Global economic governance and poverty | Edexcel A-Level Politics
Updated: Sep 29
For Specification 9PL0
Edexcel A-Level Politics | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time: 65–75 minutes
Poverty is one of the major contemporary issues that global economic governance seeks to address. This Global economic governance and poverty A-Level Politics revision page examines the North-South divide, different ways of understanding poverty, dependency theory and world-systems theory. It also considers competing arguments about whether economic globalisation reduces poverty or reinforces inequalities between states. The topic develops your understanding of economic globalisation [The process of globalisation] and builds directly on the roles of international economic institutions [The IMF and World Bank].
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Define and explain the North-South divide.
Explain how different indicators and approaches may be used to understand global poverty.
Explain dependency theory and how it links poverty to structural inequalities within capitalism.
Explain the main features of world-systems theory, including the core, semi-periphery and periphery.
Analyse competing explanations of why poverty persists despite economic globalisation.
Identify the classical economic development, structural and neo-classical development theories required by the specification.
The Edexcel specification requires students to study the significance of how global economic governance deals with poverty, specifically including the North-South divide, world-systems theory, dependency, orthodox and alternative measurements of poverty, and classical economic development, structural and neo-classical development theories.
Revision Notes 📚
Global economic governance and poverty A-Level Politics revision: the core debate
Poverty is explicitly identified by Edexcel as one of the major contemporary issues facing global politics.
It is closely connected to economic globalisation, which involves growing economic integration and interdependence between national economies.
The central debate is whether this interconnected economic system:
spreads trade, investment, employment and prosperity, helping poorer states develop
or distributes those benefits unequally, leaving some states and groups dependent upon richer and more powerful parts of the global economy
This debate links the present lesson with globalisation and its consequences [Globalisation and contemporary global issues].
Pearson's 2023 assessment material presents both sides clearly. Supporters of economic globalisation can point to growing trade, investment, economic growth and increased output per person. Critics can point to continuing poverty, uneven development, Western economic dominance and the persistence of a North-South divide.
The North-South divide
The Edexcel glossary defines the North-South divide as a:
global socio-economic and political divide.
The concept therefore highlights significant differences in prosperity, development and power between different parts of the global system.
Pearson mark schemes use the distinction between developed and developing states when discussing the continuing global distribution of poverty.
The North-South divide is therefore a way of thinking about unequal outcomes within global politics.
What does the divide show?
The concept suggests that economic globalisation has not produced identical outcomes everywhere.
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme identifies:
continuing poverty indicators
a persistent North-South divide
a concentration of serious poverty in sub-Saharan Africa
uneven distribution of the gains from globalisation
This is important because global economic growth does not automatically prove that poverty has been reduced equally in every state or for every group.
The North-South divide and globalisation
There are two contrasting ways to interpret the divide.
Argument that the divide is being reduced
Supporters of economic globalisation argue that increased:
trade
investment
economic integration
employment
economic output
can raise living standards.
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme identifies substantial increases in output per capita in many countries alongside greater trade and liberalisation.
The argument is:
economic globalisation → increased trade and investment → economic growth → greater prosperity → poverty reduction
This is sometimes expressed through the idea that growth in one part of the global economy can produce benefits elsewhere.
Argument that the divide persists
Critics argue that prosperity has been distributed unevenly.
Pearson's 2023 material identifies arguments that some less-developed states have experienced restricted growth and that poverty remains heavily concentrated in particular regions.
The alternative chain is:
economic globalisation → unequal benefits → stronger states and economic actors gain disproportionately → poorer states remain disadvantaged → North-South inequalities persist
The existence of global growth therefore does not settle the debate.
The key examination issue is distribution.
Poverty is not the same as economic growth
A common mistake is to assume that economic growth automatically tells you whether poverty has been eliminated.
Pearson's assessment material refers to output per capita as one way of showing increasing prosperity.
However, the same mark scheme also highlights:
regional concentrations of poverty
marginalised groups within states
uneven distribution of economic benefits
This means that national economic growth and individual experiences of poverty are related but are not identical.
A state may become economically wealthier overall while some people or regions remain poor.
💡 Exam point: When assessing claims that globalisation has reduced poverty, distinguish between overall economic growth and the distribution of the gains from growth.
