Paulo, Anne Pauline P.

BSMA 2-10

CHAPTER 6

2. What is the relationship between the age structure of a population and its dependency burden? Is the
dependency burden higher or lower in develoing countries? Why?

4. Describe briefly the theory of the demographic transition. At what stage in this transition do most
developing countries seem to be? Explain your answer.

The term demographic transition refers to the change in the structure of population from high birth and
death rates to low birth and death rates. An American demographer Warren Thompson developed the
theory on demographic transition in 1919.

6. “The world population problem is not just a matter of expanding numbers but also one of rising
affluence and limited resources. It is as much a problem caused by developed nations as it is one
deriving from developing countries.” Comment on this statement.

8. Explain why fertility rates are falling much more rapidly in some developing countries than in others.

10. Outline and comment briefly on some of the arguments in support of the idea that population
growth is a serious problem in developing nations.

CHAPTER 7

2. Describe briefly the essential assumptions and major features of the Todaro model of rural-urban
migration. One of the most significant implications of this model is the paradoxical conclusion that
government policies designed to create more urban employment may in fact lead to more urban
unemployment. Explain the reasons for such a paradoxical result.
4. For many years, the conventional wisdom of development economics assumed an inherent conflict
between the objectives of maximizing output growth and promoting rapid industrial employment
growth. Might these two objectives be mutually supportive rather than conflicting? Explain your answer.

6. The informal sector is becoming an ever-large part of the urban economy. Distinguish between the
urban formal and informal sectors, and discuss both the positive and the negative aspects of the
informal urban labor market.

The urban areas of the developing economies compose of two sectors namely, formal sector and
informal sector.

The urban formal sector is the one that has well defined structure of income, employment, and output.
The workers working in this sector enjoy all the social security benefits like pensions, provident fund and
tax benefits.

The urban informal sector, on the other hand, is the one in which we mostly see self-employed labor or
contractual labor force. These include petty retailers in goods and services, street hawkers, workers
working on the construction site and so on. The labor in this sector is the ones who migrate from rural
areas to urban areas in search for work. These labors do not enjoy any social security benefits as that by
formal sector.

8. What is an industrial district? How might governments of developing countries help them succeed?

CHAPTER 8

2. What are the differences between formal and nonformal education? Give some examples of each.
4. How would you explain the fact that relative costs of and returns to higher education are so much
higher in developing than in developed countries?

6. Early-childhood environmental factors are said to be important determinants of school performance.

8. What is meant by the statement “The demand for education is a ‘derived demand’ for high-paying
modern-sector job opportunities”?

10. Distinguish carefully between private and social benefits and costs of education. What economic
factors give rise to the wide divergence between private and social benefit-to-cost valuations in most
developing countries? Should governments attempt through their educational and economic policies to
narrow the gap between private and social valuations? Explain.

The term private cost of education refers to the expenditure made by an individual household on
completing the education. This includes tuition fee, travelling fee, and cost of books and so on.

The term social cost, on the other hand, refers to the cost that is borne by the society and individuals on
attaining private education. It also includes the subsidies granted by the government.

12. Governments can influence the character, quality, and content of their educational systems by
manipulating important economic and noneconomic factors or variables both outside of and within
educational systems. What are some of these external and internal factors, and how can government
policies make education more relevant to the real meaning of development?

Step 1 of 3

Government of a developing nation while making a policy for the education system is affected by certain
internal and external factors like the viewpoint of other members of the political system, current political
scenario, available budget, benefits derived from the investments already made, the level of education in
which investments is to be made and so on.

14. Why are health and education so closely linked in the development challenge?

16. What makes for (a) a good and fair health system and (b) a good and fair education system?

a) A good health care programme call for an effective role of the government for four reasons:
1. An effective government role through its policies on development of good health care system

2. It makes the poor people aware of the contagion health problems and thus, they are willing to spend
on their health care.

3. A more developed health infrastructure leads to ease in attaining education by major proportion of
the population and thus, literate country would develop at a faster rate than an illiterate one.

4. The public health programmes become successful if they are managed and implemented properly.

18. What is the human capital approach to health and education? What do you think are its most
important strengths and weaknesses?

In Economics, the term human capital is used to define increase in productivity levels and human
capacities due to education and health.

According to this approach, it is believed that investment in education and health brings about an
indirect increase in the well-being of the humans through increase in incomes.

It says that those who complete their full education start their work life later than those who leave their
education in between and start working at an early age.

However, the increase in income is quicker for those who start later in life after completion of their
education because they are more skilled and intelligent to understand and adapt to the changes taking
place in the work culture than the ones who are less educated.

20. What are the relationships between health and education, on the one hand, and productivity and
incomes, on the other?

Education and health are two of the important objectives of development for any LDC. Health reflects
the well-being of an individual whereas; education reflects a satisfactory and rewarding life. Both are
important aspects of development of any nation.
Education enables a developing nation to adapt to the modern technological advancements and apply it
in their country’s working culture. There would strong chances of self-sustained growth and
development. However, education can be attained only if an individual is healthy. Moreover, it is due to
health that productivity of the labor would either increase or decrease.

Thus, both education and health become vital components of development.