International Inequality Theories concerning international inequality Why are

International Inequality

Theories concerning international inequality Why are some nations rich and other nations poor? -Modernization Theory: Higher-income nations are simply more "modern" due to certain cultural features -Dependency Theory: Higher-income nations create and enforce poverty in lower-income nations

Corporations and Dependency • Corporations might be thought of as organizing a “new colonialism. ” • Colonialism entails: – Exploitation – Forced dependency • Jobs • Consumer products • LIC government and the corporations are both responsible for new colonialism: – Governments make “business-friendly” environments – Corporations influence regulatory environments – Collusion case study: The Bhopal tragedy 3

International Inequality and World Hunger Dependency theory suggests that hunger and starvation in lowerincome nations is a result of food-related policies in higherincome nations -Agriculture in LIC's has been taken over by HIC's corporations -LIC's agricultural products are delivered to the "global supermarket" -LIC's grow luxury crops that can command highest prices and highest profits -Thus, LIC inhabitants starve in the midst of food that they are not able to purchase.

A few words on demography -"Demography" defined -Units of analysis Household Municipality (“towns” and “cities”) CA/CMA; MSA/CMSA Province/State/Canton/Prefecture etc. Nation

Some important "population parameters" <Size <Fertility <Crude Birth Rate <Mortality <Crude Death Rate <Natural Growth Rate: CBR-CDR <Infant Mortality Rate <Life Expectancy <Migration <Immigration <Emigration

Population Trends -The two most important trends in world population: <It's increasing <It's urbanizing 7