Orthodox and alternative measurements of poverty
The specification explicitly requires students to study:
orthodox measurements of poverty
alternative measurements of poverty
The provided assessment material gives output per capita as an example of an economic measurement used when examining changes in prosperity. Examiner reports also refer more generally to the use of poverty figures and poverty indicators when assessing whether economic globalisation has reduced poverty.
Why measurements matter politically
Even with that source limitation, an important principle is supported by the assessment material: how poverty is assessed can influence the conclusions reached about economic globalisation.
Consider two forms of evidence used in the 2023 mark scheme.
Evidence supporting poverty reduction
Pearson identifies:
greater international trade
economic growth
higher output per capita
investment by transnational corporations (TNCs)
employment, training and infrastructure
These can support the argument that economic globalisation has contributed to increased prosperity.
Evidence challenging poverty reduction
The same material identifies:
continuing concentrations of poverty
marginalised groups
unequal development between developed and developing states
exploitation and low wages
the continued North-South divide
These can support the opposite conclusion.
The lesson is that an argument about poverty needs evidence matched carefully to the claim being made.
Economic globalisation as an explanation for falling poverty
One interpretation emphasises the potential benefits of a more integrated global economy.
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme identifies several mechanisms through which globalisation may reduce poverty.
Free trade and liberalisation
Economic globalisation has involved a strong emphasis on free trade and liberalisation.
Reducing barriers to economic exchange may increase trade and provide opportunities for economic growth.
The analytical chain is:
fewer barriers to trade → increased economic activity → greater production and wealth → potential reduction in poverty
This connects directly with the economic institutions studied in WTO and global governance [WTO, G7/G8 and G20].
International economic institutions
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Trade Organisation (WTO) are identified in Pearson material as major agents of economic globalisation.
Their activities include:
loans
economic advice
support for economic stability
support for trade
mechanisms for resolving trade disputes
Supporters therefore argue that global economic governance can create conditions that allow states to grow economically.
Economic interconnectedness
Globalisation creates deeper connections between states.
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme presents the argument that economic growth in one state can create benefits elsewhere within an interconnected global economy.
This links with complex interdependence, although detailed comparative theory is studied separately later in the course.
Transnational corporations
Transnational corporations (TNCs) may contribute to development through:
investment
infrastructure
employment
skills
training
Pearson's mark scheme identifies these as arguments supporting the claim that economic globalisation can reduce poverty.
Criticisms of the claim that globalisation reduces poverty
The same developments can be interpreted much more critically.
Unequal distribution of benefits
Pearson assessment material identifies the argument that the benefits of globalisation have been distributed unevenly.
This matters because rising global wealth is compatible with continuing major inequalities.
If the largest gains flow towards already prosperous states or groups, overall economic growth may coexist with persistent poverty.
Western dominance
Pearson's 2023 material identifies criticism that Western powers tend to dominate the decision making and underlying philosophy of major global economic institutions such as:
the IMF
World Bank
WTO
This supports the argument that global economic governance may reflect the interests of more economically powerful states.
The issue is therefore not simply whether institutions promote economic growth, but who has influence over the rules governing that growth.
TNCs and profit
The 2023 mark scheme also identifies criticism of Western-dominated TNCs.
Critics argue that corporations may:
seek to maximise profit
pay low wages
exploit workers
repatriate profits rather than allowing all wealth to remain in the host state
The alternative analytical chain becomes:
TNC investment → economic activity increases → profits do not necessarily remain locally → workers may receive relatively limited benefits → poverty may persist despite investment
This is particularly relevant to dependency and world-systems explanations.
Dependency theory
Dependency theory is an explicit Edexcel key term.
The specification glossary defines it as a theory that:
emphasises structural imbalances within capitalism that impose dependency on poorer states.
This is fundamentally different from explanations that treat poverty simply as the result of insufficient economic integration or growth.
Dependency theory directs attention towards the structure of the international economic system.
The central idea
According to the specification definition, capitalism contains structural imbalances.
These imbalances mean that poorer states may operate from a disadvantaged position within the global economy.
Instead of steadily catching up with wealthier countries, poorer states may remain dependent upon economic relationships that favour more powerful actors.
Why dependency matters
Dependency theory challenges the assumption that participation in a global capitalist economy necessarily creates equal opportunities for development.
