ECONOMIC & SOCIAL

DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1 Section 6

G7 Nations Group of Seven (G7): This is an international

organization officially established in 1985 to facilitate economic cooperation among the world's largest industrial nations; summit meetings of the member nations began in 1975. Members are Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and the United States. The G7 discusses and coordinates its members' actions on economic and commercial matters and works to aid the economies of other nations. The leaders of the G7 nations meet annually in member countries. The Group of Eight. (G8), which consists of the G7 nations plus Russia, was officially established in 1998, although Russia began participating in some G7 meetings earlier in the 1990s.

Emerging nations have long complained that their interests are not addressed during the G7 meetings.

Third World & “LDC’s” The term “Third World” refers to the developing world.

It includes countries with low economic development, political instability & underdeveloped social structure.

The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO (which represented the First World), or communism and the Soviet Union (which represented the Second World). Due to many of the Third World countries being extremely poor, it became a stereotype and people commonly refer to undeveloped countries as "third world countries.”

Over the last few decades, the term 'Third World' has been used interchangeably with the Less Developed Countries (LDC’s) to describe poorer countries that struggled to attain economic development. More developed countries are MDC’s.

Measures of Economic Development GDP = Gross Domestic Product. It is the monetary

value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period, though GDP is usually calculated on an annual basis. GDP also includes EXPORTS – IMPORTS;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)

GDP Per Capita = A measure of the total output of a country that takes the gross domestic product (GDP) and divides it by the number of people in the country. Per capita GDP is used as an indicator of standard of living as well, with higher per capita GDP being interpreted as having a higher standard of living. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html

HWQ#4 – China has undergone the most economic growth in per capita GDP according to your text. What might that mean to the average Chinese person?

Measures of Economic Development

GNI = the total value of goods and services produced by the domestic economy of a country, measured within a given period of time, usually a year (leaves out the exports & imports piece).

PPP = is a method of measuring the relative purchasing power of different countries currencies over the same types of goods and services, despite differential rates of inflation. PPP allows to make more accurate comparisons of standards of living across countries, because goods and services may cost more in one country than in another.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GNI_(PPP)_per_capita

The International Dollar – this reference is sometimes used; itis a hypothetical unit of currency that has the same purchasing power that the U.S. dollar has in the United States at a given point in time.  

Indicators of Social Development

LIFE EXPECTANCY: the average number of years to be lived by a group of people born in the same year. Life expectancy at birth is also a measure of overall quality of life in a country. Women ALWAYS outlive men!!

http://www.livingto100.com/calculator/ageCIA - The World Factbook

UNDER AGE 5 MORTALITY: this statistic measures the probability of a child dying before reaching the age of 5. It is impacted by the caliber/availability of health care & nutritional circumstances.

Under-Five Mortality Rate (Probability of Dying Under Age Five per 1,000 Live Births) - GlobalHealthFacts.org

Indicators of Social Development

ADULT LITERACY RATE: this measures the percentage of persons aged 15 and over who can read and write. From UN definition “…people who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life.” http://www.uis.unesco.org/literacy/Documents/fs20-literacy-day-2012-en-v3.pdf

% OF FEMALES IN THE LABOR FORCE: Labor force participation rate is the proportion of the population ages 15 and older that is economically active: this stat measures the presence of women in that demographic group.

United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

There are many definitions of sustainable development, including this landmark one which first appeared in 1987:

"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

from the World Commission on Environment and Development’s report Our Common Future (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987).

http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/english/sd.html