SUNRISE ENGLISH PRIVATE SCHOOL, MUSAFFAH

ECONOMICS NOTES

CHAPTER 1 DEVELOPMENT

1. Development of a country can generally be determined by

a. its per capita income
b. its average literacy level
c. health status of its people
d. all of the above
Answer: d. all of the above
2. Which of the following neighboring countries has better performance in
terms of human development than India?
a. Bangladesh
b. Sri Lanka
c. Nepal
d. Pakistan
Answer: b. Sri Lanka
3. Assume there are four families in a country. The average per capita income
of these families is Rs. 5000. If the income of three families is Rs. 4,000, Rs.
7,000 and Rs. 3,000, respectively, what is the income of the fourth family?
a. Rs. 7,500
b. Rs. 3,000
c. Rs. 2,000
d. Rs. 6,000
Answer: d. Rs. 6,000
(4000+7000+3000+x) ÷ 4 = 5000
14000+x = 5000 × 4
x = 20000-14000
x = 6000
4. What is the main criterion used by the World Bank in classifying different
countries? What are the limitations of this criterion, if any?
Answer: World Bank uses the per capita income to classify different countries.
The per capita income is calculated by dividing the total income of the country
by the
population of the country. For the year 2019, the countries with a per capita
income of US dollars 49300 per annum and above are called high income
countries and
those with per capita income US dollars 2500 or less are called low-income
countries.
The limitations of the criterion are
1. Other important factors, including literacy rate, infant mortality rate, and
healthcare,
are ignored while classifying the countries.
2. Information about the unequal distribution of income is not mentioned by
the World Bank.
5. In what respects is the criterion used by the UNDP for measuring
development different from the one used by the World Bank?
Answer: The criterion used by UNDP is different from the one used by the
World Bank because UNDP compares countries based on the educational level
of the people, their health status and per capita income. This is in contrast with
the method used by the World Bank because it only calculates the per capita
income. for measuring development.
6. Why do we use averages? Are there any limitations to their use? Illustrate
with your own examples related to development.
Answer: Different countries have different populations, so calculating the
averages helps in getting an estimated answer which can be used to compare
different things at different levels. There are limitations in calculating
averages because we cannot know the difference in the income of the people
and the unfair distribution of income in a country or states.
7. 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: 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. This is true because
the literacy rate, infant mortality rate, healthcare facilities, etc., are better in
Kerala in comparison to Haryana. The per capita income is only calculated by
calculating the average income of the state, irrespective of any other factor.
8. 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?
Answer: The present sources of energy used by people in India include
firewood, coal, petroleum, crude oil and natural gas. The other possibilities fifty
years from now can be using solar energy and wind energy as sources of
various energy forms. This is because the current usage of energy sources may
result in the loss of natural resources for future generations.
9. Why is the issue of sustainability important for development?
Answer: Sustainable development refers to using natural resources in a manner
that they can be used by the present and future generations. The issue of
sustainability is important for development because if natural resources are
not used carefully, they may not be available for future generations. The
depletion of resources of a country may ultimately result in a lack of
development of the country.
10. “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: Development not just depends on the economic factors of a country
but is also dependent on resources that are available for the people of a
country to use. The statement, “The Earth has enough resources to meet the
needs of all but not enough to satisfy the greed of even one person”, is
completely relevant in terms of the development of a country because natural
resources are non-renewable resources. It is the responsibility of the people to
use them to meet their needs and not to satisfy their greed. If natural
resources are not used wisely now, future generations may not be able to use
them for their needs, which will result in the downfall of the development of a
country.
11. List a few examples of environmental degradation that you may have
observed around you.
Answer: A few examples of environmental degradation that we can observe
around us are
1. Pollution caused by vehicles and the excess use of fuels in vehicles
2. Industrial waste collected in residential areas and discarded into water
bodies
3. Deforestation
4. Mining
5. Soil erosion
The increased pollution in the environment has resulted in global warming, the
melting of glaciers, and worsening atmospheric conditions.
12. For each of the items given in Table 1.6, find out which country is at the top
and which is at the bottom.
Answer: As per table 1.6, Sri Lanka tops in all four categories. It has the highest
Gross National Income, Life Expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling of
people aged 25 and above and HDI rank in the world. Nepal has the lowest
Gross National Income among the given countries. Pakistan has the least Life
Expectancy at birth and ranks the lowest HDI rank in the world among the
given countries. The mean years of schooling of people aged 25 and above are
the lowest for Myanmar and Nepal.
Q NO 13 (Ref Textbook)
Answer:
i) The nutritional level of people in Kerala is higher than the nutritional level of
people in Madhya Pradesh.
ii)Answer: One fifth of the population in the country is undernourished even
though it is argued that there is enough food in the country because of the
following reasons:
1. The disparity in the distribution of food grains by the Public Distribution
System (PDS).
2. Nutritious food cannot be afforded by the poor population in the country.
3. Educational backwardness of people results in unemployment because of
which people cannot afford the basic necessity of food.
4. There is no proper distribution of ration at the fixed price stores.