SUBJECT: SOCIAL STUDIES
ECONOMICS LESSON: 1 - DEVELOPMENT
GRADE: 10 WEEKLY NOTES
Learning objectives: Students will be able to:
• Define the basic concepts like development, per capita income, literacy rate, IMR, HDI and
sustainable development.
• Understand the different indicators of development.
• Discuss the economic and non-economic indicators of development.
Key words: development, per capita income, literacy rate, Infant Mortality Rate, Human
Development Index and sustainable development etc.
I. Answer the following:
1.What is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different
countries? What are the limitations of this criterion, if any?
Ans: The main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different countries is
the per capita income or average income of a person in a country.
Limitations of this criterion:
It does not tell us about how this average income is distributed among the people in
the individual countries. Two countries with the same per capita income might be
very different about income distribution. One might have equitable distribution of
income while the other might have great disparities between the rich and the poor.
2. In what respects is the criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development
different from the one used by the World Bank?
Ans: The criterion used by the UNDP for measuring development is different from
the one used by the World Bank in the sense that it uses a combination of factors
such as health, education and income as indicators of development. It does not rely
solely on per capita income, as is the case with the World Bank.
3. Why do we use averages? Are there any limitations to their use? Illustrate with
your own examples related to development.
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Ans: 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. However, there are limitations to the use of averages. Even though they are
useful for comparison, they may also hide disparities. For example, the infant
mortality rate of a country does not differentiate between the male and female
infants born in that country. Such an average tells us nothing about whether the
number of children dying before the age of one are mostly boys or girls.
4. Kerala, with lower per capita income has a better human development ranking
than Punjab. Hence, per capita income is not a useful criterion at all and should
not be used to compare states. Do you agree? Discuss.?
Ans: Kerala, with lower per capita income has a better human development ranking
than Punjab. However, it would be wrong to say that per capita income is not a
useful criterion at all. Per capita income is certainly not the only criterion, and it has
its limitations. But this does not imply that it is not useful at all.
To counter the inadequacy of this average, the Human Development Index (HDI) is
used. The HDI uses a combination of development factors (such as health, education,
income) for comparison. Thus, per capita income is one of the development factors,
and cannot be done away with. Also, per capita income is useful for comparing the
money index of states.
5. Why is the issue of sustainability important for development?
Ans: The issue of sustainability is important for development because development
must be in tandem with the future. If natural resources are not sustained, then
development will stagnate after a point of time. 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.
6. "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.
Ans: 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 keeping the environment
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protected and clean so that a balance of production and use is maintained, and
shortages are avoided.
7. List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have observed
around you.
Ans: Environmental degradation manifests itself in different ways. Deforestation,
falling levels of ground water, soil erosion, water pollution, burning of fossil fuels,
the hole in the ozone layer and combustion from automobiles causing extreme air
pollution especially in urban areas are some of the examples of environmental
degradation.
8. Define the terms:
(a) Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)
(b) Literacy Rate
(c) Net Attendance Ratio.
Ans: (a) Infant Mortality Rate indicates the number of children that die before the age of
one year as a proportion of 100 live children born in that particular year.
(b) Literacy Rate measures the proportion of literate population (those who know to
read on write anyone language) in the 7 and above age group.
(c) Net Attendance Ratio is the total number of children of age group 14 and 15 years
attending school as a percentage of total number of children in the same age group.
