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- Reducing uneven development
Reducing uneven development
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Countries, charities and communities all try to close the development gap, in very different ways.
International strategies
Aid: help given by one country or organisation to another. It can be bilateral (country to country), multilateral (through bodies like the World Bank), emergency or long-term. Tied aid must be spent on goods from the donor country.
Intergovernmental agreements: the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (17 goals agreed in 2015, following the Millennium Development Goals of 2000).
Debt relief cancels debts so money can be spent on health and education.
Fair trade gives farmers a fairer price.
Intergovernmental agreements: the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (17 goals agreed in 2015, following the Millennium Development Goals of 2000).
Debt relief cancels debts so money can be spent on health and education.
Fair trade gives farmers a fairer price.
Top-down projects
Large projects planned by governments, international organisations or TNCs, such as dams, highways or power stations.
Advantages: large scale, can transform a country's economy.
Limitations: very expensive, can create debt, may displace people, and benefits may not reach the poorest.
Advantages: large scale, can transform a country's economy.
Limitations: very expensive, can create debt, may displace people, and benefits may not reach the poorest.
Bottom-up projects
Small projects led by local communities, often with NGOs, such as wells, solar lamps or small loans (microfinance).
Advantages: cheap, use appropriate technology, meet real local needs.
Limitations: small scale and slow to spread.
Advantages: cheap, use appropriate technology, meet real local needs.
Limitations: small scale and slow to spread.
Compare top-down and bottom-up development.
- Top-down: large, expensive projects run by governments or big organisations, such as a dam.
- Bottom-up: small, local projects run by communities, such as a village well.
- Top-down has more impact on the economy; bottom-up is more likely to help the poorest directly.
Answer: Big and powerful versus small and local.
Aid (bilateral, multilateral, emergency, long-term, tied), the Sustainable Development Goals, debt relief and fair trade try to reduce uneven development. Top-down projects are big and costly; bottom-up projects are small, cheap and locally led.
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