• Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

AS and A Level: Global Interdependence & Economic Transition

Browse by

Currently browsing by:

Rating:
4 star+ (1)
3 star+ (3)
Submitted within:
last month (1)
last 3 months (1)
last 6 months (1)
last 12 months (1)

Meet our team of inspirational teachers

find out about the team

Get help from 80+ teachers and hundreds of thousands of student written documents

What do I need to know to get a top mark?

  1. 1 In order to understand this topic it pays to learn which countries are MEDCs (More Economically Developed Countries), LEDCs (Less Economically Developed Countries) or are somewhere in between (NICs - Newly Industrialised Countries)
  2. 2 To understand the current global economic situation it is worth learning more about the past. Study the history of global economic development, including colonialism and slavery, in order to understand the present.
  3. 3 Whatever your point of view, it is important to recognise that there are positive and negative aspects to globalisation.
  4. 4 Although this is largely an economic topic, it is important to understand the social, political, environmental and cultural aspects of globalisation too.
  5. 5 Learn the definitions for key indicators such as GDP, GNP, GNI, HDI, PQLI.

Common student errors that you should ensure you avoid

  1. 1 Some students seem to think that GDP per capita is the income that each person in a country actually has. It is just the total value of the goods and services produced by a country in a given period divided by the number of people in the country.
  2. 2 Don’t forget that even the richest countries contain some very poor people and the poorest countries contain some very rich people.
  3. 3 Just because China produces many industrial goods, does not mean that it is a More Economically Developed Country. It is better to call it a Newly Industrialised Country.
  4. 4 Some students continue to use the term “Third World” to describe less economically developed countries. This is now out of date and is probably best avoided.
  5. 5 The wealth of a country is not necessarily based on quantity of natural resources which it has. It is much more complicated than that!

Key global interdependence and economic transition facts

  1. 1 The USA is the world’s largest single-country economy, followed by China. If the European Union is taken as a single entity, it has a larger economy than the USA.
  2. 2 Economic growth in China has averaged more than 10% per year over the past 30 years.
  3. 3 The global economy was by the UNDP estimated to have value of over US$ 60 trillion in 2010.
  4. 4 The UNDP also estimated that there were over 10 million US$ millionaires in 2010, while more than 3 billion people earned less than US$ 2 per day.
  5. 5 The BRIC countries are Brazil, Russia, India, and China. They are major NICs which are thought to be at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development, without yet being classed as MEDCs.

  • Marked by Teachers essays 7
  • Peer Reviewed essays 2
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  1. Marked by a teacher

    Natural disasters and a lack of resources are the main causes of global poverty. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

    4 star(s)

    By the end of the 19th century, European powers controlled 85% of the world. The most well known Empire being the British Empire, covering nearly a quarter of the Earth's total land surface, including countries such as India, Malaysia and Uganda. Colonialism was so significant by stunting the host countries development. Taxation was imposed on the local people, plantations created and raw materials such as crops and minerals, were sent from the colonies to Europe. A good example of this involves France colonising Senegal. Many senegalese farmers were forced to grow groundnuts and send them back to France.

    • Word count: 1583
  2. Marked by a teacher

    Sustainable Tourism - Kenya is in Africaand is becoming a popular holiday destination with tourists and the number of advantages have increased and also the number of disadvantages.

    3 star(s)

    As a result of this the animals get scared. I recommend that they do a couple of things to ensure the safety of tourists and to keep the trips sustainable. First I think there should be strict rules as to where the drivers may go and when, at certain times some animals will become a lot more agitated and may even attack the safari vans. Drivers should remain on the tracks in doing this they are not scaring the animals or killing the environment so it remains sustainable.

    • Word count: 1535
  3. Peer reviewed

    Examine how and why the Economy of China has changed in the last 30 years

    3 star(s)

    This led Chinese firms to westernize. For example each work unit had a director or manager with a clear responsibility (a change to the old 'revolutionary committees' set up during the cultural revolution). They also started to hollow out work to improve technological infrastructure and acquire modern 'know-how' which can then be transferred into domestic firms. Many businesses calibrate through this success by the use of Joint Ventures, having accepted more efficient management and business strategies of global firms. Good examples of these are United Technologies and Caterpillar that have been a great success.

    • Word count: 1544

  4. Multicultural societies are often the product of migration, but they may also be the stimulus for it Discuss.

    It then can causes issues with education, healthcare etc. Immigrants tend to move into multiple occupancy rented accomodation in innercity areas - they tend to be concentrated in poor housing areas in major cities. They are then able to become a source of cheap labour in construction, transport etc. This connects to the schools in innercity areas becomign dominated by an ethnic group, which can have severe effects on educational requirements. What can appear to be quite simple such as bilingual reading schemes, could mean that entire ciriculums must be changed to accomodate different faiths including term times, timetables and school meals.

