RYAN INTERNATIONA SCHOOL, GHAZIABAD
ECONOMICS HANDOUT
CLASS: X
Chapter: DEVELOPMENT
1. What is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different
countries? What are the limitations of this criterion, if any?
Criteria used by the World Bank
Per Capita Income or Average income is the main criterion used by the World Bank
in classifying different countries. It is used because it gives some idea about the
standard of living of the people. On this basis the World bank categories countries
into rich and low income countries.
Rich Countries
As per the 2019 data given by the world bank countries with per capita income of US
$49,300 per annum and above in 2019 are called rich countries.
Low Income Countries
Countries which have per capita income of US $2500 or less are low income
countries.
India comes in the lower middle income countries because its per capita income in
2019 was just US $6700 per annum.
The limitation of this criterion are:
1. It doesn't show distribution of income among the people of the country. Higher
average income along with equal distribution of income is an important factor for
development.
2. It only considers per capita income as a factor for development. It ignores other
factors such as infant mortality rate, literacy level, healthcare, etc.
2. In what respects is the criterion used by the UNDP for measuring
development different from the one used by the World Bank?
Answer
a) The World bank only uses per capita income for measuring development while
UNDP uses many other factors like infant mortality, healthcare facility, education
level which help in improving the quality of life and helps in making the citizens more
productive. Different countries are scaled between 0 to 1 and given the HDI rank.
b) The UNDP ranks countries on the basis of Per Capita Income, education levels of
the people wherein it considers the literacy rates and gross enrollment ratio in
schools for three levels- primary, secondary, higher secondary and beyond higher
secondary. It also considers the health status of the people on the basis of Life
Expectancy at Birth.
3. Why do we use averages? Are there any limitations to their use? Illustrate
with your own examples related to development.
a) We use averages because they are useful for comparing differing quantities of the
same category. For example, to compute the per capita income of a country,
averages have to be used because there are differences in the incomes of diverse
people but comparing total income will not tell us what an average person is likely to
earn.
b) Therefore, there are limitations to the use of averages. This does not show
distribution of income between people.
For an example, if a country has very high per capita income then we can't say that
citizen living in that country are very rich because we are not knowing about the
distribution of wealth in that country. Some people might be richer while other people
are very poorer in that country.
4. Kerala, with lower per capita income has a better human development
ranking than Haryana. Hence, per capita income is not a useful criterion at all
and should not be used to compare states. Do you agree? Discuss.
Answer
a) No, I do not agree with the statement that per capita income is not a useful
criterion at all. Kerala, with lower per capita income has a better human
development ranking than Haryana because, human development ranking is
determined using a combination of factors such as health, education, and income.
So, this does not imply that per capita income is not useful.
b) Rather, per capita income is one of the development factors and cannot be
neglected.
c) The World Bank uses per capita income as the criterion for measuring
development and comparing states. But this criterion has certain limitations because
of which determination of Human Development Index (HDI) is done using this
criterion along with some other development factors like health, education etc.
5. Find out the present sources of energy that are used by the people in India.
What could be the other possibilities fifty years from now?
1. The present sources of energy that are used by the people of India are electricity,
coal, crude oil, cow dung and solar energy.
2. Other possibilities fifty years from now, could include ethanol, bio-diesel, nuclear
energy and a better utilization of wind energy, tidal energy, geo -thermal energy
especially when we have the imminent danger of oil resources running out.
6. Why is the issue of sustainability important for development?
Sustainable Development
1. The issue of sustainability is important for development because development
must be in consideration with the future. If natural resources are not sustained, then
development will stagnate after a point of time.
2. Exploiting resources unethically will ultimately undo the development that a
country may have achieved. This is because in the future, those resources will not
be available for further progress.
3.Therefore it is important not to compromise on the needs of the future generations.
Economic development should take place without damaging the environment.
“We have not inherited this world that we live in from our ancestors but
borrowed it from our children.”
7.. "The Earth has enough resources to meet the needs of all but not enough
to satisfy the greed of even one person". How is this statement relevant to the
discussion of development? Discuss.
