Master Rostow's model, Weber's least cost theory, core-periphery, deindustrialization, HDI, SEZs, dependency theory, and every development concept on the exam.
Unit 7 covers the geography of economic development — why some places are wealthy and others are poor, how industries decide where to locate, and what strategies can improve living standards. It accounts for roughly 12–17% of the AP exam.
The unit's central models are Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth (and its critics), Weber's Least Cost Theory of industrial location, and Wallerstein's core-periphery world-systems model. You'll need to understand both the models' logic AND their limitations — especially the contrast between Rostow's optimistic linear path and dependency theory's critique that global economic structures perpetuate inequality.
Development is measured using GDP, GNP, HDI, GII, and the Gini coefficient — each revealing different dimensions of economic well-being. Contemporary processes like deindustrialization, outsourcing, SEZs, global supply chains, and brain drain explain how the geography of production is being reorganized by globalization. The unit closes with development strategies — microfinance, fair trade, sustainable development, and technological leapfrogging.
Key terms preview
A taste of what you’ll find in The Essentials and Flashcards.
Rostow's Stages of Growth
Five-stage linear model from traditional society to high mass consumption — criticized for assuming all countries follow the same path.
Core-Periphery Model
Wealthy industrialized cores extract value from poor peripheral raw-material exporters.
HDI
Life expectancy + education + income — a more complete measure of development than GDP.
Weber's Least Cost Theory
Factories locate to minimize transportation + labor costs.
Deindustrialization
Manufacturing decline in a region as factories move to cheaper-labor locations.
Special Economic Zone
Area with favorable regulations to attract foreign investment — tax breaks, simplified customs.
1. Development is measured in multiple ways — and GDP alone is insufficient
GDP and GNP measure economic output but miss critical dimensions of human well-being. The HDI adds life expectancy and education; the GII captures gender inequality; the Gini coefficient measures how equally income is distributed. Understanding which measure to use — and why — is a key AP exam skill.
2. Industrial location is explained by cost-minimization models — but globalization has transformed the calculus
Weber's Least Cost Theory explains factory location based on minimizing transportation and labor costs. But globalization — through cheaper shipping, trade liberalization, and digital communication — has dramatically reduced the friction of distance, enabling production to shift to wherever labor costs are lowest regardless of geography.
3. Core-periphery theory explains geographic inequality in the world economy
Wallerstein's world-systems theory explains why some countries are wealthy (cores) and others poor (peripheries) as the result of a global economic system in which cores extract value from peripheries. Dependency theory extends this critique, arguing underdevelopment is caused — not just correlated — by integration into the world system on unfavorable terms.
4. Development strategies involve real trade-offs between growth, equity, and sustainability
From Rostow's optimistic linear model to dependency theory's pessimistic critique, development economists disagree fundamentally about how countries can improve living standards. Special economic zones, import substitution, microfinance, and fair trade represent different bets about what works. Sustainable development adds the constraint that growth must not compromise future generations.