Development and underdevelopment | AQA A-Level Sociology
Updated: Sep 1
For Specification 7192
AQA A-Level Sociology | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time: 65 minutes
Development and underdevelopment A-Level Sociology revision introduces one of the central debates in AQA Global Development: what development actually means, how it should be measured and why societies experience development differently. AQA requires you to understand sociological explanations of development and underdevelopment, alongside their relationship with global inequality. These ideas provide an important foundation for studying global inequality [Global inequality] and later debates about different strategies for development.
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Define and explain the sociological concepts of development and underdevelopment.
Explain why development can be measured using both economic and wider social indicators.
Compare modernisation, dependency, neoliberal and people-centred explanations of development.
Analyse different explanations of why underdevelopment occurs.
Evaluate the strengths and limitations of different sociological interpretations of global development.
Revision Notes 📚
Development and underdevelopment A-Level Sociology revision: the core debate
AQA identifies development, underdevelopment and global inequality as central content within Global Development. The course then examines globalisation, development organisations and development in relation to aid, trade, industrialisation, urbanisation, the environment, conflict, employment, education, health, demographic change and gender.
This means that development should not be treated as a simple synonym for becoming richer. Sociologists disagree about:
what counts as development
how development should be measured
why some societies have experienced more development than others
whether the same route to development is appropriate for every society
whether economic growth should be the main objective of development
These disagreements lead to different theories of development and underdevelopment.
What is development?
Development refers to processes of economic, social and other forms of change through which societies are regarded as becoming more developed.
Early approaches often placed particular emphasis on economic growth. Economic indicators such as national income or output and levels of poverty could therefore be used to judge whether development was occurring.
However, economic growth is only one possible way of understanding development. AQA examination materials also recognise development in relation to areas including:
health
education
gender equality
sustainability
well-being
democracy and human rights
This broader approach matters because a country can experience economic growth without necessarily experiencing equivalent improvements across every aspect of people's lives. AQA mark schemes explicitly recognise both economic measures and wider measures such as the Human Development Index, health, education, gender equality and sustainability.
You will examine some of these dimensions in greater depth when studying employment and education [Employment and education], health and demographic change [Health and demographic change] and gender as an aspect of development [Gender and development].
Economic measures of development
Economic development can be considered through measures such as Gross National Product (GNP) or Gross National Income (GNI), economic growth and levels of poverty.
These indicators are useful because they provide ways of comparing the economic position of societies. If national income is growing, this may suggest that more goods and services are being produced and that additional economic resources are available.
However, economic measures have an important limitation. They do not necessarily show how economic resources are distributed or whether people's wider conditions have improved.
For example, rising national income by itself does not tell us whether:
poverty has declined
health has improved
access to education has widened
gender inequalities have fallen
economic activity is environmentally sustainable
Therefore, sociologists can disagree over whether economic growth is itself development or merely one dimension of development.
Wider measures of development
A broader concept of development considers social as well as economic changes.
The Human Development Index (HDI) is one example of a broader measure identified in AQA assessment materials. AQA mark schemes also recognise the relevance of Sustainable Development Goals, health, education, gender equality, well-being and happiness when discussing how development can be defined and measured.
These approaches challenge the idea that a country's economic performance alone gives a complete picture.
This is particularly important when you study urbanisation and environmental dimensions of development [Urbanisation and the environment]. Economic expansion that causes severe environmental damage may produce a very different judgement about development when sustainability is considered.
Sustainability and development
Sustainability introduces the idea that development should take account of its environmental consequences and the needs of the future.
Earlier development theories often emphasised industrialisation and economic growth. More recent approaches may question development that damages the environment or uses resources in ways that cannot be sustained.
This creates an important evaluative debate:
Economic approach: increased production and industrialisation can be signs of successful development.
Sustainability approach: economic expansion cannot automatically be regarded as successful development if it produces serious environmental costs.
AQA has explicitly assessed this relationship, including arguments that development can and should be environmentally sustainable.
