Geographers Making Sense of the World 2: Measuring Well-Being
and Contemporary World Order
Slide 2
Measurements of Economic Health and Social Well-Being a) Gross
Domestic Product (GDP): an estimate of the total value of all
materials, foodstuffs, goods, and services produced by a country in
a particular year. (normally given per capita)
Slide 3
b) Gross National Income (GNI): The value of all final goods
and services produced within a countrys borders (gross domestic
product GDP), plus the net income from abroad (formerly referred to
as gross national product, or GNP) c) Various other measures such
as: life expectancy, infant mortality, adult literacy, access to
internet, gender equity, physicians per capita, etc. Thrilling
Example of Graphing Measurements! Gapminder:
http://graphs.gapminder.org/worldgraphs.gapminder.org/world
Slide 4
d) Population pyramids. These display the population of a
country by age and gender. World Population Change over Time:
http://content.bfwpub.com/webroot_pubcontent/Content/BCS_4/Pulsipher5e/T
hematic_Interactive_Maps/ch01/pr01pm01.htm
Slide 5
d. Population Pyramids Figure 1.33 Dynamic population pyramids:
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/pyramids.html
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/pyramids.html
Slide 6
e) Measurements of Equity United Nations Development Programmes
Gender Empowerment Index. womens incomes, their participation in
labor force in professional and managerial roles, number of
government seats held.
Slide 7
UNs Gender Development Index Ranks countries on whether they
provide basic literacy, health care, access to income available to
both men and women.
Slide 8
f. Alternative Measurements of Well-Being 1. Material Culture:
the stuff people own A Californian Familys Possessions
Slide 9
A Mongolian Familys Possessions
Slide 10
2.What People in a Place Eat 3.Gross National Happiness Index
http://www.grossnationalhappiness.com/gnhIndex/intruductionGNH.aspx
Mastering Geography Video: Gross National HappinessGross National
Happiness
Slide 11
Measurements of Economic Health and Social Well-Being: Summary
a) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) b) Gross National Product (GNP) c)
Various measures such as: life expectancy, infant mortality, adult
literacy, etc. d) Population pyramids e) ) Alternative Measures:
Gross National Happiness f) UNDPs Gender Equity Index and UNs
Gender Development Index
Slide 12
Contemporary World Order
Slide 13
This lecture focuses on the way that power is organized among
the worlds regions, and how this order came to be.
Slide 14
Contemporary World Order: Three Tiers The Core : those regions
that dominate trade, control the most advanced technologies, and
have high levels of productivity within diversified economies. They
enjoy relatively high per capita incomes. The success of core
countries depends on their dominance and control over other
regions.
Slide 15
The Periphery : regions that have resisted or remained
economically and politically unable to participate in this process
of incorporation into the world system. Peripheral regions are
characterized by dependent and disadvantageous trading
relationships, by inadequate or obsolete technologies, and by
undeveloped or narrowly specialized economies with low levels of
productivity.
Slide 16
Semi-Periphery are able to exploit peripheral regions but are
themselves exploited and dominated by the core regions. The status
of states is fluid and change over time.
Slide 17
Slide 18
Slide 19
Slide 20
Developed countries are shown in blue. (According to the
International Monetary Fund, as of 2008).International Monetary
Fund Least developed: pink
Slide 21
European Colonization and Imperialism: late 1500s-early 1900s
Example: 1880-1912: Europeans carved up the African continent.
Reason behind colonization and imperialism: search for expanded
arena for trade, need for raw materials, commercial opportunities
Colonial Resource Extraction How did this World Order come to
be?
Slide 22
Colonialism and Imperialism Created an International Division
of Labor that persists in many places today: wherein countries and
regions specialized in a product or material that the core needed,
that the core couldnt produce itself, and that the country could
produce with comparative advantage over other countries.
Slide 23
Neo-colonialism: refers to economic and political strategies by
which powerful states in core economies indirectly maintain or
extend their influence over other areas or people.
Slide 24
Globalization: the growth of interregional and worldwide
linkages and the changes they are bringing about.
Interconnectedness
Slide 25
Globalization and Culture Change Cultural homogeneity A
perceived lack of diversity Seen as resulting from globalization
Cultural identity Sense of distinctiveness Revived by ease of
telecommunication, transportation Multiculturalism The state of
relating to, reflecting, or being adapted to several cultures
Slide 26
How is Global Economy Organized? in other words: wheres the
power? World War II saw the end of old colonial system Replaced by
multinational corporations, who: Control vast amounts of capital
Operate across conventional borders, maximizing profit by operating
globally Use disparities in labor costs and standard of wealth
across borders
Slide 27
There are three main consequences of todays economic
globalization: 1. There are three main core areas in the world
which house the major transnational corporations and financial
institutions. The three cores are connected through investment,
trade, and communication.
Slide 28
The Triadic Core
Slide 29
2. Economic globalization has intensified the differences
between rich and poor.
Slide 30
The top fifth of the worlds population has 74% of the worlds
income, while the bottom fifth of the worlds population has 1% of
the world income. 2. Economic globalization has intensified the
differences between rich and poor.
Slide 31
The top fifth of the worlds population has 74% of the worlds
income, while the bottom fifth of the worlds population has 1% of
the world income. If you remove the countries that contribute 5% of
the global GDP from a world map, you remove nearly half of the
worlds population from the map. 2. Economic globalization has
intensified the differences between rich and poor.
Slide 32
Origin: FiveThirtyEight website Retrieved from: Strangemaps.com
The World Map Minus Those Countries that Contribute the Bottom 5%
of Global Gross Domestic Product (constitutes 2.9 billion
people)
Slide 33
The top fifth of the worlds population has 74% of the worlds
income, while the bottom fifth of the worlds population has 1% of
the world income. If you remove the countries that contribute 5% of
the global GDP from a world map, you remove nearly half of the
worlds population from the map. The top fifth of the worlds
population has 74% of the worlds telephone lines, the bottom fifth
has 1.5%
Slide 34
The top fifth of the worlds population has 74% of the worlds
income, while the bottom fifth of the worlds population has 1% of
the world income. If you remove the countries that contribute 5% of
the global GDP from a world map, you remove nearly half of the
worlds population from the map. The top fifth of the worlds
population has 74% of the worlds telephone lines, the bottom fifth
has 1.5% In 2000 life expectancy in Australia was 79 years, in
Ethiopia it was 42 years. In most African countries, only 60-70% of
the population will live to age 40. Consider other Life Expectancy
rates: http://globalis.gvu.unu.edu/
Slide 35
3. Economic globalization is not matched by political
globalization. In other words, there is no political globalization
or system that provides an adequate framework for coping with the
consequences of globalization. Traders work on the New York Stock
Exchange floor, Monday Oct. 6, 2008. Wall Street tumbled again
Monday, joining a sell-off around the world as fears grew that the
financial crisis will cascade through economies globally despite
bailout efforts by the U.S. and other governments. (AP
Photo/Richard Drew) (the day the Dow dropped below 10,000 shares
for first time since 2004) From: Huffington Post.com