Economic well-being: A person or family's standard of living based on how well they are doing financially.
Social well-being: The access to items which improve a person or family's quality of life.
Social Well-being
Food is needed in a healthy balanced diet – lack of vitamins and minerals can lead to undernutrition – which can result in illnesses, negatively affecting our social wellbeing and quality of life.
Quantity and quality of water is important for our social well-being and happiness. Lack of water results in people being forced to drink unsafe water. This can lead to death and diseases such as Cholera.
Water is also vital to grow crops for food and important for power.
Energy is needed in peoples homes, schools, for heat and to power TVs and other gadgets.
Economic Well-being
If people are less healthy (due to lack of a balanced diet and safe water) they will be less productive at their jobs or more likely to be unable to work. This will reduce their income. Less tax also means slower economic development.
Energy is needed to power factories, machinery and for transport. The world’s richest countries use the most energy. Lack of energy can limit economic development.
Richer countries have the means to purchase energy for personal use and industrial development, resulting in a better standard of living.
Examples of exam questions
Explain how inequalities in the supply of resources influence social well-being [3 marks]
Explain how inequalities in the supply of resources influence economic well-being [3 marks]