What is underdevelopment?
Underdevelopment describes a condition in which a society experiences comparatively limited economic and wider development. However, its sociological meaning depends on the theoretical perspective being used.
This distinction is crucial.
Some theories see underdevelopment as a stage that societies can move beyond through processes such as industrialisation and modernisation.
Other theories argue that underdevelopment can be produced and maintained by unequal relationships between societies.
Therefore:
View of underdevelopment | Basic argument |
Modernisation | Societies remain underdeveloped because they have not yet completed the changes associated with modernisation. |
Dependency | Underdevelopment is linked to unequal relationships between more and less powerful societies. |
Neoliberal | Development can be encouraged through greater participation in a free-market economic system. |
People-centred and post-development approaches | Conventional economic models may define development too narrowly or impose inappropriate ideas of what development should mean. |
This debate becomes especially important in global political and economic relationships [Globalisation, political and economic relationships].
Modernisation theory
Modernisation theory explains development as a process through which societies become increasingly modern.
AQA mark schemes associate modernisation with ideas including:
stages of economic growth
take-off
industrialisation
urbanisation
movement from traditional towards modern values
mass consumption
Rostow is one sociologist associated with the idea that societies pass through stages of economic development. An important point is take-off, when economic growth becomes more firmly established and industrialisation accelerates.
Modernisation theorists therefore see development as involving economic, social and cultural change. Industrialisation is particularly important because it can transform the economy and wider society. This relationship is explored further in trade and industrialisation [Trade and industrialisation].
How modernisation theory explains underdevelopment
Modernisation theory tends to locate barriers to development within societies themselves.
A society may remain underdeveloped because the economic, social or cultural transformations associated with modernisation have not yet taken place.
The broad logic is:
Societies begin with economic and social arrangements associated with a more traditional society.
Changes such as industrialisation and urbanisation take place.
Economic growth accelerates.
Society becomes increasingly modern.
This approach therefore suggests that societies can develop by undergoing transformations similar to those experienced by societies that industrialised earlier.
Evaluation of modernisation theory
A strength of modernisation theory is that it draws attention to major changes associated with development, particularly industrialisation, economic growth, urbanisation and cultural change.
However, there are several sociological criticisms.
First, it can assume that societies should follow one broad route from traditional to modern. This may give insufficient attention to the very different historical and global circumstances faced by different societies.
Second, dependency theorists argue that underdevelopment cannot be explained simply by factors within developing societies. Relationships with wealthier societies also need to be considered.
Third, economic growth and industrialisation do not automatically produce progress in every area. AQA material recognises that development may also involve health, education, gender equality and sustainability. Industrialisation may additionally involve environmental costs.
Dependency theory
Dependency theory provides a very different explanation of development and underdevelopment.
Rather than seeing poorer societies simply as being at an earlier point on a path followed by richer societies, dependency approaches examine the unequal relationships that connect societies.
AQA mark schemes associate dependency approaches with concepts including:
underdevelopment
colonialism
imperialism
neo-colonialism
chains of dependency
world-systems approaches
The central idea is that the development of some societies and the underdevelopment of others cannot necessarily be understood separately.
How dependency theory explains underdevelopment
Dependency theory shifts attention from internal barriers to external relationships.
From this perspective, poorer societies may be incorporated into global economic relationships in ways that preserve dependency. Development therefore cannot simply be achieved by copying societies that industrialised earlier.
Frank is associated with dependency explanations of underdevelopment, while world-systems approaches also examine societies as parts of an unequal global system.
This creates a clear contrast:
Modernisation theory | Dependency theory |
Focuses strongly on changes within developing societies. | Focuses strongly on relationships between societies. |
Underdevelopment can be overcome through modernisation. | Unequal relationships can themselves reproduce underdevelopment. |
Industrialisation and economic growth are central. | Economic growth must be considered alongside power and dependency. |
More developed societies may provide a model for development. | Following the interests or models of powerful societies may reinforce dependency. |
Evaluation of dependency theory
Dependency theory is useful because it makes power and global inequality central to the explanation. It challenges the assumption that societies develop independently of the international system.
