- Define and explain Causes of Inequality in your own words
- Use key terms such as development accurately
- Apply what you have learned to new examples and questions
- Avoid the common mistakes learners make with this topic
This lesson focuses on Causes of Inequality: explain the physical, economic and historical roots of the development gap.
Explain the physical, economic and historical roots of the development gap.
Key ideas
The development gap has deep roots
Physical barriers such as being landlocked, having an arid climate or lacking navigable rivers make trade and farming harder. Economic structures matter too: many poorer countries depend on exporting cheap primary products while importing expensive manufactured goods. History weighs heavily — colonialism redrew borders, extracted resources and built economies to serve empires rather than local needs.
Single indicators mislead; composites reveal more
GNI per capita divides a country's income by its people, but says nothing about how wealth is shared or how long people live. The HDI combines health, education and income into one score, giving a fuller picture — though even it hides inequalities within countries. Geographers use a range of indicators: infant mortality, literacy rates and access to clean water all add detail.
Key term — development: Progress towards a better quality of life — not just wealth, but health, education and freedom from poverty.
Give one historical cause of the development gap.
Colonialism: European powers extracted resources, drew arbitrary borders and built economies to serve the empire, leaving structural disadvantages.
Answer: Colonialism: European powers extracted resources, drew arbitrary borders and built economies to serve the empire, leaving structural disadvantages.
- Equating wealth with development A country can be rich in oil yet have poor schools and hospitals. Development means quality of life — health, education and opportunity — not just money.
- Talking about 'developed' and 'undeveloped' countries 'Undeveloped' suggests nothing has been achieved. Geographers prefer 'higher-income' and 'lower-income' countries — development is a spectrum, not a switch.
Practice
It is an average that hides inequality — wealth may be concentrated among a few — and it says nothing about health or education.
The imaginary line marking the broad economic divide between the richer global north and the poorer global south.
Top-down strategies are large-scale projects decided by governments or corporations; bottom-up strategies start with local communities, such as microfinance or appropriate technology.
Life expectancy (health), education, and GNI per capita (standard of living).
Quick check
Which of these best defines "development"?
Give one advantage and one disadvantage of debt relief.
- Causes of Inequality: explain the physical, economic and historical roots of the development gap.
- The development gap has deep roots: Physical barriers such as being landlocked, having an arid climate or lacking navigable rivers make trade and farming harder.
- HDI: The Human Development Index: a composite measure combining life expectancy, education and income per person, scored from 0 to 1.
- Watch out for: equating wealth with development