Its logic is:
unequal capitalist structures → poorer states enter economic relationships from weaker positions → dependence is reinforced → development remains unequal
This helps explain why increasing global trade can coexist with a continuing North-South divide.
Dependency and economic institutions
Pearson examiner material on poverty placed dependency theory alongside criticism of:
Western dominance of global economic institutions
imbalanced development
negative consequences associated with TNCs
This makes dependency theory particularly useful when questioning whether the existing system of global economic governance serves poorer states equally.
Dependency and TNCs
Pearson's 2023 material identifies criticism that profits generated by Western TNCs may be repatriated and that workers may receive low wages.
These points can be used to illustrate the wider dependency argument.
If economic activity occurs within a poorer country but much of the resulting wealth benefits outside actors, economic integration does not necessarily remove structural dependency.
Dependency theory and the North-South divide
Dependency theory therefore provides an explanation for the persistence of the North-South divide.
Rather than seeing poorer states simply as being at an earlier stage on the same path followed by wealthier states, dependency draws attention to unequal relationships within the capitalist system itself.
The strongest exam answers should therefore connect concepts rather than treating them as isolated definitions:
North-South divide = pattern of inequality
Dependency theory = structural explanation for why inequality may persist
World-systems theory
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme directly identifies Wallerstein's world-systems theory when discussing poverty and economic globalisation.
The theory presents the world as a single capitalist economy divided into:
core
semi-periphery
periphery
These categories describe unequal positions within the world economic system.
Core
The core occupies the strongest position within the global capitalist economy.
Pearson's material describes the world system as involving an entrenched core, semi-periphery and periphery.
The concept of an entrenched structure is important because it suggests inequalities are not merely temporary.
Semi-periphery
The semi-periphery occupies an intermediate position between the core and periphery.
The significance of the category is that world-systems theory does not divide the entire international economy into only two identical groups.
Instead, it recognises a layered economic structure.
Periphery
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme states that world-systems theory implies that the periphery remains exploited for raw materials and cheap labour.
This provides a structural explanation for continuing poverty.
The argument is:
periphery supplies cheap labour and raw materials → stronger areas of the global system benefit → unequal economic relationships are reproduced → poorer parts of the system struggle to escape poverty
World-systems theory and poverty
This theory directly challenges the argument that economic globalisation necessarily benefits all states.
Pearson's mark scheme states that the implication of world-systems theory is that the global South may struggle to prosper and reduce poverty because of the entrenched structure of the capitalist system.
The central claim is therefore not merely that some states happen to be poorer.
It is that their position within the wider economic structure helps produce and maintain inequality.
World-systems theory and dependency theory compared
The two approaches are closely related because both emphasise structural inequalities within global capitalism.
Dependency theory | World-systems theory |
Emphasises structural imbalances within capitalism | Presents the world as a single capitalist economic system |
Focuses on dependency imposed upon poorer states | Divides the system into core, semi-periphery and periphery |
Helps explain continuing inequality between richer and poorer states | Explains inequality through entrenched positions within the global system |
Challenges the assumption that economic integration automatically produces equal development | Argues that the periphery may remain exploited for raw materials and cheap labour |
The important similarity is that both question the claim that simply increasing economic integration will automatically eliminate global poverty.
A strong analytical paragraph could therefore argue:
If poverty results from structural inequalities within the global capitalist system, greater integration into that same system may not by itself remove poverty.
North-South divide and world-systems theory compared
These concepts should not be treated as synonyms.
The North-South divide identifies a broad global socio-economic and political division.
World-systems theory provides a theoretical explanation of the structure of the capitalist world economy through the core, semi-periphery and periphery.
A useful way to remember the distinction is:
North-South divide asks: Where is global inequality visible?
World-systems theory asks: How might the structure of the global economy reproduce that inequality?
Positive and critical approaches to global economic development
The Pearson assessment material provides two broad competing interpretations of economic development.
Growth and integration approach
One interpretation argues that:
liberalisation promotes trade
trade contributes to economic growth
economic growth creates greater wealth
TNCs provide employment and investment
international institutions support stability and development
increasing prosperity can reduce poverty
This approach therefore treats greater integration into the global economy as a potential route out of poverty.