It also provides a direct criticism of modernisation theory. If global economic relationships contribute to underdevelopment, simply encouraging a society to industrialise may not remove the underlying source of inequality.
However, dependency theory should not become an explanation for every difference between societies. In an exam, you should compare its emphasis on external relationships with theories that give greater importance to internal economic, social and cultural change.
This debate will become particularly important when considering aid and development [Aid and development], transnational corporations and international agencies.
Neoliberal approaches
Neoliberalism places greater emphasis on market-led economic development.
AQA mark schemes recognise neoliberalism and free-market approaches as part of debates about development and underdevelopment. In broad terms, this approach suggests that participation in a free-market economic system can encourage economic activity and development.
This differs from dependency theory because dependency theorists may argue that apparently free global economic relationships can reproduce inequalities and underdevelopment.
The contrast is therefore partly about whether integration into global markets is more likely to:
create opportunities for economic development, or
reproduce unequal relationships between richer and poorer societies.
Evaluation of neoliberal approaches
A market-led approach can be evaluated by considering whether increased economic activity produces wider development.
Even where economic growth occurs, this does not automatically show that poverty, inequality, poor health, limited education or gender inequality have been reduced.
This returns us to one of the most important questions in this topic: what counts as development?
People-centred and grassroots approaches
AQA mark schemes also recognise people-centred development and grassroots development.
These approaches shift attention away from treating national economic growth as the only, or necessarily the most important, objective.
A people-centred approach places greater emphasis on the effects of development on people's lives and communities. Development may therefore be judged through improvements in areas such as health, education, equality and well-being.
A grassroots approach emphasises development involving people and communities rather than relying entirely on large-scale decisions imposed from above.
These perspectives become particularly relevant when studying non-governmental organisations [Non-governmental organisations].
Evaluation
A major strength is that people-centred approaches broaden the concept of development. They make it harder to describe rising national income as successful development when wider human conditions have not improved.
However, economic development cannot simply be ignored. Economic resources can remain important because improvements in education, health and other areas require resources.
A balanced sociological judgement therefore needs to consider the relationship between economic and social development rather than assuming that either can always be understood in isolation.
Post-development perspectives
Post-development approaches question assumptions behind conventional ideas of development.
They challenge the idea that there must be one universal model defining what every society should become. This contrasts particularly strongly with approaches that present Western-style modernisation as the normal path for all societies.
Post-development perspectives therefore encourage sociologists to question:
who defines what counts as development
whose interests development strategies serve
whether all societies should be judged using the same model
whether local priorities have been given sufficient importance
Post-development is recognised within AQA mark schemes as one perspective that can be used in debates about development.
Feminist approaches to development
Feminist sociologists emphasise that development and underdevelopment can be experienced differently according to gender.
AQA has specifically contrasted early theories such as modernisation, which often gave relatively little attention to gender, with feminist approaches that treat gender as central to understanding development and underdevelopment.
This provides an important criticism of purely economic definitions.
For example, economic growth does not by itself show whether women have experienced greater access to:
education
healthcare
paid employment
economic and social opportunities
You will examine these issues fully in gender and development [Gender and development].
Comparing explanations of development and underdevelopment
The most important exam skill is not simply memorising each theory. You need to understand what each theory thinks causes underdevelopment and what it implies about development.
