5.7 Impact of Industrialization and Economic Development

Industrialization also changes politics. A growing urban middle class may demand cleaner air, better services and, in some cases, a greater say in government.

• Pollution: air, water and soil damage harm health.
• Urbanization: fast-growing cities need housing, transport and services.
• Uneven development: some regions boom while others fall behind.
• Inequality: incomes rise faster for some groups than others.

China: Heavy smog in the early 2010s became a major public concern. The government launched an air pollution action plan in 2013, closed or upgraded coal plants, moved polluting factories out of big cities (including a major Beijing steelworks in the 2000s), subsidized cleaner technology and pledged in 2020 that carbon emissions would peak before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality before 2060. It has become the world's largest market for electric vehicles. Environmental protection now serves performance legitimacy.

Mexico: Mexico City's air pollution led to driving restrictions, starting with the “Hoy No Circula” program in 1989.

Nigeria: Oil spills and gas flaring in the Niger Delta have damaged land and water. A 2011 UN Environment Programme report on Ogoniland found widespread contamination and recommended a major cleanup.

UK: An early industrializer, the UK passed the Clean Air Act in 1956 after the deadly London smog of 1952, the Climate Change Act in 2008 and a legal target of net zero emissions by 2050 in 2019.

Trade liberalization helps exporters and consumers but hurts industries that face new competition. In Mexico, NAFTA helped export manufacturing in the north while small corn farmers faced competition from cheaper US imports. In the UK, global competition contributed to the decline of manufacturing in some regions. A tariff (a tax on imports) can protect domestic industry but raises prices for consumers. Trade rules also affect foreign investment, exchange rates, migration and the environment. These effects create political divides between regions and groups.

Austerity means cutting government spending, and sometimes raising taxes, to reduce deficits and debt. Governments often turn to it when swings in world markets, like an oil price crash, blow a hole in the budget. After the 2008 financial crisis, UK governments cut spending through the 2010s; supporters said it restored public finances, while critics said it weakened public services. Mexico and Nigeria faced austerity as part of structural adjustment in the 1980s. Austerity can lower support for governments, especially when it hits services people rely on.