Structural inequality approach
The competing view argues that:
global economic benefits are distributed unevenly
powerful Western states dominate important institutions
TNCs may exploit workers or repatriate profits
poorer states face structural disadvantages
core-periphery relationships may reproduce inequality
serious poverty remains concentrated in parts of the global South
This interpretation treats the structure of the economic system as part of the explanation for poverty.
Classical economic development theory
The specification explicitly requires students to study classical economic development theory.
Structural theory
The specification explicitly requires structural theory as one of the approaches to economic development.
It would be unsafe to assume that every feature of dependency or world-systems theory should automatically be treated as the complete Edexcel definition of structural development theory.
Neo-classical development theory
The Edexcel specification also names neo-classical development theory as required content.
Pearson assessment material discusses free trade, economic liberalisation, economic growth and increased international trade, but the provided documents do not explicitly identify which of these features constitute Edexcel's required definition of neo-classical development theory.
For revision from the supplied materials alone, you should know that classical, structural and neo-classical development theories are required areas, but detailed distinctions cannot be added without unsupported material.
Comparing the source-supported approaches to poverty
Approach or concept | What the provided sources establish | Implication for poverty |
North-South divide | A global socio-economic and political divide | Poverty and prosperity remain distributed unevenly |
Economic growth approach | Free trade, liberalisation and greater output may increase prosperity | Growth can contribute to falling poverty |
TNC-led development | Investment, employment, infrastructure, skills and training can encourage development | Globalisation can provide routes out of poverty |
Dependency theory | Structural imbalances within capitalism impose dependency on poorer states | Economic relationships may reproduce poverty |
World-systems theory | Single capitalist world economy divided into core, semi-periphery and periphery | The periphery may remain exploited through cheap labour and raw materials |
Classical economic development theory | Named as required content | Detailed definition not supplied in the provided sources |
Structural theory | Named as required content | Detailed definition not supplied in the provided sources |
Neo-classical development theory | Named as required content | Detailed definition not supplied in the provided sources |
Does global economic governance reduce poverty?
This question connects this lesson directly with the IMF and World Bank [The IMF and World Bank] and WTO, G7/G8 and G20 [WTO, G7/G8 and G20].
Argument that global governance helps
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme identifies several positive mechanisms.
International economic institutions can provide:
loans
advice
economic stability
greater opportunities for trade
support for resolving trade disputes
These may help create economic growth.
If that growth reaches poorer groups, poverty can fall.
Argument that global governance may reinforce inequality
Critics point to:
Western dominance
unequal influence
uneven economic benefits
structural dependency
continuing poverty in parts of the global South
Global institutions may therefore operate on a global scale without producing equal benefits for every part of that global system.
Significance versus success
It is useful to distinguish significance from success.
The IMF, World Bank and WTO may be extremely significant because they influence global economic relationships.
That does not necessarily prove that their policies have eliminated poverty.
An institution can be:
highly influential
widely used
politically important
while still producing contested outcomes.
Economic globalisation and TNCs
Transnational corporations are particularly useful because they can support either side of an argument.
Case for TNCs reducing poverty
Pearson identifies:
investment
infrastructure
employment
skills
training
These can increase economic opportunities within poorer states.
Case against
Pearson also identifies:
low wages
exploitation of workers
repatriation of profits
Western corporate dominance
These may mean that the benefits of investment are unevenly distributed.
💡 Exam technique: Avoid treating examples as automatically positive or negative. Explain the mechanism through which they affect poverty.
Poverty within states as well as between states
The North-South divide focuses attention on inequalities within the international system, but Pearson's 2023 mark scheme also refers to marginalised groups within states.
This is important.
Poverty cannot be understood only by comparing one country's total economic output with another's.
Economic growth can coexist with inequality inside a state.
Therefore, when evaluating poverty reduction, ask:
Has the state become wealthier?
Have poorer citizens benefited?
Have the benefits reached different regions and groups?
Has the gap between richer and poorer parts of the global system narrowed?
This is a more analytical approach than simply stating that economic growth has occurred.
The importance of sub-Saharan Africa in the provided assessment material
Pearson's 2023 mark scheme and examiner report use sub-Saharan Africa to illustrate the continuing concentration of serious poverty.
