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The Changing Economic WorldExam Focus

Exam Connection — OCR B Geography

Part of Development Gap and Global Development — GCSE Geography

This exam focus covers Exam Connection — OCR B Geography within Development Gap and Global Development for GCSE Geography. Revise Development Gap and Global Development in The Changing Economic World for GCSE Geography with 15 exam-style questions and 22 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 10 of 14 in this topic. Treat this as a marking guide for what examiners are looking for, not just a fact list.

Topic position

Section 10 of 14

Practice

15 questions

Recall

22 flashcards

🎯 Exam Connection — OCR B Geography

Paper: Paper 2 — People and Society (Component 2: Dynamic Development)

Exam frequency: Very high — this is a core OCR B topic. Expect questions on indicators, causes of uneven development, the Ethiopia LIDC case study, and strategies to reduce the gap in virtually every sitting.

OCR B requirement: You MUST have both an NEE case study (Nigeria — covered in Topic 2) AND an LIDC case study (Ethiopia — this topic). Questions specifically asking for an LIDC example require Ethiopia, not Nigeria.

Typical OCR B Question Types:

  • "State two development indicators used to measure quality of life." [2 marks] — Simply name two: HDI, life expectancy, infant mortality rate, literacy rate, GNI per capita. No explanation needed.
  • "Explain why GNI per capita alone is not a reliable measure of development." [4 marks] — Two explained reasons. Key argument: it is an average that hides inequality; it measures income but not health, education or freedom. Use Nigeria as an example (high GNI average, high poverty rate).
  • "Explain why some countries remain Low-Income Developing Countries." [6 marks] — Use Ethiopia with the CHILD framework. Give at least two explained causes and show how they interact. Aim for a cause-chain not a list.
  • "Evaluate strategies used to reduce the development gap." [8 marks] — This is the classic top-mark question. You need: specific named examples, at least two strategies compared, strengths and limitations of each, and a supported judgement about which is most effective. Use Ethiopia (fair trade for coffee, Chinese infrastructure investment, HIPC debt relief).

What Gets You to Level 3 (Top Marks) on the Evaluate Question:

Most students can write Level 1 and 2 answers. Top marks require specific evidence, comparison, and a genuine judgement. Here is what that progression looks like:

Level 1 (1–2 marks): "Aid helps poor countries. Fair trade is also good because it gives farmers more money. Investment creates jobs." — Vague generalisations, no evidence, no comparison, no judgement. This is what most students write when they have not revised.
Level 2 (3–5 marks): "Aid can help LIDCs like Ethiopia by funding schools and hospitals. However, tied aid means the money is spent on donor country services, not Ethiopian ones. Fair trade gives Ethiopian coffee farmers a guaranteed minimum price of $1.40 per pound, protecting them from market volatility." — Specific evidence, some comparison, limited judgement.
Level 3 (6–8 marks): "The most effective strategy depends on whether you prioritise short-term survival or long-term structural change. Emergency aid is irreplaceable in crises — during Ethiopia's 2020–2022 Tigray conflict, 20 million people needed food aid and there was no alternative. However, for long-term development, trade reform is more powerful than aid: Ethiopia earns far more from exporting coffee (worth $1.4 billion annually) than it receives in most forms of aid. Fair trade protects farmers from price crashes, but does not change the fundamental architecture — Ethiopia still exports raw beans while value-adding happens in Europe. Chinese FDI has built real infrastructure — the Addis Ababa light rail, the Djibouti railway — but increases debt and may transfer profits home rather than circulating them in Ethiopia. On balance, debt relief (via HIPC, which cancelled $1.9 billion of Ethiopia's debt in 2004) may offer the most direct pathway to development, as it immediately frees government revenue for health and education without creating new dependencies." — Named statistics, multiple strategies compared, genuine weighing, supported conclusion. This is what 7–8 marks looks like.

OCR Command Words:

  • State / Identify: Give the fact directly — no explanation needed
  • Explain: Give reasons WITH mechanisms — "because" is essential
  • Assess / Evaluate: Weigh strengths against limitations, reach a supported judgement
  • Compare: Explicitly show similarities AND differences; use "whereas" and "in contrast"
  • Suggest: Give a possible reason or explanation — more than one answer is acceptable

Keep building this topic

Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Development Gap and Global Development. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.

Exam Framework: CHILDExam Tips for the Development GapBorn One Second Apart, Worlds ApartWhat Is Development — and Why Don't All Countries Develop at the Same Rate?

Practice Questions for Development Gap and Global Development

The Human Development Index (HDI) combines which three measures?

  • A. GDP, birth rate and access to clean water
  • B. Income, education and life expectancy
  • C. Literacy rate, infant mortality and trade balance
  • D. GNI, population density and urbanisation rate
1 markfoundation

Define the Human Development Index (HDI) and state what it measures.

2 marksstandard

Quick Recall Flashcards

What is a development indicator?
A measure used to compare a country's level of development, such as life expectancy or income.
What is GNI per head?
Gross National Income divided by population, showing average income per person.

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Exam Tips for the Development Gap