Perspective | Explanation of underdevelopment | Route or emphasis in development | Useful evaluation |
Modernisation theory | Societies have not completed the economic, social and cultural changes associated with becoming modern. | Industrialisation, economic growth, urbanisation and modernisation. | May assume one route to development and underestimate global inequalities. |
Dependency theory | Unequal relationships between societies can create or maintain dependency and underdevelopment. | Changing unequal relationships rather than simply copying developed societies. | Highlights global power, but should be compared with internal explanations of development. |
Neoliberalism | Barriers to participation in a market economy can restrict economic development. | Market-led economic growth and greater involvement in free-market relationships. | Economic growth may not produce wider social development or reduce inequality. |
People-centred approaches | Conventional development may neglect people's needs and local priorities. | Human welfare, participation and improvements in wider aspects of life. | Broader than economic measures, although economic resources remain important. |
Post-development | Conventional ideas of development may impose a single model on different societies. | Questions universal development models and emphasises alternative priorities. | Challenges assumptions about development, but still needs to address real inequalities and deprivation. |
Feminist approaches | Development processes and theories may neglect gender inequality. | Greater attention to women's experiences, opportunities and inequalities. | Demonstrates that development can affect social groups differently. |
Economic development or wider social development?
This is one of the strongest debates to prepare for an examination.
Argument for economic measures
Economic development matters because economic growth increases the resources available within a society. Measures of national income can also provide a basis for comparing economic performance.
Industrialisation and economic expansion are therefore central to modernisation and some other approaches.
Argument for wider measures
Economic growth alone may conceal important differences in people's experiences.
A fuller picture can include:
health
education
poverty
gender equality
sustainability
well-being
AQA's 2023 assessment explicitly required students to consider whether economic measures alone provide a satisfactory picture of development, and the mark scheme accepted a wide range of economic and non-economic concepts.
Overall judgement
Development is best understood as a contested sociological concept.
There is no single theoretical interpretation accepted by all sociologists. Different perspectives emphasise different processes, causes and outcomes.
For exams, this is extremely useful. Instead of learning one definition and treating it as correct, you can create evaluation by asking:
Development according to whom, measured how, and explained by which perspective?
Applying development theories in an exam
When an item refers to a feature such as industrialisation, economic growth, inequality or sustainability, avoid simply writing everything you know about a theory.
Instead:
Identify the relevant feature in the item.
Connect it clearly to a sociological explanation.
Explain the mechanism linking that feature to development or underdevelopment.
Analyse what follows from the explanation.
Where evaluation is required, compare it with another perspective or identify a limitation.
Return explicitly to the exact wording of the question.
For example, if a question asks whether industrialisation is necessary for development, explaining modernisation theory is only useful if you connect its ideas directly to why industrialisation would promote development. Describing modernisation theory in general is not enough.
Key Words 🔑
Key word | Student-friendly definition | How it may be used in an exam |
Development | Economic, social and other changes through which a society may be regarded as becoming more developed. | Define the central issue before comparing different ways of measuring or explaining development. |
Underdevelopment | A condition of comparatively limited development, explained differently by competing sociological perspectives. | Compare modernisation explanations with dependency explanations. |
Economic growth | An increase in the economic activity or output of a society. | Discuss whether economic growth is sufficient to demonstrate development. |
GNP/GNI | Economic measures used to indicate national economic output or income. | Use as examples of economic measures of development. |
Human Development Index (HDI) | A broader measure of development than a purely economic indicator. | Use when evaluating the adequacy of economic measures alone. |
Modernisation theory | An explanation that sees development as movement towards a modern society through economic, social and cultural change. | Apply to questions about industrialisation, take-off or routes to development. |
Take-off | A concept associated with the stage at which sustained economic development and industrialisation become established. | Explain modernisation approaches to economic development. |
Dependency theory | An explanation that links underdevelopment to unequal relationships between societies. | Challenge explanations that locate the causes of underdevelopment only within poorer societies. |
Neoliberalism | An approach that emphasises market-led economic development. | Compare market-based explanations with dependency or people-centred approaches. |
Sustainability | Development that takes account of environmental consequences and future needs. | Evaluate economic or industrial development by considering its environmental costs. |
Hints from the Examiner Reports 💡
Examiner hint: In 2023, some of the strongest answers on development used a range of measures rather than relying only on economic indicators. The report specifically identified effective discussion of the Human Development Index, Sustainable Development Goals, sustainability and happiness.
