Global Inequality and Development Overview

Global Inequality and Development

• Two billion people live on less than $1 per day globally.
• The top 1% of the world's population owns 44% of global wealth.
• Development is a complex concept with differing definitions.

Defining Development

• Mainstream definitions (liberal and mercantilist) primarily focus on economic indicators like GDP per capita, trade flows, and industrialization.
• These indicators don't reflect inequality, human conditions (health, education), or environmental concerns.
• Critical approaches emphasize human needs and environmental sustainability alongside economic progress.

Critical Approach to Development

• Critical definition prioritizes human needs (food, water, shelter, health) without environmental destruction.
• Mercantilist views promote policies prioritizing national economic interests.
• Liberal views support market-driven development and liberal economic policies.

Obstacles to Development

• Liberal explanations point to population growth, lack of education, corruption, government regulation/spending, and market-inefficient policies as barriers.
• Critical approaches highlight colonialism's long-term impact, predatory corporations, neo-imperialism, irrational markets (influenced by biases), and perceived flaws in capitalism.

Agent-Structure Debate

• Development outcomes are influenced by both individual agency and broader structural forces.

Debt and Development

• Excessive debt constraints developing countries, potentially placing them under control of more powerful entities.

Developmental Experiences

• World Bank and IMF often imposed market reforms (structural adjustment programs, SAPs), focusing on market liberalization and austerity.
• Critical views argue that SAPs prioritized market efficiency over human needs, sometimes worsening poverty.
• State-led growth strategies (e.g., "Asian Tigers" – South Korea, Taiwan) used by some nations demonstrate alternative paths.
• Transitions from communist to capitalist economies varied (shock therapy vs. gradualism).
• International organizations, like the UN, mediate between different economic models.

Economic Growth Models

• Washington Consensus promotes free markets, deregulation, and trade liberalization.
• Monterrey Consensus emphasizes aid from developed countries (0.7% of GDP), debt forgiveness, and trade liberalization for developing nations.
• The UN plays a role in mediating different approaches to economic development.

Financial Needs for Global Development

• Meeting global needs requires substantial resources.
• An estimated $150 billion is needed to provide clean water globally, and $200 billion to eliminate global hunger.

Environmental Protection and the Tragedy of the Commons

• The "Tragedy of the Commons" occurs when shared resources are overused, harming everyone.
• Solutions include regulation, privatization, and incentivizing sustainable use.

Key Environmental Problems

• Global environmental issues include pollution, resource depletion, deforestation, desertification, loss of biodiversity, ozone depletion, and climate change.

Challenges in Environmental Protection

• Determining responsibility and cost for environmental protection and damages.
• Recognizing hidden costs and the free-riding problem.

Key International Agreements and Conferences

• Stockholm Conference (1972) established UNEP and asserted shared responsibility for resources.
• UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) focused on protecting oceans.
• Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol (1985/1987) aimed to protect the ozone layer.
• Rio Earth Summit (1992) addressed biodiversity, deforestation, and climate change, leading to the Kyoto Protocol.

Climate Change and the Paris Agreement

• Climate change results from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and agricultural practices.
• Kyoto Protocol (1997) aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but was criticized for exclusions and withdrawals.
• Paris Agreement (2015) is a non-binding international agreement to limit global warming.

Explore the concepts of global inequality and development through various definitions and critical approaches. This quiz discusses the significant disparities in wealth and the importance of addressing human needs and environmental sustainability in development strategies.