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Year 11 - Geography

Rostow's and Frank's theories about development over time

Global inequalities

Unit Summary

This unit teaches pupils about global economic development. Pupils learn how, using a variety of measures, economic development is unequal and how this is reflected in demographic characteristics. Pupils learn about the causes and consequences of inequality and consider how they can be reduced.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain Rostow's and Frank's theories about how and why countries develop over time.

Key Notes

  • There are different theories that can explain how countries develop over time.
  • Rostow's modernisation theory suggests that the introduction of manufacturing causes countries to develop.
  • Frank's dependency theory suggests that the development of a core and periphery leads to inequality.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • extreme poverty: living on less than $2.15 a day
  • modernisation theory: a view that suggests that countries move through five stages of economic development, proposed by Rostow
  • manufacturing: the secondary economic sector, involving making goods from raw materials or other manufactured products (for example motor vehicles)
  • dependency theory: a socialist view that explains how the core (developed countries) exploit the periphery, proposed by Frank

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • There are more people living in poverty today than there once were.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this geography topic using two clear key points.

There are different theories that can explain how countries develop over time. Rostow's modernisation theory suggests that the introduction of manufacturing causes countries to develop.

2. Define this geography term and use it in an example. 'extreme poverty'

living on less than $2.15 a day.

3. Correct this common geography misunderstanding.

Mistake: There are more people living in poverty today than there once were. Correction: The share of the global population living in extreme poverty has dramatically fallen in the past decades.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 11 Geography guide library.