Examiner hint: Knowing a theory is not enough. The 2023 report noted that some students lost sight of the question once they began discussing theories. Keep returning to the exact issue you have been asked to evaluate.
Examiner hint: The same issue appeared again in 2025. Students often knew modernisation and dependency theories, but some failed to connect those theories clearly to the specific question about industrialisation. Use theory to answer the question, rather than treating the essay as an opportunity to reproduce everything you have learnt.
Examiner hint: When using examples or an item, make the sociological point first and then use the example to develop it. Examiner reports repeatedly identify answers that remain example-driven or repeat an item without sufficiently explaining the sociological connection.
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Treating development as another word for economic growth
Why this is incorrect: Economic growth is an important aspect of development, but AQA recognises wider dimensions including health, education, gender equality and sustainability.
How to improve: Whenever you discuss an economic indicator, ask what it does and does not reveal. Use at least one wider dimension when evaluating economic measures.
Mistake: Assuming underdevelopment simply means being at an earlier stage
Why this is incorrect: That closely resembles the modernisation interpretation. Dependency theorists instead argue that unequal relationships between societies can help produce and maintain underdevelopment.
How to improve: Make the theoretical perspective explicit. Write, for example, "Modernisation theorists interpret underdevelopment as..." rather than presenting one theory as an uncontested fact.
Mistake: Describing modernisation theory without linking it to the question
Why this is incorrect: A theory only earns useful credit when it answers the question being asked. Examiner reports have identified loss of focus when students move into general descriptions of theories.
How to improve: After explaining each theoretical idea, add a direct connection such as, "Therefore, modernisation theorists would argue that industrialisation promotes development because..."
Mistake: Listing theories instead of evaluating them
Why this is incorrect: Writing one paragraph on modernisation, one on dependency and one on neoliberalism does not automatically create evaluation.
How to improve: Make the perspectives interact. Explain precisely how dependency theory challenges modernisation, or how people-centred approaches challenge a purely economic definition of development.
Mistake: Using a wider indicator without explaining why it matters
Why this is incorrect: Simply naming health, education or HDI does not analyse the limitations of economic measures.
How to improve: Develop the link. For example, explain that economic growth can occur without an equivalent improvement in health or education, so an economic measure may give an incomplete picture of people's experiences.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
Which term refers to an increase in a society's economic activity or output? (1 mark)
Question 2
Explain one reason why economic growth alone may not provide a complete picture of development. (4 marks)
Question 3
Outline and explain two features of the modernisation theory of development. (10 marks)
Question 4
Outline and explain two ways in which dependency theory may explain underdevelopment. (10 marks)
Question 5
Read Item A and answer the question that follows.
Item A
A society has experienced rapid industrial expansion and increased national income. However, improvements in health and education have been uneven, while environmental pressures have increased. Some sociologists therefore question whether economic change alone shows that the society has become more developed.
Applying material from Item A, analyse two reasons why economic growth may give an incomplete picture of development. (10 marks)
Question 6
Outline and explain two differences between modernisation theory and dependency theory in their explanations of underdevelopment. (10 marks)
Question 7
Read Item B and answer the question that follows.
Item B
Some sociologists see development as a process in which societies become increasingly industrialised and modern. Others argue that societies cannot be understood separately from unequal political and economic relationships between countries. More recent approaches have also questioned whether economic growth should always be treated as the main goal of development.
Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, evaluate the view that underdevelopment is mainly caused by factors within developing societies. (20 marks)
Question 8
Evaluate the view that economic measures are the most useful way of judging the level of development of a society. (20 marks)
Answers and mark scheme
Question 1
Answer: Economic growth. (1 mark)
Award one mark for the correct term.
Question 2
Up to 4 marks for one clearly explained reason.
Indicative content could include:
Economic growth does not necessarily show how resources are distributed.