The examination value of this example is not to treat an entire region as economically identical.
Instead, Pearson uses it to support a broader argument:
global economic growth has not eliminated geographical concentrations of poverty.
It therefore provides evidence for continued debate about the North-South divide and the uneven impact of economic globalisation.
Poverty and the wider Global Politics course
Poverty is not an isolated topic.
It can be connected with several other areas of the Edexcel course.
Globalisation
In globalisation and contemporary issues [Globalisation and contemporary global issues], students consider the extent to which globalisation addresses poverty.
This lesson adds the theories needed to understand why the effects of economic globalisation are contested.
Global economic institutions
The IMF, World Bank and WTO form part of the system through which economic globalisation is managed.
Their role in poverty reduction is therefore inseparable from debates about whether the rules of the international economy promote equal development.
Reform
Criticism of international economic institutions continues in reform and global civil society [Effectiveness, reform and global civil society].
Structural Adjustment Programmes and economic crises become especially important there.
Power and development
Later, power and development [Power, development and global issues] examines relationships between economic and political development and the ability of global actors to address contemporary problems.
Competing interpretations of poverty reduction
A useful revision structure is to organise the debate around three questions.
1. Has global wealth increased?
The supplied Pearson material supports the argument that globalisation has coincided with increased trade and economic output.
This can support claims of economic progress.
2. Has poverty fallen everywhere equally?
No such conclusion follows automatically.
Pearson simultaneously identifies:
uneven development
continuing serious poverty
marginalised groups
a persistent North-South divide
The distribution of growth therefore matters.
3. Why does poverty persist?
Different explanations produce different answers.
A growth-focused account may emphasise the need for further trade, investment and economic integration.
Dependency and world-systems approaches instead emphasise structural inequalities in the international capitalist system.
The debate is therefore partly about causation, not simply measurement.
A useful analytical model
When answering questions about poverty, avoid writing:
Globalisation has increased trade, therefore it has reduced poverty.
Instead develop the chain carefully:
Increased trade
↓
potential increase in investment, production and employment
↓
greater national economic output
↓
but benefits may be distributed unevenly
↓
therefore the impact on poverty depends upon who receives the resulting gains
This allows you to analyse both positive and critical perspectives using the same development.
Overall assessment
The supplied Edexcel material presents poverty as a contested consequence of economic globalisation.
There is strong source-supported evidence for two broad arguments.
On one side, free trade, investment, TNC activity, international economic institutions and growing output may produce economic development and reduce poverty.
On the other, poverty remains unevenly distributed. Dependency theory attributes this partly to structural imbalances within capitalism, while world-systems theory portrays a single capitalist economy divided into an entrenched core, semi-periphery and periphery, with the periphery vulnerable to exploitation for cheap labour and raw materials.
The strongest conclusion is therefore not simply that globalisation either does or does not reduce poverty.
Instead:
economic globalisation can create greater wealth while simultaneously distributing its benefits unevenly.
Whether global economic governance successfully addresses poverty therefore depends not only on the amount of economic growth produced, but also on its distribution between states, regions and groups.
Key Words 🔑
Key word | Student-friendly definition | How it may be used in an exam |
North-South divide | A global socio-economic and political divide that highlights inequalities within the international system. | Use when explaining the continuing unequal distribution of poverty and prosperity between different parts of the world. |
Dependency theory | The theory that structural imbalances within capitalism impose dependency on poorer states. | Use when explaining why economic integration may reproduce rather than eliminate inequality. |
World-systems theory | An approach presenting the world as a single capitalist economy divided into an entrenched core, semi-periphery and periphery. | Use when explaining structural differences in power and development within the global economy. |
Core | The strongest position within the capitalist world-system described in Pearson's world-systems material. | Contrast with the periphery when analysing unequal development. |
Periphery | The weaker position within world-systems theory, associated in Pearson material with exploitation for cheap labour and raw materials. | Use when analysing why poverty may persist despite global economic integration. |
Hints from the Examiner Reports 💡
Examiner hint: Focus precisely on the qualifier in the question. In 2023, many candidates discussed whether economic globalisation had reduced poverty but failed to address whether it had reduced poverty significantly. This prevented some otherwise knowledgeable essays from fully answering the question.
