Chapter 13: Development Economics

Cyclical poverty, poor geography, inefficiency in the work force: several major factors which hinder the development of struggling countries in today's world. If a country's citizens are unable to gain a foot hold in climbing out of their poverty, then their future generations will have fewer opportunities and less of a chance to be successful. Poor geographical location is also a major factor. To paraphrase Wheelan, it seems as though countries who have significant natural resource deposits would be better off than countries with few or none. However, this is not the case. Take Japan and Singapore for example: they have very few natural resources and are very well off. Why? Trade. Both Japan and Singapore are trade countries with large ports to import and export goods. 

In contrast, Russia has many natural resources, but is not as well off as Japan or Singapore. Russia's land consists of natural gas, crude oil, iron ore, nickel, gold, and diamonds to list a few. It seems as though the people of Russia would be successful with all of these natural resources, but it is not true. Trade dominates the world because each country has something different to offer. 

The development of struggling countries such as Angola impacts my life, as well as others, in one way or another. With many third world countries falling behind the quickly progressing modern world, it becomes more difficult to 'get them up to speed' in a sense. It seems strange to live in a world with so many modern conveniences available, but yet there are still tribes continuing to live in thatched huts without running water or electricity - something wealthier nations often take for granted.

In countries such as those in the Arab world, the labor force is inefficient. Why you may ask? Well the answer in its simplist form is this: with women in low social standing, the Arab countries are not utilizing a significant part of their society. Wheelan mentions that one in every two Arab women are not literate. Without using the full capacity of their potential work force, the Arab nations will not rise to the top of the list of success. 

In conclusion, third world countries will be unable to develop and progress economically unless they are introduced to the modern world. True, it will not happen overnight and for many years it would be a slow and arduous task, but many decades or centuries in the future it might just be worth it. Without an effort to modernize countries in less-fortunate or successful parts of the world, the world will not be entirely 'modern' and will continue to chug along at a slow, turtle-like pace.