A country may experience rising economic output without equivalent improvements in health.
Economic measures may fail to show educational opportunities.
Economic measures may overlook gender equality.
Economic growth may involve environmental damage and therefore provide little information about sustainability.
A strong answer identifies one limitation and develops why this makes economic growth an incomplete indicator of development.
Question 3
For a high-level response, students should develop two distinct features of modernisation theory.
Indicative content may include:
development as movement from a traditional towards a modern society
stages of economic growth
the concept of take-off
industrialisation
urbanisation
economic growth
cultural and social changes associated with modernisation
mass consumption
Each feature should be explained rather than simply named.
For example, industrialisation can be developed by explaining how modernisation theorists regard economic transformation as part of the process through which a society becomes modern.
Question 4
For a high-level response, students should explain two distinct aspects of the dependency explanation.
Indicative content may include:
underdevelopment is linked to unequal relationships between societies
the development of wealthier societies and underdevelopment elsewhere may be connected
colonialism, imperialism or neo-colonial relationships
chains of dependency
world-systems approaches
criticism of the idea that poorer societies need only copy richer societies
Answers should explain how each factor could help produce or maintain underdevelopment.
Question 5
A strong answer develops two separate applications from Item A.
Possible analysis 1: health and education
The item states that improvements in health and education have been uneven. This suggests that higher national income does not necessarily mean equivalent social development. Broader measures of development may therefore produce a less positive judgement than economic growth alone.
Possible analysis 2: environmental sustainability
The item states that environmental pressures have increased. Industrial growth may therefore raise economic output while creating environmental costs. From a sustainability perspective, this makes economic measures alone an incomplete indicator of development.
Other relevant developed applications should also receive credit.
Question 6
A high-level response clearly develops two comparisons, rather than giving two disconnected descriptions.
Possible differences include:
Difference 1: causes of underdevelopment
Modernisation theory focuses more strongly on economic, social and cultural changes within a developing society. Dependency theory focuses more strongly on unequal relationships between societies.
Difference 2: relationship with developed societies
Modernisation approaches may regard the development of already industrialised societies as evidence of a route that others can follow. Dependency theory argues that relationships with more powerful societies can themselves contribute to underdevelopment.
Other valid comparisons may focus on industrialisation, global power or explanations of economic growth.
Question 7
A strong 20-mark answer should address the claim that the main causes of underdevelopment are internal.
Indicative content may include:
modernisation theory
stages of economic growth
take-off
industrialisation and urbanisation
traditional and modern values
dependency theory
colonialism, imperialism and neo-colonialism
unequal relationships between societies
world-systems approaches
neoliberal explanations
people-centred or post-development critiques
sustainability
gender as an aspect of development
Evaluation could include:
dependency theory challenging the internal focus of modernisation
consideration of both internal and external influences
criticism of a single route to development
questioning whether economic growth should be treated as the main outcome
considering whether development should also be assessed through health, education, gender equality and sustainability
For the highest level, the answer should use Item B explicitly, sustain analysis throughout and reach a reasoned judgement about the relative importance of internal and external explanations.
Question 8
A strong 20-mark answer should evaluate both the usefulness and limitations of economic measures.
Arguments supporting economic measures may include:
economic growth is an important dimension of development
GNP/GNI provide indicators of national economic performance
economic resources may support wider improvements
modernisation approaches place considerable importance on economic transformation and industrialisation
Arguments challenging economic measures alone may include:
national economic measures may conceal inequality and poverty
health provides another dimension of development
educational opportunity may differ from economic performance
gender equality may not improve automatically alongside economic growth
sustainability can challenge the assumption that all economic expansion represents progress
HDI and wider measures attempt to give a broader picture
people-centred approaches focus more directly on people's lives and well-being
For the highest marks, the response should not simply list different indicators. It should explain why each indicator changes the way development is judged, compare competing sociological interpretations and reach a supported conclusion about whether economic measures are sufficient.
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