Examiner hint: Build evaluation throughout the essay. The 2023 report found that stronger responses did not restrict AO3 to the introduction and conclusion. Instead, they used regular evaluative comments and mini-judgements to develop a clear line of argument.
Examiner hint: Use evidence to support competing arguments. Successful candidates used evidence of poverty reduction alongside evidence of continued inequality rather than presenting an entirely one-sided account.
Examiner hint: Connect theory to the question. Stronger candidates used dependency theory and world-systems ideas to explain why economic globalisation might leave some states and groups behind. Simply defining the theory without applying it to poverty will limit analysis.
Examiner hint: Comparisons strengthen analysis. The 2023 mark scheme rewards coherent connections between political ideas and evidence. Compare the claim that trade and investment generate prosperity with the structural argument that the benefits of capitalism are distributed unevenly.
Examiner hint: Establish criteria for your judgement. A strong poverty essay can distinguish between increased national wealth, reductions in poverty, the distribution of prosperity and whether regional inequalities have narrowed.
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Treating the North-South divide as simply a map
Why this is incorrect: Edexcel defines it as a global socio-economic and political divide. Its significance is about unequal development and power, not simply geographical location.
How to improve: Use the concept to discuss patterns of inequality between more and less developed parts of the global system.
Mistake: Assuming economic growth automatically proves poverty reduction
Why this is incorrect: Pearson material identifies rising output alongside continuing poverty and marginalised groups.
How to improve: Always ask whether increased wealth has been distributed widely enough to improve the position of poorer groups.
Mistake: Confusing dependency theory with a measurement of poverty
Why this is incorrect: Dependency theory is an explanation based on structural imbalances within capitalism.
How to improve: Use dependency to explain why poorer states may remain disadvantaged.
Mistake: Treating world-systems theory as identical to the North-South divide
Why this is incorrect: The North-South divide identifies a broad global socio-economic and political division. World-systems theory explains the capitalist world economy through core, semi-periphery and periphery.
How to improve: Distinguish the observed pattern from the theoretical explanation.
Mistake: Forgetting the semi-periphery
Why this is incorrect: Pearson's 2023 mark scheme explicitly identifies three positions: core, semi-periphery and periphery.
How to improve: Always revise world-systems theory as a three-part structure rather than reducing it to a simple rich-versus-poor model.
Mistake: Assuming TNCs have only positive or only negative effects
Why this is incorrect: Pearson assessment material supports both interpretations.
TNCs may provide investment, employment, infrastructure and training, but they may also be criticised over low wages, worker exploitation and repatriation of profits.
How to improve: Use TNCs as a contested example and explain what determines whether their activity meaningfully reduces poverty.
Mistake: Writing about globalisation but not poverty
Why this is incorrect: In a question about poverty, general advantages or disadvantages of globalisation only gain relevance when connected to the effect on poverty.
How to improve: End each analytical chain by returning to the question:
Therefore, this would reduce / reinforce / redistribute poverty because...
Mistake: Inventing definitions for the three development theories
Why this is incorrect: The specification requires classical economic development theory, structural theory and neo-classical development theory, but the supplied source materials do not define their detailed characteristics.
How to improve: Do not attach unsupported models or thinkers to these labels when revising solely from the provided materials.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
Define the North-South divide. (2 marks)
Answer:
The North-South divide is a global socio-economic and political divide.
Mark scheme:
Award up to 2 marks for:
recognition that it is a global division
accurate reference to its socio-economic and political character
Question 2
Explain one reason why increasing economic output does not necessarily prove that poverty has been eliminated. (4 marks)
Indicative answer:
Economic output can increase while the benefits are distributed unevenly. Pearson material identifies marginalised groups and continuing concentrations of poverty despite wider economic growth. Therefore, national economic growth does not necessarily show that poorer citizens or regions have benefited equally.
Mark scheme:
1–2 marks: identifies the distinction between economic growth and poverty
3–4 marks: develops why unequal distribution means growth may coexist with poverty
Question 3
Explain two features of dependency theory. (6 marks)
Indicative content:
Responses may explain that:
dependency theory focuses on structural imbalances within capitalism
those imbalances impose dependency upon poorer states
the theory helps explain continuing inequality despite economic integration
it challenges the assumption that participation in global capitalism automatically produces equal development
Credit developed explanation rather than repeated definitions.
