Growth and development in developing, emerging and developed economies

Edexcel International A-Level Economics· 4.3.6· 45 min read

1. Measuring Economic Development★★☆☆☆⏱ 8 min

📘 Definition

Human Development Index (HDI)

Composite development measure published by the UNDP, scored 0 (lowest) to 1 (highest) using three weighted components: health (life expectancy at birth), education (mean years of schooling for adults + expected years of schooling for children), and standard of living (GNI per capita at PPP).

HDI’s key advantages include its holistic scope (beyond just GDP), cross-country comparability, and focus on living standards. Limitations include ignoring inequality, gender disparities, environmental quality, and informal economy size. Alternative complementary measures include % of adult male labour in agriculture, access to clean water, energy consumption per capita, internet users per 1000, and doctors per 1000 people.

📐 Worked Example

Calculate the HDI score for a country with: life expectancy = 65 years, mean schooling = 8 years, expected schooling =12 years, GNI per capita PPP = $12, 000. U ses t an d a r d U N D P t h r es h o l d s : min / ma x l i f ee x p ec t an cy 20/85, ma x m e an sc h oo l in g 15, ma x e x p ec t e d sc h oo l in g 18, min / ma x GN I$ 100/$75,000.

1
1. Health index: (65-20)/(85-20) = 45/65 ≈ 0.692
2
1. Education index: (8/15 + 12/18)/2 = (0.533 + 0.667)/2 = 0.6
3
1. Income index: (ln(12000)-ln(100))/(ln(75000)-ln(100)) ≈ 0.723
4
1. HDI = geometric mean of 3 indices: ∛(0.692 * 0.6 * 0.723) ≈ 0.67 (medium human development)

Exam tip:

When evaluating HDI in extended answers, link limitations to context: for example, HDI overstates development in oil-rich Gulf states because it ignores gender gaps in labour force participation.

2. Constraints to Growth and Development★★★☆☆⏱ 10 min

Constraints are split into economic and non-economic categories, and you must link each to a clear chain of development outcomes for analyse/examine questions.

Economic constraints: Primary product dependency (linked to Prebisch-Singer terms of trade decline and commodity price volatility), savings gap (Harrod-Domar model: low savings = low investment), foreign currency gap, capital flight, high dependency ratios, unsustainable debt, limited access to formal credit, poor infrastructure, low skill levels
Non-economic constraints: Corruption, weak governance/property rights, civil conflict, forced migration, terrorism

📐 Worked Example

Explain how primary product dependency acts as a development constraint in Kenya, a major tea and coffee exporter.

1
1. Kenya relies on tea and coffee for 30% of total export earnings.
2
1. Global coffee prices fell 40% between 2021 and 2023 due to oversupply in Brazil, reducing Kenya's export revenue.
3
1. Lower export earnings widen the foreign currency gap, so Kenya cannot afford imports of capital goods for manufacturing.
4
1. Government tax revenue from export duties also falls, reducing funding for public education and healthcare, slowing human capital development.
5
1. Long run, the Prebisch-Singer hypothesis predicts further terms of trade decline, worsening living standards over time.

Exam tip:

Never just list constraints: always use a 3+ stage chain of reasoning to link the constraint to specific growth/development outcomes for full KAA marks.

3. Policies to Promote Growth and Development★★★★☆⏱ 12 min

Market-oriented policies: Trade liberalisation, FDI promotion, removal of inefficient subsidies, privatisation of state-owned enterprises, floating exchange rates, microfinance
Interventionist policies: Human capital investment, protectionism for infant industries, managed exchange rates, public infrastructure investment, joint ventures with TNCs, buffer stock schemes
Other policies: Industrialisation (Lewis dual-sector model), tourism development, sustainable primary industry development, debt relief, official development aid

📐 Worked Example

Explain how microfinance promotes development in rural Bangladesh.

1
1. 60% of Bangladesh's population works in agriculture, with no access to formal banking services.
2
1. Providers like Grameen Bank offer small collateral-free loans of ~$100 to rural women.
3
1. Loans are used to start small businesses (weaving, poultry farming, retail), increasing household incomes.
4
1. Higher incomes allow families to pay for school fees and healthcare, improving long-run human capital outcomes.
5
1. New local businesses also create jobs, reducing rural unemployment and poverty rates.

4. Required Diagrams for Exam Answers★★★☆☆⏱ 8 min

You must be able to draw, label, and reference 4 key diagrams to earn full KAA marks in extended answers:

Buffer stock scheme: S&D graph with price band (floor/ceiling), show authority buying surplus at floor and selling stock at ceiling to stabilise prices
Harrod-Domar model: Conceptual graph linking higher savings rates to increased investment and higher output
Lewis dual-sector model: Graph showing surplus agricultural labour moving to higher-productivity manufacturing at a constant subsistence wage
Prebisch-Singer hypothesis: Conceptual graph showing long-run decline in terms of trade for primary product exporters

📐 Worked Example

Draw a buffer stock diagram to show how Ghana's cocoa marketing board stabilises farmer incomes.

