NSSCO Development Studies 6136 study plan

Define development, economic growth and human development in your own words and explain how they differ, giving one Southern African example of each.

Distinguish and calculate GDP per capita, GNI per capita, PPP-adjusted income and the Human Development Index (HDI) from supplied numbers, showing each step.

Compare the HDI with at least two alternative measures (Gini coefficient, Multidimensional Poverty Index, Gender Inequality Index) and state what each reveals that the others do not.

Explain the difference between GDP and GNP/GNI and why remittances and mineral exports make this distinction matter in Namibia.

Build a one-page table of 15 key development indicators with definition, unit, and one strength and one limitation each.

Outline the core claims of modernisation theory, dependency theory and neoliberal/structural adjustment thinking, and identify one policy tool associated with each.

Evaluate each theory against at least two concrete African or Namibian cases, stating what the theory explains well and what it fails to explain.

Explain import substitution industrialisation, export-led growth and structural adjustment programmes, and list two outcomes (one positive, one negative) of each.

Describe the Sustainable Development Goals and contrast them with the Millennium Development Goals in terms of scope and critique.

Write a 250-word essay plan arguing which theory best explains slow industrialisation in Southern Africa.

Interpret demographic transition model stages using birth rate, death rate and natural increase figures, and place Namibia and one high-income country on the model.

Calculate population growth rate, doubling time and dependency ratio from given data, showing formulas.

Explain how age structure, youth bulges and ageing populations affect labour markets, education spending and pension systems.

Analyse the push and pull factors behind rural-urban migration in Namibia and link them to informal settlement growth.

Evaluate one population policy (e.g. fertility, migration or family planning) for its development consequences.

Distinguish absolute poverty, relative poverty and multidimensional poverty, and give an example of a household that is poor on one measure but not the others.

Calculate and interpret a headcount poverty ratio, poverty gap and Gini coefficient from supplied data.

Explain the causes of inequality in Southern Africa, including land distribution, education access and wage structures, with at least one Namibian illustration.

Describe two social protection instruments (e.g. cash transfers, old-age grants, school feeding) and assess their strengths and weaknesses.

Explain social exclusion and identify two groups commonly excluded from economic opportunity in the region.

Explain the role of agriculture in GDP, employment and export earnings in Namibia and the wider region using illustrative figures.

Distinguish subsistence and commercial farming and explain how land tenure and land reform affect productivity and equity.

Define food security and its four dimensions (availability, access, utilisation, stability), and apply them to a drought scenario.

Evaluate two interventions aimed at rural development (irrigation schemes, extension services, cooperatives, value chains) with one success condition and one risk each.

Explain how climate variability and water scarcity constrain agriculture in Namibia.

Explain the difference between comparative and competitive advantage and apply both to one Namibian export sector.

Describe trade liberalisation, tariffs, quotas and regional trade blocs (SADC, SACU, AfCFTA) and evaluate one benefit and one cost of regional integration for a small economy.

Explain industrial policy, value addition and beneficiation, and state why exporting raw minerals limits job creation.

Define sustainable development and distinguish weak and strong sustainability with an example of each.

Apply the concept of externalities and the polluter-pays principle to mining, fishing or tourism, and evaluate one environmental management tool (EIA, quotas, carbon pricing).

Explain the difference between gender equality and gender equity and give one education and one health example of each.

Analyse how girls' education affects fertility, child health and household income, citing at least one mechanism.

Describe the main health challenges in Southern Africa (HIV/AIDS, TB, maternal mortality, non-communicable disease) and one policy response to each.

Explain good governance, accountability, transparency and the rule of law, and link corruption to development outcomes.

Explain how human rights instruments relate to development, including the right to education and health, and identify one tension between rights and resource limits.

Summarise Namibia's development trajectory since independence, including land reform, Vision 2030 and the Harambee Prosperity Plan, and identify two persistent challenges.

Compare Namibia with one other SADC country on three indicators and explain the differences using course concepts.

Synthesise all ten domains into a single mind map showing at least one link between every pair of adjacent domains.

Complete two full timed practice papers (Paper 1 and Paper 2 style) under exam conditions and mark them against the mark scheme.

Rewrite your three weakest answers, naming the specific concept or skill that was missing each time.