Question 4
Consider the following situation:
A developing state receives substantial investment from foreign TNCs. New jobs and infrastructure are created, but many workers receive low wages and a large proportion of corporate profits leave the country.
Analyse how this situation could be interpreted in two different ways when assessing poverty. (8 marks)
Indicative answer:
One interpretation is that TNC investment can help reduce poverty because it creates jobs, infrastructure and opportunities for economic growth.
A contrasting interpretation is that the benefits may be distributed unequally. If wages remain low and much of the profit is repatriated, the host state may experience economic activity without receiving the full benefits. This supports arguments associated with structural dependency.
Mark scheme:
Credit:
analysis of employment and investment as potential poverty reduction
analysis of low wages and repatriated profits
clear understanding of uneven distribution
application to competing explanations of poverty
Question 5
Examine the differences between the North-South divide and world-systems theory as approaches to understanding global poverty. (12 marks)
Indicative content:
Responses may examine:
the North-South divide as a global socio-economic and political division
world-systems theory as a theory of a single capitalist world economy
the core, semi-periphery and periphery
the entrenched nature of the world-system
exploitation of the periphery for raw materials and cheap labour
how world-systems theory offers an explanation for continued inequalities identified by the North-South divide
Mark scheme guidance:
Higher-level responses should compare directly.
A useful structure is:
difference → North-South explanation → world-systems explanation → significance for understanding poverty
Question 6
Examine how dependency theory and world-systems theory explain the persistence of global poverty. (12 marks)
Indicative content:
Responses may examine:
structural inequalities within capitalism
dependency imposed upon poorer states
the global capitalist system
core, semi-periphery and periphery
exploitation of cheap labour and raw materials
unequal distribution of the benefits of economic globalisation
connections with continuing North-South inequalities
Mark scheme guidance:
Strong responses should avoid simply defining each theory separately.
Instead, explain how the theories create a causal chain:
global economic structure → unequal relationships → weaker position of poorer states → continuing poverty
Question 7
Examine the different arguments about the impact of economic globalisation on poverty. (12 marks)
Indicative content:
Arguments that globalisation reduces poverty may include:
greater trade
liberalisation
growing output
TNC investment
jobs
infrastructure
skills and training
support from international economic institutions
Arguments that poverty persists may include:
uneven distribution of benefits
Western dominance
continuing North-South inequalities
low wages
repatriation of TNC profits
dependency
world-systems theory
concentration of poverty in parts of the global South
Mark scheme guidance:
For AO2, do not simply alternate positive and negative facts.
Develop why each factor changes the likelihood that economic growth will produce meaningful poverty reduction.
Question 8
Evaluate the view that the persistence of global poverty is best explained by structural inequalities within the global economy rather than by insufficient economic growth. (30 marks)
Indicative content:
Arguments supporting the importance of structural inequalities may include:
dependency theory
structural imbalances within capitalism
world-systems theory
core, semi-periphery and periphery
exploitation of cheap labour and raw materials
Western dominance of major economic institutions
TNC profit repatriation
low wages
persistent North-South inequalities
continuing concentrations of poverty
Arguments challenging the view may include:
increased international trade
free trade and liberalisation
increased output per capita
international investment
TNC provision of employment, infrastructure, skills and training
economic support from the IMF and World Bank
the argument that greater integration and growth can spread prosperity
Mark scheme guidance:
A strong 30-mark response should establish clear criteria.
These might include:
Economic growth: Has globalisation increased total prosperity?
Distribution: Who receives the benefits of that prosperity?
Structural inequality: Do poorer states remain locked into disadvantageous relationships?
Regional inequality: Has the North-South divide narrowed?
Poverty within states: Have poorer and marginalised groups benefited?
For AO1, use accurate political terminology such as dependency theory, North-South divide, core, semi-periphery and periphery.
For AO2, develop causal explanations rather than lists of evidence.
For AO3, compare competing explanations throughout and make mini-judgements.
A strong conclusion could argue that economic growth is clearly relevant to poverty reduction, but the existence of growth alone cannot explain its distribution. Dependency and world-systems approaches are therefore particularly significant because they address why increased global wealth may coexist with continuing concentrations of poverty and inequality.
Comments