LGCSE Development Studies (0182) flashcards

35 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Capability approach

Sen's framework defining development as expansion of the real freedoms people have to be and do what they value, rather than income alone.

Sustainable development

Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own, integrating economic, social and environmental goals.

Dependency theory

Argument that peripheral economies remain underdeveloped because they export cheap primary goods to core economies that capture most industrial value added and set trade terms.

Basic needs approach

Strategy targeting minimum provision of food, water, shelter, sanitation, health, education and transport as the direct objective of development policy.

Purchasing power parity

Currency conversion rate equalising the cost of a common basket of goods across countries, used so GDP comparisons reflect real living standards rather than exchange rates.

Human Development Index

Composite index using the geometric mean of normalised life expectancy, schooling and GNI per capita, giving equal weight to health, education and income.

Gini coefficient

Inequality measure from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (all income to one person), derived from the area between the Lorenz curve and the diagonal.

Multidimensional Poverty Index

Measure counting overlapping deprivations in health, education and living standards; a household counts as poor if deprived in at least one-third of weighted indicators.

GDP deflator

Price index equal to nominal GDP divided by real GDP times 100, used to convert nominal values into constant-price real values.

Demographic transition

Model in which societies move from high birth and death rates through a phase of rapid growth to low birth and death rates.

Dependency ratio

Number of people under 15 plus those over 64, divided by the working-age population aged 15 to 64, multiplied by 100.

Replacement level fertility

Total fertility rate at which each generation exactly replaces itself, about 2.1 births per woman where mortality is low.

Epidemiological transition

Shift in disease burden from infectious and parasitic illnesses toward non-communicable diseases as populations age and lifestyles change.

Gross enrolment ratio

Total enrolment at a level of education, regardless of age, divided by the population of official school age, expressed as a percentage; it can exceed 100.

Poverty gap index

Average shortfall of the poor below the poverty line, expressed as a share of the line, capturing depth of poverty rather than only its incidence.

Relative poverty

Deprivation defined against a society's median income, commonly 50 or 60 percent of it, so the threshold moves as living standards rise.

Social exclusion

Inability of individuals or groups to participate fully in economic, social, political and cultural life, capturing relational and process dimensions beyond low income.

Palma ratio

Income share of the richest 10 percent divided by the income share of the poorest 40 percent, focusing on distribution between the extremes.

Lewis dual-sector model

Growth model where surplus rural labour moves to a modern sector at a fixed wage until the surplus is exhausted, raising productivity and output.

Informal employment

Work not covered by labour legislation, social protection or taxation, typically in unregistered enterprises or unprotected wage arrangements.

Global value chains

Cross-border splitting of production into stages, where lead firms controlling design, branding and retail capture larger shares of value than assembly suppliers.

Remittances

Money sent by migrant workers to households in their home country; often stable and counter-cyclical, and large relative to aid in some economies.

Food security pillars

Availability of food, access to it, utilisation for adequate nutrition, and stability of all three over time; failure of access can cause famine despite sufficient supply.

Rural livelihoods framework

Analysis of household strategies using five assets - natural, physical, financial, human and social capital - shaped by institutions and vulnerability context.

Contract farming

Agreement where a firm supplies inputs and buys a farmer's output at agreed terms, reducing price risk but sometimes shifting risk onto smallholders.

Post-harvest losses

Food lost or spoiled between harvesting and consumption during storage, transport and processing; reducing them raises effective supply without extra land.

Tragedy of the commons

Over-use of open-access resources because each user gains privately while costs are shared; addressed by clear rights, quotas or community management.

Negative externality

Cost imposed on third parties not reflected in market price, such as pollution, causing the market to produce more of the harmful activity than is socially optimal.

Mitigation versus adaptation

Mitigation reduces greenhouse gas emissions to limit climate change; adaptation adjusts systems and behaviour to reduce harm from climate impacts already occurring.

Good governance

Exercise of authority marked by accountability, transparency, rule of law, responsiveness, effectiveness, participation and equitable treatment of citizens.

Civil society

Voluntary organisations between household and state - associations, NGOs, unions, media - that advocate, deliver services and hold power to account.

Official development assistance

Government aid promoting economic development and welfare in developing countries; UN target is 0.7 percent of donor gross national income.

Paris Declaration principles

2005 aid effectiveness commitments: country ownership, alignment with national systems, donor harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability.

Triangulation

Use of multiple methods, data sources or researchers to cross-check findings and reduce the bias that a single approach would introduce.

Validity and reliability

Validity means an indicator measures the intended concept; reliability means it gives consistent results on repeated measurement. A measure can be reliable yet invalid.