Edexcel GCSE Geography B (1GB0) — Development Dynamics
When a multinational company opens a new call centre in an emerging city, who gets the jobs? Often, it is young, educated women. In India, economic liberalisation in 1991 opened the country to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and outsourcing. Companies like British Telecom (BT) opened hubs in Bangalore, actively hiring female graduates and granting them newfound economic independence.
This economic shift has drastically improved female quality of life. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in India has fallen from 5.2 children per woman in 1971 to replacement level today (approx. 2.1). Better healthcare access has slashed maternal mortality, while female literacy surged to 76% in 2023. Educated women pay taxes and invest in their children, creating a positive multiplier effect for the whole economy.
However, globalisation also creates severe negative impacts for women. The gender wage gap remains stark; in India, women earn roughly 73% of what men earn for the same work. Many rural women are exploited by Transnational Corporations (TNCs) in the textile industry, working long hours in unsafe sweatshops. In informal "powerloom" factories, female workers face a 98% prevalence of byssinosis, a disabling lung disease caused by inhaling cotton dust.
Furthermore, women entering the workforce frequently suffer the double burden. They are expected to maintain full-time employment while culturally remaining responsible for all domestic chores and childcare.
A child born in India today can expect to live nearly 25 years longer than one born in 1960. Economic development has vastly improved child survival rates. The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has plummeted globally due to better nutrition and mass vaccination programmes. In India, primary education was made free in 2009, increasing the average time spent in school from 2.4 years to 12 years.
Conversely, rapid urbanisation forces many migrant families into overcrowded, informal settlements like Dharavi in Mumbai. These slums lack running water and open sewers, leaving children highly vulnerable to water-borne diseases like gastroenteritis. Globally, 168 million children are still trapped in child labour, with 70% working in agriculture.
High birth rates in previous decades leave emerging countries with a massive youthful population. If economic development fails to create enough jobs for these youths, widespread poverty and social unrest often follow.
The economic strain of supporting children and the elderly is measured using the dependency ratio.
Calculate the dependency ratio for a country where 28% of the population is aged 0-14, 8% is aged 65 and over, and 64% is aged 15-64.
Step 1: Identify the demographic percentages.
Step 2: Substitute the values into the formula.
Step 3: Calculate the final ratio.
It is a surprising paradox that as countries get richer and people live longer, the elderly can actually become more socially isolated. Improved healthcare means life expectancy is rising globally. In developed nations like the UK, the "grey market" is booming; pensioners control 80% of the wealth, driving growth in specialised tourism and leisure.
However, an ageing population creates immense financial pressure. Healthcare costs rise sharply due to the compression of morbidity, meaning medical expenses are heavily concentrated in the final years of life. For instance, UK government spending on an 85-year-old is roughly £32,400 compared to just £7,900 for a 45-year-old.
In emerging countries, the impacts are deeply social. Rapid rural-to-urban migration causes a "brain drain" that leaves the elderly isolated in rural periphery regions (like Bihar, India) with no younger relatives to provide traditional care or farm labour. Modernisation shifts families from multi-generational structures to nuclear families, triggering "Empty Nest Syndrome". Furthermore, a lack of digital literacy prevents many elderly people from accessing online healthcare or government benefits.
Picture an abandoned coal mine in the UK or a crowded migrant train in India; both tell the story of how economic shifts reshape men's lives. In High Income Countries (HICs), deindustrialisation has devastated traditional male-dominated industries. UK manufacturing jobs halved from 8.9 million to 5.1 million, leaving many low-skilled men with structural unemployment.
Conversely, educated men in the knowledge economy thrive, securing high-paying quaternary jobs in tech hubs like London or Bangalore. In emerging economies, young men dominate rural-urban migration. They move to urban cores to work, sending remittances back to their villages to support their families.
However, this migration comes with severe hidden costs. Men migrating to city slums often face internal migration stress. Separated from their families, older male migrants (50+) have a 1.68x higher likelihood of suffering from depression, and rural healthcare systems rarely offer treatment. Globally, family fragmentation is rampant; in China alone, 61 million children are "left-behind" by fathers moving to cities for work.
