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AS and A Level: Global Interdependence & Economic Transition

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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 This is now out of date and is probably best avoided.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. Assess the extent to which superpowers influence action on global environmental concerns

    Not only is this unreasonable to the rest of the world, but they also consume more than all countries combined, with total emissions it produces is now â of all emissions produced globally. This shows us how significant rising superpowers can be in terms of global concern, as it’s questionable whether that concern would even be present as china is contributing to a large extent. This can also lead to other degradation for instance in Africa. As chinas high demand for natural resources such as steel and copper, they have now moved much of their infrastructure into Africa and have created pollution havens in the region.

    • Word count: 564

  2. Investigation. Hypothesis: Students from developing countries tend to associate the responsibility of global warming with developed countries.

    A person's gender may also have a bearing. This would therefore potentially change their mindset of which the questionnaire does not take into consideration. Hence to maintain consistency, a large group of students must be questioned, ranging from countries from Africa to India to Sweden. This will make the data as accurate as possible and make sure that each region is represented as even within their smaller nationalities, ideas are likely to differ. Method: 1. Two tables were constructed, Table 1 and Table 2.

    • Word count: 2000

  3. Explain the term 'Globalisation' (9)

    argues, ?Globalisation has a major feature of separation of time and space, known as Distanciation where disembedding occurs. Along with these features Harvey (1990) argues that the process is also compressed. Therefore, the whole idea of embedding involves around the displacement of originality from their space. For instance, objects such as credit cards are disembedded from their original physical context of coinage, or telephones and emails are disembedded from their original context of face-to-face communication.

    • Word count: 530

  4. Assess the extent to which technological Innovation has unforesen social, economic and environmental costs

    Due to incomplete combustion of the fuel, carbon particulates are released into the air. This is seen in not only the production of technology, but in transport too. Despite more cars becoming more fuel efficient, 99.99% of all cars (1.2bn worldwide) run on fossil fuels. Although some cars have catalytic converters, carbon particulates are released in the older cars. When consumed these particles can cause serious health issues such as asthma and in some cases lung disease. Serious health problems that can sometimes lead to fatalities. The automotive industry is worth over $1.6 trillion, and provides 7.25 million jobs.

    • Word count: 1447
4 essays

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."

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