    • Word count: 1007

  5. The use of trade is the most important tool to achieve economic growth in LEDCs. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

    However, there are critics who doubt that that trade is the answer. They believe that less developed countries cannot be competitive in the global market because of the great difference in wealth between them and the developed countries, as they cannot invest in industrial and technological development at the same rate as richer countries. Many poorer countries also depend on agricultural exports which have experienced significant drops in price, as the market has been flooded with similar products from LEDCS across the globe.

    • Word count: 1454

  6. Examning Aspects of Travel and Tourism in the UK.

    Business class in flights also are comfortable as they have a larger seating space, unlike economy class business class also allows the passengers to use laptops so if a business man has work to do, he can easily access his laptop. Although businessman have to pay extra money they still get the extras such as a priority check-in, a shower room and a business lounge. TMG Corporate Is an example of a business travel agent and it mainly deals with outbound tourists.

    • Word count: 1728

  7. Do you think that cities can ever become sustainable?

    Shanghai, at the heart of China's economic surge, has realised that a key aspect of sustainability is transport. Their major challenge was to reduce energy demands and greenhouse gas emissions but at the same time maintain mobility within the city. The city developed an eco-friendly transport system which includes a network of 11 metro lines at a total of 325km which is integrated with a bus based mass transit system, reducing the need for people to use personal cars. A railway link to the new international airport, which involves the world's first commercial magnetic levitation trains capable of reaching 550kmh reducing travel time and greenhouse gas emissions, has been built.

    • Word count: 1473

  8. Discuss the impact of the Afghanistan conflict on the economy, society, political and environment.

    During the Civil war, members of the Taliban illegally traded timber in Pakistan, destroying much of the forest cover. US bombings and refugees in need of firewood destroyed much of what remained. Less than 2% of the country still contains a forest cover today. Bombs threaten much of the country's wildlife. One the world's important migratory thoroughfare leads through Afghanistan but due to the conflict, the number of birds migrating though this passage has dropped by 85%. In the mountains many large animals such as leopards found refuge, but much of the habitat is applied as refuge for military forces now. Additionally, refugees capture leopards and other large animals are and trade them for safe passage across the border.

    • Word count: 1857

  9. Haiti. A long history of political oppression, soil erosion, lack of knowledge and population density of 618 people per square mile has caused modern Haiti to become the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

    Haiti saw 22 heads of state in 72 years causing unrest and turmoil between the Haitian people. After four consecutive years of Haitian presidents being murdered or disposed, the United States sent marines to Haiti. When the Americans left in 1934, Haiti was again in turmoil, with frequent coups, revolutions, dictatorship, and street violence until the election of Fran�ois Duvalier in 1957. Duvaliers rule soon turned into one of repression and fear and he soon declared himself president-for-life in 1964.

    • Word count: 1098

  10. Extinction of Glaciers: Endangering Life

    Understanding changes in glacier volume is important for regional water supply and power generation. In addition, to observations made by the scientific community, tourists and climbers have shown that Alpine glaciers are disappearing from mountain ranges around the globe. These changes have profound implications for sources of fresh water on land, cause sea level rise and make mountains less attractive, and more difficult and less appealing to climb (Dyurgerov). Ironically, the resurgence of interest in mountain glaciers coincides with declining funds for programs to monitor glacier mass balance. Many glaciological stations, with observational records of 20 years and longer, were closed in the former Soviet Union during the 1980-1990's e.g.

    • Word count: 1477

  11. Examine the ways in which superpowers exert their influence

    The USA has military bases that distributed widely worldwide. The majority of them are situated in the USA itself, as well as Colombia and Peru in South America. On top of these are the military bases which cover most of Europe, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, just to name a few. The bases are needed to secure the USA's commercial and political interests in the area. The US, while it can, will persuade or buy influence and resources wherever and whenever it can. Perhaps some of the locations are related to perceived threats to the USA, for example Russia and North Korea.

    • Word count: 1185

  12. Energy and conflict

    Under Soviet control, Eastern European resources were used to power Russia. Polish and Ukrainian coal was exploited massively by the USSR. Eastern Europe was also used to house part of the USSR nuclear energy programme, with reactors in Ukraine, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia. Russia and Former USSR's Energy * In 1848, the first modern oil well was drilled by a Russian engineer in what is now Azerbaijan. By 1900, Imperial Russia's oil output accounted for 50% of global production. The oilfields in Baku were set on fire during the Russian Revolution in 1905.

    • Word count: 1396

  13. Banana wars case study

    The companies grow many banana crops and sell them for lots of money and massive profits, whilst leaving the workers poor. Because of the EU now being a single market, there was a dispute between the EU and UK about not having any special relationships with countries outside of the EU for trade purposes, this meant that the EU would purchase bananas from the cheapest place possible; the MNC's in Latin America. This deal meant that many of the independent farmers on the Caribbean islands have gone out of business and gone into illegal drug production.

