CCEA GCSE Geography Unit 2 Theme C Contrasts in World Development: the development gap, measuring development, its causes and how to reduce it

What this theme demands

Contrasts in World Development is the third of the four human themes in Unit 2 Living in Our World, and is worth a quarter of the unit. It asks three big questions: how developed is a country and how do we measure it, why are some countries far less developed than others, and what can be done to close the gap. This overview ties the dot-point pages together and shows how the resource-based paper rewards each skill.

The building blocks of the theme

The theme follows a clear logic: measure, explain, solve.

• The development gap and measuring development. What development means, and the economic and social indicators, including the HDI.
• Causes of uneven development. Physical, historical, economic and political factors, and how they combine.
• Reducing the development gap. Aid, fair trade, trade reform, debt relief and appropriate technology, evaluated for sustainability.

Measure, explain, solve

The single idea that organises the theme is this three-step logic. First you measure the gap with reliable indicators, learning why a combined index like the HDI beats GDP alone. Then you explain the gap through four groups of causes that reinforce each other. Finally you solve it by evaluating strategies, favouring those that are sustainable and build independence. Keeping the three steps clear stops answers drifting between measuring, causing and solving.

The skills the paper rewards

Theme C tests all three assessment objectives. AO1 is the meaning of development, the indicators and the strategies. AO2 is explaining the causes of uneven development and evaluating the strategies to reduce it. AO3 is the key skill of interpreting development data: tables, choropleth maps and graphs of indicators in the resource booklet.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall questions covering the whole theme. Attempt them, then check the solutions.

1. What is the development gap? (1 mark)
2. Give one economic and one social indicator of development. (2 marks)
3. Why is the HDI more reliable than GDP per capita alone? (2 marks)
4. Give one physical factor that can slow development. (1 mark)
5. How can unfair trade keep a country poor? (2 marks)
6. Give one political factor that holds back development. (1 mark)
7. What is the difference between emergency aid and development aid? (2 marks)
8. How does fair trade help producers in poorer countries? (2 marks)
9. Give one example of appropriate technology. (1 mark)