Answer
"The Earth has enough resources to meet the needs of all but not enough to satisfy
the greed of even one person". This statement is relevant to the discussion of
development since both resources and development go hand in hand.
For the sustainability of development, the maintenance of resources is also crucial.
As the statement claims, the Earth has enough resources- renewable and non-
renewable to satisfy everyone's needs; however, these need to be used with a view
to keep the environment protected and clean so that a balance of production and
use is maintained, and shortages are avoided.
The rich should not accumulate resources. Self greed is devastating for the
environment and conservation of resources.
8. List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have
observed around you.
Answer
Few examples of environmental degradation:
1. Deforestation
2. Soil erosion
3. Falling levels of ground water.
4. Depletion of the ozone layer and combustion from automobiles causing extreme
air pollution
4. Water Pollution- contaminating of under ground water resources and drinking
sources of water.
9. For each of the items given in Table 1.6, find out which country is at the top
and which is at the bottom.
TABLE 1.6 SOME DATA REGARDING INDIA AND ITS NEIGHBOURS FOR 2013
Country Per Capita Life Literacy Rate Gross HDI
Income in Expectancy for 15+ yrs Enrolment Rank in
US$ at birth population Ratio for three the
levels world
Sri Lanka 9250 74 91 79 73
India 5150 66 62 60 135
Myanmar 3998 65 92 48 150
Pakistan 4652 66 54 35 146
Nepal 2194 68 57 61 145
Bangladesh 2713 70 57 53 142
Answer
(i) Per Capita Income in US$: Top country - Sri Lanka; Bottom country - Myanmar
(ii) Life Expectancy at birth: Top country - Sri Lanka; Bottom country - Myanmar
(iii) Literacy Rate for 15+ yrs population: Top country - Sri Lanka; Bottom country -
Bangladesh
(iv) Gross Enrolment Ratio for three levels: Top country - Sri Lanka; Bottom country
- Pakistan
(v) HDI Rank in the world: Top country - Sri Lanka; Bottom country - Nepal
10. The following table shows the proportion of undernourished adults in
India. It is based on a survey of various states for the year 2001. Look at the
table and answer the following questions.
State Male (%) Female (%)
Kerala 22 19
Karnataka 36 38
Madhya Pradesh 43 42
All Sates 37 46
(i) Compare the nutritional level of people in Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.
(ii) Can you guess why around 40 per cent of people in the country are
undernourished even though it is argued that there is enough food in the
country? Describe in your own words.
Answer
(i) The nutritional level of people of Kerala is quite higher than the people – both
males and females of Madhya Pradesh. Their ratio of the under-nourished is less
than that of Madhya Pradesh. This is because Kerala has invested in its Human
resources and Health facilities.
(ii) There is enough food in the country, even then 40% of the people in the country
are undernourished because:
1. A large number of people are so poor that they cannot afford nutritious food.
2. In most of the states, the Public Distribution System (PDS) does not function
properly and the poor people cannot get cheap food items.
3. There is lack of educational and health facilities in many parts of the country. So
many people remain backward and poor. As such, they are unable to get nutritious
food.
Q. 12 ” Money in your pocket cannot buy all the goods and services that you
may need to live “ Explain the statement.
Ans. 1. The above statement highlights that income by itself is not a completely
adequate indicator of material goods and services that citizens are able to use .
2. For example : money can’t buy a pollution free environment or ensure that
we get unadulterated medicines.
3. Money may also not be able to protect you from infections.
4. Therefore for many of the important things in life the best way and also the
cheapest way is to provide these goods and services collectively. Public facilities are
the best way the important things can reach out the poor and the needful.
Q 13. Give some examples where factors other than income are important
aspects of life.
Ans. Development goals of a person is not only about a better income but about the
other better things in life.
1. Besides seeking higher income in one way or the other people also want
equal treatment , freedom, security and equal respect from others. They
recent discrimination.
2. For example :
If one gets a job in a far off place, before accepting the job we would like to
consider many factors apart from income like the working atmosphere,
opportunity to learn, joy, security etc.
