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Facing Challenges:
The Economic Dimension
Objective
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Compare standards of living in high income, middle income, and low income nations.
- Compare the apparent needs of low-income nations to those of middle income and high-income nations.
- Determine whether Brazil is a high income, middle income, or low income nation.
Material
Activities
- Place the terms “high income,” “middle income,” and “low income” on the chalkboard.
- Explain that nations, like individuals, can be classified by the amount of income they generate. In the case of nations, this can be seen by such statistics as GNI Per Capita (Gross National Income divided by the total population, which gives a total amount of GNI generated per person in a given year.)
- Write the number $6,338 on the chalkboard. Explain that this is the average global GNI Per Capita, taking all of the wealth generated by the world’s economies and divided by the total global population.
- Ask students to hypothesize, based on this average, what a “high income” GNI Per Capita might be. (Write the consensus figure on the chalkboard.)
- Follow the same procedure for “middle income” and “low income” averages.
- Distribute the student handout Analyzing Development Data.
- Explain that the World Bank gathers and publishes statistics that enable analysts to compare relative standards of living in various nations around the world.
- Review with students the meanings of each of the statistical categories listed in the handout.
- As you review each statistic, ask students to hypothesize how the data might differ between “high income,” “middle income” and “low income” nations.
- Direct students to record their hypotheses in the margins of the handout.
- Distribute the student handout Development Data Statistics (2004).
- Explain that the United States is an example of a high income (HI), highly industrialized developed nation.
- Direct students to analyze the statistics for the United States as listed on the handout.
- Ask students to compare the statistics to the hypotheses they created for a “high income” nation. What are the similarities and differences?
- Ask students to identify those statistics that they believe are the most significant in illustrating America’s standard of living and to explain why they consider them the most significant?
- Direct students to locate the other high income (HI) nation on the chart (Australia) and to compare their statistics with those of the United States. What are the similarities and differences?
- Direct students to analyze the statistics for the Mexico and Botswana as listed on the handout.
- Explain that Mexico and Botswana are both examples of upper middle income (UMI), partially industrialized developing nations.
- Direct students to compare the statistics for Mexico and Botswana to those of the United States and Australia. What are the similarities and differences?
- Ask students to explain which statistics they believe indicate the most significant differences between upper middle income and high income nations. How to they account for these differences?
- Direct students to analyze the statistics for the Peru and Iran as listed on the handout.
- Explain that Peru and Iran are both examples of lower middle income (LMI), partially industrialized developing nations.
- Direct students to compare the statistics for Peru and Iran to those of Mexico and Botswana. What are the similarities and differences?
- Ask students to explain which statistics they believe indicate the most significant differences between upper middle income and lower middle income nations. How to they account for these differences?
- Direct students to analyze the statistics for the Chad and Nepal as listed on the handout.
- Explain that Chad and Nepal are both examples of low income (LI), less industrialized underdeveloped nations.
- Ask students to evaluate the degree of difference between the high income and low income nations.
- Ask students to explain which statistics they believe indicate the most significant differences between the three categories of nations?
- Divide the class into discussion groups.
- Ask students to discuss what they know or have heard about Brazil and to hypothesize, based on that information, if Brazil would be a high income, upper middle income, lower middle income, or low income nation.
- After the groups have reached a consensus, ask a spokesperson for each group to report that consensus to the class and to explain the reasoning behind it.
- Using the teacher handout entitled Brazilian Development Data (2004), provide students with all of the relevant statistics except “Type.”
- Ask students to work in their groups to determine, based on the statistical data, which type of country Brazil actually is.
- After the groups have reached a consensus, ask a spokesperson for each group to report that consensus to the class, and to explain the reasoning behind it. Was it similar to or different from their original hypothesis? Why or why not?
- Share with the class Brazil’s actual classification (LMI). [Note: If the class consensus has not identified it as such, ask them to reexamine the data for telltale statistics. GNI Per Capita, in this case, is a key statistic.]
- Explain to the class that the World Bank uses the range of $876 - $3,465 per capita as an indication of LMI status. Since Brazil is in the higher range in this category, what does this suggest about the direction in which the country is moving?
- Ask the class to examine Brazil’s GNI Per Capita.
- Direct students to divide the GNI Per Capita ($3,000) by the number of days in the year.
- Ask students how many of them think that they could have a comfortable life if all they had to spend each day was $8.22. What would they have to change in their current life? What does this tell them about the average standard of living of the typical Brazilian family?
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