1
1. Label axes: Y = Price of cocoa ( $/ t o nn e), X = Q u an t i t y o f coco a (t o nn es) . D r a w S an d D c u r v es, ma r k l o n g r u n e q u i l ib r i u ma t$ 2000/tonne.
2
1. Draw price floor at $1800/ t o nn e an d p r i cece i l in g a t$ 2200/tonne, the buffer stock price band.
3
1. If a bumper harvest shifts S right, price falls to $1700 : t h e b o a r d b u y s t h es u r pl u s t o p u s h p r i ce ba c k t o$ 1800.
4
1. If a drought shifts S left, price rises to $2300 : t h e b o a r d se l l s i t ss t oc k t o p u s h p r i ce ba c k t o$ 2200.

Exam tip:

Fully label all axes, curves and key points on diagrams, and explicitly reference the diagram in your written analysis to earn full marks.

5. Role of International Institutions in Development★★★☆☆⏱ 7 min

World Bank: Provides low-interest loans/grants for development projects (infrastructure, education, health), but often imposes austerity conditions that can harm low-income groups
IMF: Provides emergency loans to countries facing balance of payments crises, but austerity conditions often cut public service spending in the short run
NGOs: Deliver direct community aid and advocacy, with lower overheads and more local focus than state aid, but funding is volatile and scale is limited

📐 Worked Example

Evaluate the World Bank's role in promoting development in Ethiopia.

1
1. The World Bank provided $12bn in loans to Ethiopia since 2010, funding rural roads, primary schools and clean water projects.
2
1. This reduced rural transport costs by 30%, increased primary enrolment by 25%, and gave 12m people access to safe drinking water, improving HDI scores.
3
1. However, loan conditions required cuts to urban food subsidies, leading to a 15% rise in food prices and higher urban poverty between 2018 and 2022.
4
1. Effectiveness therefore depends on whether loan conditions protect vulnerable groups from short-term adjustment costs.

6. Common Pitfalls

Wrong move:

Using economic growth and development interchangeably

Why:

Growth only refers to rising real GDP per capita, while development is a broader improvement in living standards including health, education and quality of life

Correct move:

Explicitly distinguish the two terms in answers, and link policies to both outcomes where relevant

Wrong move:

Writing mathematical derivations for named development models

Why:

The Edexcel spec only requires descriptive understanding of Harrod-Domar, Lewis and Prebisch-Singer, so derivations waste time and earn no extra marks

Correct move:

Explain models conceptually, using chains of reasoning to link their logic to development outcomes

Wrong move:

Listing constraints/policies without a chain of reasoning

Why:

Analyse and evaluate questions require logical multi-stage chains to reach the highest KAA levels

Correct move:

Use 3+ stage chains for every point: e.g., primary dependency → volatile export earnings → lower tax revenue → less education spending → slower human capital growth

Wrong move:

Drawing unlabelled diagrams or not referencing diagrams in text

Why:

Unlabelled diagrams earn a maximum of 2 marks, and unused diagrams earn no marks at all

Correct move:

Label all diagram elements, and explicitly reference the diagram in your analysis: e.g., 'As shown in the buffer stock diagram, the board buys surplus to protect farmer incomes'

Wrong move:

Using generic evaluation points without context

Why:

Evaluation makes up 30% of IA2 marks, and generic points (e.g. 'it depends on time lags') earn low marks if not linked to context

Correct move:

Use context-specific evaluation: e.g., 'Microfinance effectiveness in India is limited by 24% interest rates that push low-income households into debt'

7. Quick Reference Cheatsheet

Category	Key Content	Exam Use Case
Development Measures	HDI (health, education, income); alternative metrics (clean water, doctors per 1000)	Evaluate metrics, compare country development levels
Constraints	Economic (primary dependency, savings gap, debt); non-economic (corruption, conflict)	Analyse barriers to growth in specific country contexts
Policies	Market-oriented (trade liberalisation, microfinance); interventionist (buffer stocks, infrastructure); other (debt relief, aid)	Discuss/evaluate development policies for extended answers
Diagrams	Buffer stock, Harrod-Domar, Lewis dual-sector, Prebisch-Singer	Support analysis for 6+ mark questions, earn KAA marks
Institutions	World Bank (development loans), IMF (emergency loans), NGOs (local aid)	Evaluate role of global actors in development

8. Frequently Asked

Do I need to learn mathematical derivations for models like Harrod-Domar?

No, the Edexcel IAL spec only requires descriptive, conceptual understanding of all named development models, with no calculations or derivations required.

What is the difference between market-oriented and interventionist development policies?

Market-oriented policies reduce government intervention to let free markets allocate resources (e.g. trade liberalisation), while interventionist policies use government action to correct market failures (e.g. public infrastructure investment).

Going deeper

What's Next

Now that you have mastered growth and development, you are ready to tackle the remaining Unit 4 global economy topics. This topic is frequently tested in 14 and 20 mark extended answer questions, so practice applying your knowledge to context-specific case studies of developing/emerging economies (e.g., Nigeria, Vietnam, Brazil) to build your chain of reasoning and evaluation skills. Make sure you can draw all required diagrams from memory, and practice linking each policy to both short-term and long-term outcomes, as well as distributional impacts on different groups (rural vs urban, low vs high income) to reach top evaluation levels.