    • Word count: 1168

  14. Sustainable development

    This will be illustrated throughout the essay. However, not all rapid economic growth has been unsustainable. Spain has experienced rapid economic growth however; this has been extremely environmentally unsustainable. Between 1995 and 2005 the building of new infrastructure has doubled and primary energy consumption rose by almost 5% each year. The gap between Spain's ecological footprint and its biocapacity grew by 34%. Tourism is a major factor why Spain has experienced rapid economic growth. The Balearic region, for example, consumed resources at nearly six times its biocapacity in 2005.

    • Word count: 1126

  15. trading blocs

    There was concern that countries outside of trading blocs would be disadvantaged as they would be left to pay tariffs on everything they traded. Other pressures came from the Mexican government overspending by using an industrial development policy of government support. The USA, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund agreed to aid the country if they rearranged their economy so that it mirrored the USA. With an arrangement similar to the USA, Mexico became an increased candidate for membership to a trade bloc with the USA and Canada.

    • Word count: 1266

  16. Influence of colonialism: Culture coherence and diversity in Latin America

    Due to the historical reasons, indigenous culture has been influenced or eliminated by the foreign culture, especially those European cultures. Furthermore, many local minorities and their cultures have been destroyed by Spanish or Portuguese colonizers, leaving only few ruins for the academic researchers today. The intrusion of foreign cultures cut up the connection between Latin American culture and its ancient ancestor, and makes it more coherent than before. On the other hand, Latin America culture is still unique for its diversity, because of the different geographic and historical reasons, no to mention the racial diversity in this region, which was caused by the migration from Europe and Africa.

    • Word count: 1942

  17. The Modernisation Theory is the only accurate way of defining development. Assess the arguments for and against this argument.

    Moreover, the modernisation theory offers several explanations for LEDC poverty. Firstly, they argue that LEDCs have too many people, despite most consumption occurring in the West. Secondly, it is argued that LEDCs don't have enough capital, however, one maybe argue this is a circular definition- LEDCs are poor because they are poor. Finally, modernisation theory argues that LEDCs have too little entrepreneurial spirit and business people , yet it can be argued that this is a huge generalisation; maybe due to other factors. Therefore, the modernisation theory believes that through Western intervention and the implementation of capitalism , individualism and other such Western values is the best solution to under-development.

    • Word count: 1388
  18. Free essay

    Suggest why traditional seaside resorts in many MEDCs have declined in the last 30 years. Outline attempts to halt their decline.

    This puts people off going if they want a quieter holiday and means they will travel to the less popular, much quieter LEDC holiday resorts. When you think of a tradition British seaside resort you picture crowded beaches, screaming children, buckets and spades, candy floss and donkey rides. People were able to escape from their working lives to experience the fresh air and relaxed atmosphere in places such as Bournemouth and Brighton. Blackpool was also a popular resort and, after the railway arrived in 1846, Blackpool became easily accessible and became even more thriving after the arrival of cars and coaches.

    • Word count: 1529

  19. With reference to specific examples evaluate the possible ways of reducing global differences in wealth.

    Cash cropping has become a common place in Africa, with a high dependency on the technology and capabilities of the MEDC companies. Eastern Europe and Central Asia have seen an increase in the percent ever since the 1990s, the breakdown of communism and caused a vacuum of development as Europe must spread into the global era. Being slow to take up globalisation the countries of Eastern Europe have seen an increase in poverty as the countries in East Asia and South Asia attract the sights of TNCs.

    • Word count: 1624

  20. Describe and explain recent changes (since 1945) in the employment structure of the UK

    The current UK employment structure is as follows; 76% are employed in the Tertiary sector (encompassing the Quaternary and Quinary) which includes the UK's excellent and rapidly growing financial services industry which accounts for, 22% in the Secondary sector, and only 2% are involved in Primary sector activities. In 1945 the structure of employment within the UK was extremely different from today. There was a much higher percentage of the workforce involved in Primary and Secondary activities, where as today the Tertiary industry dominates.

    • Word count: 1967

  21. Census data AS geography

    any problem(s) that may occur due to traffic)> as they are people who either live or are visiting the village they will be able to give an opinion on such issues and if an overall trend appears within the responses for each question then I will be able to determine what is likely to be the answer to each issue in the questionnaire. This could give me an insight into how tourism affect the village economically, for instance, if the results say that the roads into the village get pretty jammed up during the summer months then I will be

    • Word count: 1794

  22. Threats to antarctica

    This is something that we cannot risk but tourism has a plus side. For instance it will provide another source of income that could help scientific equerries and if the proposed tourist building is built it will allow the scientists to work and do something different apart from research. It is hoped that this building would help tourism to expand from the present 2500 tourists a year. But how to protect animals from tourists? Is a very good question and a set of rules has been developed so that visitors can get a good experience without disturbing the wildlife too much.

