Assess the extent to which models of regional development can help to explain how disparities develop within a country.

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Regional Disparity Essay (1st Draft)

2. Assess the extent to which models of regional development can help to explain how disparities develop within a country.

        This essay explores how disparities develop within a country and the extent to which models of regional development can help to explain how disparities develop within a country.

        A disparity occurs when one area is more developed and better off in terms of social and economic welfare. These involve aspects such as people’s average income, access to education, access to healthcare, access to resources for their well-being and the amount of their general happiness and satisfaction. This can occur on several scales such as local, national and global. For example disparities on a local scale would be within a town or city such as London, where people living in certain areas have better living levels than others (e.g. East Ham is more deprived than Mayfair). Disparities on a national scale would be those between certain regions for a country (e.g. North – South divide in countries such as Italy and United Kingdom. Disparities can also occur on a global scale with there generally being greater development in the northern hemisphere than the southern hemisphere. Disparities occur between core and peripheral areas usually. Core areas are the areas of greatest development and better social and economic welfare whilst the peripheral areas are often more cut off and so suffer from less development.

        Regional disparities occur for many reasons and often several factors can play a role. Harsh environments, shortages of capital, institutional bottlenecks, remoteness from economic activity and population explosions can all impede development whilst impacts of colonisation and improved communications for example can increase development levels and reduce disparities.

        Regional development is closely linked with how disparities develop within a country. Development is based on the extent to which three core values are realised. These are the ability to meet basic needs (food, health shelter etc), a sense of worth and self-respect and an expanded range of choices for societies (including freedom of oppression, material wants). Regional development is the development of these core values within a defined region (e.g. south east UK).

        To identify whether a disparity exists reliable ways of measuring development is required. These include measuring and comparing real GDP per capita, using the Human Development index, The Living Standards Measurement survey, comparing economic growth rates and using the Index of Human Poverty. The most common one used is the GDP per capita. The World Bank and the United Nations’ Standard National Accounts uses a quantitative approach to measuring living standards by comparing both real GDP per capita of countries and their economic growth. This is the commonest approach. This value is worked out by using GDP = consumption + Investment + Government spending + (exports – imports). It doesn’t include unrecorded activity (e.g. grey market and subsistence) and fails to include environmental degradation. It fails to consider the types of good and services produced. For example, increases in the production of capital goods and military goods will raise GDP per capita but may well deduce living standards as the opportunity cost of such production is the consumer goods forgone.

        The other main measure used by the UN Development Programme is the HDI. The focus of the HDI is to measure average achievements in human development in a society. It builds on three basic dimensions of human life – a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living.        

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Economists have tried to explain the reason for regional disparities by using models of regional development and underdevelopment. Models such as Ragnar Nurske’s vicious circle of poverty and the Andre Gundar Frank dependency model apply more to underdevelopment and poverty in less developed country and so do not play a significant role in this essay. However theories of development are important to varying success. These will be discussed in the essay and include Cumulative Causation (Myrdal), Core Periphery (Friedmann), Stages of Economic Growth (Rostow), Unbalanced Growth (Hirschmann), a political model of development (Marx), Harrod-Domar Growth model and the Neo-classical ...

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