy in Mexico.
In order to properly identify fundamental characteristics attributed to the Mexican Revolution of 1910, that may or may not deem it a legitimate revolution, we must first establish and define that which is allocated by the term, revolution. Merriam Webster defines a revolution as, a complete overthrow of an established government or political system. The Oxford Dictionary defines a revolution as, “an overthrow of old government by force and replacing it by a new one. Funk and Wagnall’s Standard Desk Dictionary establishes that a revolution is, a great upheaval: a radical change, especially in government. In lecture, class discussions describe characteristics of a revolution as being of fundamental change in either a political power or governmental assembly, taking place over a period of time, and carried out through action on behalf of the population as a mass. More formerly, a mass rebellion of the institutions in place at the time of which the public seeks to overrule.
Capitalism has a huge impact on the environment and worker’s health and safety. As result of Mexico “lax environmental standards and easy evasion”, pollution has become a serious problem (Wise 2003, p. 177). Factories do not adequately dispose of toxic waste, which has caused the contamination of the water, air, and soil (Wise 2013). Marx argued that the metabolic rift degrades the natural social relation between human and environment because factories cause an accumulation of waste, which cause a pollution problem (Clark 2005) Thus, capitalism disrupts relationship between human and the environment. Unfortunately, Mexico, is not the only place where exploitation of resources leads to metabolic rift. In the 1800 century, Britain began to export
Every country around the world uses GDP as a way to monitor the overall “output” of its economy, and an understanding of this measurement is vital to success in economics. The text book defines “real GDP” as, “the total value of all final goods and services produced in the economy during a given year, calculated using the prices of a selected base year” (Textbook). The book later goes on to define “GDP per capita” as the “GDP divided by the size of the population; equivalent to the average GDP per person” (Textbook). So, logically we could draw the conclusion that the “real GDP per capita” is simply the real GDP of a nation’s economy divided by the population of said nation, or in other words, it’s “a measure of an economy’s average aggregate output per person” (Textbook pg. 201). Perhaps one of the most defining factors of a country, when compared to other countries, is the overall “standard of living”. The quality of life within countries can vary greatly, even between neighboring, geographical nations. Many people have come to believe that the standard of living within a country is directly proportional to the country’s “real GDP per capita”, when in fact this is far from true. In reality, a “high GDP per capita makes it easier to achieve a good life but countries aren’t equally successful in taking advantage of that possibility” (Textbook pg. 200). It is clear that a country’s standard of living ultimately depends on its ability to effectively use the
Geographers like to differentiate countries by grouping them into developed and developing countries. A developed country is a country that has progressed relatively far during time and has a highly developed economy and advanced technological infrastructure. Some examples of developed countries are the U.S.A, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Netherlands and many others. They are normally the more profound countries that we hear about more often than developing countries. A developing country is a country that is at an early stage in economic development and has a less developed industrial base, and a low Human Development Index (HDI). The Human Development Index is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income per capita indicators and is used to rank countries into tiers of human development. Having a low HDI means the country has a low life expectancy, a shorter length of education and the income per capita is lower. Some examples of developing countries are Brazil, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, India, Afghanistan, and many others. I plan to bring you into an in depth explanation about the many differences in population studies between Japan and Brazil.
The term developmental state has been widely utilised to describe any state experiencing a period of economic development and improvement in living standards (Pham, 2012). One of the most significant arguments in this scope is the performance of developmental state model. A number of scholars have attempted to investigate this issue and arguments can be divided into three categories. Proponents of state intervention indicate that the state plays an indispensable role in directing economic development and utilising the resources of the country to achieve development goals. On the contrary, those who oppose state-led model argue
When referring to developing countries, the most appropriate term to use in my opinion is less-developed countries. Brinkerhoff et al. (2007) define less-developed nations as "nations that have lower living standards than the most-developed countries"¦" The most developed countries in contrast "are those rich nations that have relatively high degrees of economic and political autonomy" (Brinkerhoff et al., 2007). Thus the key distinguishing feature between developed and less-developed nations is the degree of both political and economic autonomy. In that regard, less-developed nations are likely to have high unemployment rates, lower living standards, shorter life expectancies etc. In seeking the most appropriate label for developing countries, I settled on less-developed countries because in addition to explaining the political and economic conditions of the subject, it also captures the development track record of the
The world has been divided into developing, under-developed and developed countries. And the race has been always to move from under-developed to developed counties. But the confusion lies herein in this process of movement from the under-developed/developing countries to developed countries. When should a country consider itself to be moving in the right direction i.e. towards its goal of being a developed country? Surveys are made and reports being churned out that state the economic growth of a nation. Does the rate of this economic growth a true indicator in this regard? If that is true why is it then that even in the 21st century decades after the industrialization and years after globalization the
A developed country is a state that has a highly cultivated economy and advanced technological framework as compare to other under-developed nations. The extent of economic development can be assessed by observing the GDP (Gross domestic product), GNP (Gross national product) and Per Capita Income of a country. Few examples of developed countries are include England, Italy, Spain, Australia, Japan. Simultaneously, a developing country, also known as a less-developed country, is a state that has GDP per Capita less than or equal to $11,905 dollars. It has low standard of living, less developed economy and security. For example, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Peru, Zimbabwe.
Development is a term that contains many different meanings in other parts of the world, however the idea of it is pretty much the same everywhere. A broad definition of Development, according to Global Sherpa “refers to developing countries working their way up the ladder of economic performance, living standards, sustainability, and equality. . .”, in order to reach a developed status. Throughout the majority of history, the world was mainly divided amongst powerful empires and the territories that serve them, but times are changing now and no one is longer willing to become another one’s slave. In today’s society, there have been a number of countries that have learned to fend for themselves and become entirely self-sufficient, on the other hand, there are also those who are struggling to survive on their own but refuse to keep striving for development. It should come as no surprise that what we have nowadays was not available and ceased to exist in the past. Nonetheless, much of what we do have now is a result of development or this idea of constant change and innovation. Although there are no exact standards that determine what development is, there are guidelines that one has to achieve to often be recognized as a developed nation. And there are a variety of ways countries attempt to do to get to this point. For example, there are many that believe that by introducing more jobs to the country will eventually lead to people having more money to spend and benefit the
The ocean is a vast pool with many different kinds of fish, no fish is exactly the same. You can say the same about the countries of the world, but the best way to put all these countries into groups is by judging whether they are developed or developing. Countries develop at their own pace and geographers use the stage of their development to categorize them. For example, take Japan and Ghana. Both countries are very different in almost every aspect of life, Japan is a developed country, and Ghana is a developing country. Ghana differs from Japan in population and its growth, as Ghana has a younger population and more difficulties in maintaining the health of their population. Ghana also differs from Japan in its land use and agriculture by having more subsistence farming, while Japan concentrates more on commercial farming.