Using named examples, examine the extent to which the development gap occurs within countries as well as globally. 1) Introduction
The development gap refers to the financial and social disparity between the poorest and wealthiest in society. Where economic indicators are low, social indicators are often also low, whereas the wealthiest countries also enjoy better healthcare and education. This gap has been widening for decades and is at its widest today. The poor are not necessarily getting poorer; in fact nearly everybody has seen an improvement in quality of life over the last 20 years. The reason the gap is widening is because the richest are getting richer and having their quality of life improve at a far quicker rate. 2) Between countries
Globally the development gap is obvious to see, with both social and economic indicators showing the biggest differences between poorer LEDC’s and wealthy MEDC’s. Haiti is an example of a country with a very low GDP (just 12 Million dollars in 2015), compared to the USA’s 13 Trillion dollars. This gap represents the largest differences between standards of living in the world and the problem is made worse by war, corruption and intense poverty in other parts of the world. Countries like the USA have a strong economy because they have power and influence in the WTO and IMF and have engaged in the neo colonisation of many parts of the world through free market economy expansion, tied aid and becoming a global cultural superpower. This has meant that they are able to manipulate trade and other markets to further the economy of the country. LEDC’s don’t have this power and so can only make slow gains in their development (often with outside help) 3) Between countries
Often the most shocking disparities in the world are within countries, particularly the NIC’s and BRIC countries, where rapidly growing economies have