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Why are some countries so much richer than others, and how do physical, historical and economic factors combine?

Explain the physical, historical, economic and political causes of inequality between countries and assess their relative importance

A focused answer to the H2 Geography outcome on global inequality. The physical, historical, economic and political causes of development gaps between countries, how they interact, and how to weigh their relative importance.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.89 min answer

Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed

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  1. What this dot point is asking
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What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to explain the causes of inequality between countries, physical, historical, economic and political, and to assess their relative importance. The central insight is that no single factor explains the development gap: physical conditions set a context, but historical legacies and political-economic structures, mediated by the quality of governance, usually do most of the explaining.

The answer

Physical causes

The natural environment shapes opportunities:

  • Climate and disease: tropical climates with a heavy disease burden (such as malaria) and unreliable rainfall can reduce productivity and human capital.
  • Location: landlocked or isolated countries face higher trade and transport costs.
  • Hazards and soils: exposure to natural hazards and poor soils constrain agriculture.
  • Resources: a rich endowment can help, but can also harm through the resource curse (dependence, corruption, conflict).

Physical factors set a starting context but are not destiny.

Historical causes

  • Colonialism extracted resources, suppressed local industry, built infrastructure to serve raw-material export rather than internal development, and left arbitrary borders and weak institutions.
  • These legacies oriented many economies toward exporting primary goods and left them with fragile states.

Economic causes

  • Trade structures: many poorer countries export low-value primary commodities (volatile prices, declining terms of trade) while importing higher-value manufactures, so most value added accrues in richer countries.
  • Trade barriers and subsidies in rich countries, and the power of transnational corporations, reinforce this.
  • Debt repayment diverts revenue from development.

Political causes

  • Governance and institutions: corruption, conflict and weak rule of law hold countries back; stable, effective government and secure property rights enable development.
  • Policy choices: investment in education and health (human capital) and openness to appropriate trade and technology shape outcomes.

Weighing the causes

Physical factors matter but are mediated by human ones: countries with difficult environments have prospered where institutions and policy were strong (for example Singapore), while resource-rich countries have stayed poor under bad governance. The strongest judgement is that historical and political-economic factors dominate, with physical conditions as a backdrop.

Examples in context

Example 1. Singapore overcoming physical disadvantage. With no natural resources, a small territory and a tropical climate, Singapore became one of the world's richest economies through strong institutions, heavy investment in education, strategic trade and an effective state. It is a powerful demonstration that physical limitations need not determine development, and that governance and policy can dominate.

Example 2. The resource curse in resource-rich states. Several countries rich in oil or minerals, yet with weak governance and conflict, have remained poor or unequal despite their endowment, with revenues lost to corruption and the economy distorted around extraction. This resource curse shows that a favourable physical endowment can coexist with low development, underscoring the primacy of political-economic factors.

Try this

Q1. Explain one physical factor that can hold back a country's development. [2 marks]

  • Cue. A landlocked, isolated location raises transport and trade costs, making exports less competitive and imports dearer, which constrains economic growth (or tropical disease reducing the productive workforce).

Q2. Explain how reliance on primary commodity exports contributes to inequality. [3 marks]

  • Cue. Primary commodities have volatile and historically declining prices and little value added, while manufactured imports are higher-value, so profit and value accrue in richer countries, keeping exporters dependent and earning less.

Q3. Explain why governance is often considered a decisive factor in development. [2 marks]

  • Cue. Stable, effective government with low corruption and secure property rights enables investment in human capital and infrastructure, while weak or corrupt governance and conflict deter investment and waste resources, so similar physical conditions yield very different outcomes.

Exam-style practice questions

Practice questions written in the style of SEAB exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.

Original12 marksAssess the relative importance of physical and human factors in explaining inequality between countries.
Show worked answer →

Argument: physical factors set a starting context but human factors, especially historical and political-economic ones, usually explain most of the persistent gap between countries.

Physical factors to set out: climate and disease burden (for example tropical disease and unreliable rainfall reducing productivity), landlocked or isolated location raising trade costs, natural hazards, poor soils, and resource endowment (which can help or, through a resource curse, harm). These shape opportunities but are not destiny.

Human factors: colonial history that drained resources, drew arbitrary borders and built extractive economies; unequal terms of trade and reliance on low-value primary exports; debt; the quality of governance and institutions (corruption, conflict, weak rule of law versus stable, effective government); investment in education and health (human capital); and access to technology and capital.

Evaluation: a strong answer argues that physical factors matter but are mediated by human ones, since countries with difficult environments have developed where institutions and policy were strong, while resource-rich countries have stayed poor under bad governance. The judgement is that historical and political-economic factors dominate. Markers reward the physical-human split, their interaction, and a reasoned ranking.

Original10 marksExplain how colonialism and trade relationships contribute to inequality between countries.
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Argument: colonialism and the trade structures it left behind continue to disadvantage many poorer countries, locking them into low-value roles in the global economy.

Colonial legacy: colonial powers extracted resources, suppressed local industry, built infrastructure to serve export of raw materials rather than internal development, and left arbitrary borders and weak institutions. This shaped economies oriented to exporting primary goods.

Trade relationships: many poorer countries still export low-value primary commodities (whose prices are volatile and whose terms of trade have tended to decline) while importing higher-value manufactures, so value added and profit accrue largely in richer countries. Trade barriers, subsidies in rich countries, and the power of transnational corporations reinforce this. Debt repayment diverts revenue from development.

Evaluation: a strong answer links the colonial origin to the present trade structure and notes that some countries have escaped it (for example through industrialisation), so the legacy is powerful but not absolute. Markers reward the extractive colonial legacy, the primary-versus-manufactures trade pattern, declining terms of trade, and a note on exceptions.

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