Global income and income distribution

Student Activities

Brainstorm task

1. Write down 10 indicators that you think would be important in determining the level of human development and comparing how well off a country and people are.
2. Join together with 2-3 other students and compare your list of indicators. As a group come up with a list of 10. Nominate a member of your group to list your indicators on the board. If the indicator has been listed by another group place a tick next to it.
3. As a class, determine the list of 10 indicators that would be significant in determining the level of human development of a nation.

Comparing countries' performance task

4. Using The World Bank: World Development Indicators 2000 and United Nations Development Programme: The Human Development Report 1999 or the website links to these two organisations and reports, collect statistics for the chosen class indicators for Australia and two to three other high income nations and a similar number of low income countries.
5. Write a paragraph comparing the performance of these countries on the selected indicators.

Visual display task

6. Using the statistical data on global income, prepare a visual display that represents global income and global income distribution. Your display could include the following:
   • tables/graphs showing GNP per capita for selected nations
   • lists of selected nations in each of the World Bank income categories
   • map of the world highlighting the lowest and highest income countries
   • selected distribution figures - you can calculate income distribution figures (share of global income received by specific countries or groups of countries) yourself.

   Total GNP of selected country / GNP for the countries listed x 100 / 1 = % total income received by selected nation.

   If the same is done for population you can indicate what % of the population receives what % of total income.

   • explanation of measures used
   • written conclusions concerning the data.

   NB. Use the website link to The World Bank organisation and the World Development Indicators 2000 for your statistics.

Living on $1 per day

7. Imagine you have an income of $1 or $2 per day to live on. Visit your local supermarket and list what food products you would buy and in what quantities to sustain you for the week, firstly on $1 per day and then $2 per day.
   
   1. How difficult was it to choose products?

   2. Were you able to purchase a wide variety of products?

   3. Do you think the quantity of goods you purchased would be enough to live on?

   4. What difference did the extra $1 per day make?

   5. Compare your purchases with other students.

   6. What sorts of things might you do to improve your access to food?

Human development index ranking

8. Using the statistics in the United Nations Development Programme: The Human Development Report 1999 or the website links complete the following.
   
   1. What factors make up the Human Development Index (HDI)?

   2. Why do you think these three factors have been used?

   3. List the top five countries.

   4. List the bottom five countries.

   5. Some countries have a lower per capita income and yet perform better on the overall HDI than others with a higher income. This suggests they are able to translate their economic performance into human development very effectively. This differential is shown in the figure Real GDP per capita (PPP$) rank minus HDI rank. A positive figure indicates a country's HDI performance is higher than their income and the higher the figure the better. A negative figure indicates their HDI performance is worse than their income.

      Which 10 countries have performed best in terms of having a higher HDI outcome than income outcome?

   6. Which 10 countries have performed worst in terms of having a lower HDI outcome than income outcome?

   7. Why might this difference between income and HDI performance occur?

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