    • Word count: 1214

  23. Brazil Case Study

    Its landscape also benefits the tourism factor of the city, because of its beautiful cloud capped mountains and plateaus, aswell as the glistening golden beaches along the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. Life expectancy here is about 71 years old, probably due to the good healthcare service and living conditions. According to the K�ppen climate classification, S�o Paulo has a "humid subtropical climate". Daily temperatures average about 23�C in January, and about 16�C in July. Now Manaus is a city in the North region, inhabiting about 2million people.

    • Word count: 1452

  24. Antarctica - Managing the Impacts of Tourism

    * Provide introductory information on the people and ecosystems to be visited in predeparture packages. Stress the importance of reading pre-departure information, such as selected bibliographies, and review additional resources for each destination * Offer visitors the educational materials they need to learn about the places and people to be visited and introduce the importance of contributing to the conservation of places being visited. * Provide general travel ethics addressing standards for behavior in natural areas and with local cultures.

    • Word count: 1259

  25. managing special event

    I carried out set my surveys eight of ten surveys and got the answers for them at Clipsal500 through people where from metropolitan Adelaide, 1 from interstate and 1 international. Through this I saw that the majority of people came from metropolitan Adelaide. This showed that the local people came to Clipsal500 not just the interstate and international people. In fact more people came from the local parts of town then other places. From the eight people from metropolitan Adelaide four answered that they had previously been to Clipsal before.

    • Word count: 1350
136 essays
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. …
  6. 14

Conclusion analysis

Good conclusions usually refer back to the question or title and address it directly - for example by using key words from the title.
How well do you think these conclusions address the title or question? Answering these questions should help you find out.

  1. Do they use key words from the title or question?
  2. Do they answer the question directly?
  3. Can you work out the question or title just by reading the conclusion?

  • "Globalization can only result in technologies that harm the environment" - Discuss

    "Conclusion: Globalization has a dark side. But it can also bring tremendous opportunities and benefits. Technologies can also be beneficial to the environment; this is particularly true of the biotic pesticides and the new technologies of saving land and water. There are vast possibilities in terms of energy and material conservation, new environment-friendly products applications in non-crop agriculture such as newer possibilities of agro-processing and waste recycling. The real issue is not technology or globalization as a technological paradigm. It is institutions and rules that create powerful incentives and preconditions for sustainable development to take place. Equally important is the nature of incentives and deterrents for positive and negative behavior."

  • Tourism in an LEDC Is Likely To Generate As Many Costs as Benefits - Discuss This View With Reference To Areas You Have Studied.

    "In conclusion I feel that less economically developed countries will always have as many costs as benefits when developing though such westernised intensive industries such as tourism. It would be inappropriate to think that the western world would not have a negative effect on the countries and people in question. But it is up to the countries to decide if tourism will work in there favour. If not they can limit tourist input like many Asian countries have for example Korea. As tourist needs change I feel a more positive view on tourism will be taken and more will be done by both tourists and the local people to preserve cultures and environments. This will be aided by the new social need for ecotourism which will aid this steady recovery. The only threats I can see for tourism in less economically developed countries that will be a problem in the futer are low cost flights that are set t entice tourists back to old honey pots such as America and southern Europe. Though my personal view is that with social adaptation and the quest to improve cultural respect from the western world, we will see a great increase in measurements and management used to protect and aid recovery of less economically developed countries and there tourist economy. 1"

  • Explain How Economists Measure Living Standards In an Economy and Discuss The Possible Uses Which Could Be Made Of This Information

    "In conclusion, it is clear that these methods can only be used as a guide to showing the extent of deprivation and living standards. Real GDP per capita is a crude measure that does not take into account distribution and also factors such as literacy, life expectancy and quality of life. Other problems with the methods include that many aspects if living standards are left out and collection of data can be inaccurate. However despite these problems they can still be of immense use. They help in comparing between countries the living standards. This is important because it not only helps a country identify its own problems for which it can improve but shows the international community as a whole the problems and inequality faced by the developing world. This is important because it allows aid to be focussed to countries and areas if greatest needs. Overall it is clear that the best approach would be to take into account all the measures involved in calculating deprivation and possibly incorporate them to provide a more accurate and detailed analysis."

Marked by a teacher

This document has been marked by one of our great teachers. You can read the full teachers notes when you download the document.

Peer reviewed

This document has been reviewed by one of our specialist student essay reviewing squad. Read the full review on the document page.

Peer reviewed

This document has been reviewed by one of our specialist student document reviewing squad. Read the full review under the document preview on this page.