ABSTRACT
Discussion of world development and under-development invariably is in the context of national units, since statistical data are available on a national basis over much of the world. In a sense this is a generalisation and a simplification, in that within any country some regions will be developing more rapidly than others, which may even be stagnating (northern and southern Italy come to mind, or even south and mid-Wales). Myrdal has pointed out that as a general rule the poorer the country the greater the regional inequalities, for poor countries can spend little on public utilities, school and medical services and most parts of such countries remain backward, contrasting greatly with the few developed areas, such as near the ports where disadvantages to development are less severe. It is probably true to say that economists are more interested at the national level than are geographers, who are much more concerned with analysing and explaining local differentiation and the spatial pattern of development and under-development. It is at what might be termed the regional level that the role played by environment in association with economic, social and political factors is most readily discernible, and at this level economic geographers are finding a wide and fruitful field for investigation and analysis. At national level because of the very diversity of the component parts of most countries the weight of environmental factors is more difficult to isolate and assess. Such factors include size, position and degree of accessibility to major trade routes, climate, vegetation, topography and natural resources.