To "assess" means to evaluate who wins and who loses. The impacts of globalisation are rarely uniform; they depend heavily on geographical location and demographic.
| Feature | Urban Core (e.g., Maharashtra/Mumbai) | Rural Periphery (e.g., Bihar) |
|---|---|---|
| Positives | High TNC investment; excellent education and IT jobs for young men and women. | Receives vital remittances from male migrants working in the cities. |
| Negatives | Severe air pollution; extreme slum overcrowding (Dharavi) affecting children's health. | Elderly are left isolated; women face traditional cultural burdens and child labour persists in agriculture. |
Modelled Weighted Judgement: Overall, while globalisation has provided significant economic opportunities, its impacts are deeply unequal. Young, educated adults in the urban core are the primary "winners," benefiting from higher wages and improved quality of life. Conversely, the rural elderly are arguably the group most negatively affected; they suffer from increased social isolation and a loss of traditional family support due to the out-migration of the youth. Therefore, the "success" of globalisation is highly dependent on one's ability to participate in the formal economy, leaving those in the rural periphery increasingly vulnerable.
Students often write about 'women' as a single, uniform group. Examiners want you to specify that urban, middle-class women are often 'winners' (e.g., IT jobs), while rural or lower-caste women are often 'losers' (e.g., textile sweatshops).
In 8-mark 'Assess' questions, you must provide a balanced argument evaluating both positive and negative impacts, concluding with a weighted judgement on which demographic group or location is affected most overall.
When discussing the growth of the service sector in emerging economies like India, secure higher marks by using precise terminology like 'FDI', 'Outsourcing', and the 'Multiplier Effect' instead of generic phrasing.
When calculating the dependency ratio, ensure you add the percentages of the young and old demographics together BEFORE dividing by the working population percentage.
Economic liberalisation
Government policies that open up a country's economy to foreign investment, trade, and Transnational Corporations.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
Investment made by a company or individual in one country into business interests located in another country.
Outsourcing
The process of hiring an external party or company to perform services or create goods that were traditionally performed in-house.
Multiplier effect
A process where an initial injection of investment into an economy leads to a much greater overall increase in national income.
Transnational Corporations (TNCs)
Large companies that operate in multiple countries, often locating their headquarters in HICs and manufacturing in emerging economies.
Gender wage gap
The difference between the median earnings of men and women, usually expressed as a percentage of men's earnings.
Byssinosis
An occupational lung disease, often called 'brown lung', caused by inhaling cotton or textile dust in factories.
Double burden
The social strain placed on women who enter the formal workforce but remain culturally expected to complete all domestic and childcare duties.
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)
The number of babies who die before their first birthday, per 1,000 live births in a given year.
Dependency ratio
A mathematical measure comparing the proportion of non-working dependents (children and elderly) to the working-age population.
Ageing population
A demographic trend where the median age of a country rises and the proportion of people over 65 increases significantly.
Compression of morbidity
The theory that severe illness and heavy healthcare costs are increasingly concentrated in the final few years of a person's life.
Deindustrialisation
The long-term decline of a country's manufacturing and heavy industry (secondary sector).
Knowledge economy
An economy built on information, high-level skills, and quaternary sector jobs rather than the manufacturing of physical goods.
Remittances
Money sent back home by migrant workers to their families in rural areas or other countries.
Internal migration stress
The psychological strain and heightened depression risk caused by moving from rural communities to high-pressure, isolating urban slums.
Put your knowledge into practice — try past paper questions for Geography B
Economic liberalisation
Government policies that open up a country's economy to foreign investment, trade, and Transnational Corporations.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
Investment made by a company or individual in one country into business interests located in another country.
Outsourcing
The process of hiring an external party or company to perform services or create goods that were traditionally performed in-house.
Multiplier effect
A process where an initial injection of investment into an economy leads to a much greater overall increase in national income.
Transnational Corporations (TNCs)
Large companies that operate in multiple countries, often locating their headquarters in HICs and manufacturing in emerging economies.
Gender wage gap
The difference between the median earnings of men and women, usually expressed as a percentage of men's earnings.
Byssinosis
An occupational lung disease, often called 'brown lung', caused by inhaling cotton or textile dust in factories.
Double burden
The social strain placed on women who enter the formal workforce but remain culturally expected to complete all domestic and childcare duties.
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)
The number of babies who die before their first birthday, per 1,000 live births in a given year.
Dependency ratio
A mathematical measure comparing the proportion of non-working dependents (children and elderly) to the working-age population.
Ageing population
A demographic trend where the median age of a country rises and the proportion of people over 65 increases significantly.
Compression of morbidity
The theory that severe illness and heavy healthcare costs are increasingly concentrated in the final few years of a person's life.
Deindustrialisation
The long-term decline of a country's manufacturing and heavy industry (secondary sector).
Knowledge economy
An economy built on information, high-level skills, and quaternary sector jobs rather than the manufacturing of physical goods.
Remittances
Money sent back home by migrant workers to their families in rural areas or other countries.
Internal migration stress
The psychological strain and heightened depression risk caused by moving from rural communities to high-pressure, isolating urban slums.
