Since 1960, the start of the first United Nations Development Decade, disparities in global wealth distribution have doubled. Another way of looking at this can be seen in the following example from Latin America, which reveals that significant increases in GDP have not been accompanied by a decline in the percentage of the population living in poverty. Health and Welfare nutrition infant mortality medical services Employment unemployment levels working conditions, e.g. child labour. It is the combination of low incomes, high unemployment, inadequate social and health services and poor infrastructure which causes disparities between rich and poor regions and prevents sustainable development. This combination creates downward spirals of poverty and poverty or deprivation traps, from which it is difficult to escape without external assistance, e.g. foreign aid.
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A definition of development Wealth is distributed equitably throughout the population, is increasing faster than population growth, is creating capital which is invested in infrastructure, both public and private, which in turn stimulates social and economic improvement. This embodies both the concept of basic needs and the idea of limitations on the environment s ability to meet present and future needs, in other words limits to growth .