Essay and Discussion Questions from Development

Development High School Questions

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Help students understand more about the opportunities and challenges of global development through these essay and discussion questions.

Introduction

  1. Why are each of the five conditions for economic growth—peace and stability, education, access to capital, rule of law, and opportunity— necessary for development?
  2. How was the Industrial Revolution different from development at other times in history?
  3. Why is development difficult to define?
  4. How does inequality complicate measuring development?
  5. In what ways are the Sustainable Development Goals an improvement on the Millennium Development Goals?
  6. Should the United States increase or decrease the amount of foreign aid it provides?
  7. What factors should donor countries weigh when deciding where and how to give foreign aid? Should donor countries consider their own self-interest?
  8. To what extent were the Millennium Development Goals a success?

Around the World

  1. Why is development difficult to define?
  2. How does inequality complicate measuring development?
  3. What allowed South Korea to successfully develop over the second half of the twentieth century while North Korea did not?
  4. How beneficial was the Marshall Plan to the United States? How beneficial was it to the Western European countries that received money under the plan?
  5. In what ways is the digital revolution similar to the Industrial Revolution and green revolution? In what ways is it not?
  6. Should the United States increase or decrease the amount of foreign aid it provides?
  7. What factors should donor countries weigh when deciding where and how to give foreign aid? Should donor countries consider their own self-interest?

Topics in Development

  1. Why are each of the five conditions for economic growth—peace and stability, education, access to capital, rule of law, and opportunity— necessary for development?
  2. How did the U.S. develop and deploy multiple COVID-19 vaccines faster than any other vaccine in history?
  3. How did unequal global development shape the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines? Why is this problematic to all countries?
  4. Why is crude oil so important to global development?
  5. How can oil price shocks have severe and wide-ranging consequences?
  6. How do taxes affect development?
  7. How can sound policymaking support healthy and wealthy societies?

Demographics

  1. Why are each of the five conditions for economic growth—peace and stability, education, access to capital, rule of law, and opportunity— necessary for development?
  2. Why is development difficult to define?
  3. How does inequality complicate measuring development?
  4. What are some of the consequences associated with inequality?
  5. What are some ways in which countries can fight inequality?
  6. In what ways can an aging population impact development?
  7. What are some ways that a country can respond to slowing population growth?