Problems of Developing Nations

May 22, 2013
Problems of Developing Nations
Overview of current problems
Most of the poorest people in the world live in countries that are in the “Global South”: developing (growing, but below developed standards), less-developed (may or may not be growing and below developed standards) or underdeveloped (stagnated and below developed standards)Developed country:High living standards generally distributedHighly technical infrastructureComplex and productive economy
overview
Generally speaking, therefore, poverty is associated with less complex economies and less technologically advanced infrastructure.Reasons:War or civil warCorruptionResource curse (dependence on exporting natural resources, often a single such resource– copper, oil, agricultural products which are valuable, but not as valuable as finished products, and which tend to concentrate wealth in a few hands)Isolated situation that makes domestic and international trade difficultCurrent or legacy of colonial and other exploitative economic relationships between area and developed countries
Overview
Nature of poverty:About 1 billion people live in “abject poverty”: people suffering from severe deprivation of basic human necessities, or “extreme poverty”: living on ore less than about $1.25 (37 NT) per dayHighest percentage of people living in abject poverty are located in Africa, though largest absolute number are in South Asia.Averageper capita annual income Africa: $2,000 (approx. 60,000 NTAverageper capita annual income South Asia: $2,700 (approx. 81,000 NT)Average per capita annual income Taiwan: $20,000 (approx. 600,000 NT)Average per capita annual income US: $42,600 (approx. 1,280,00 NT)
Overview: Growth and Goals
UN Millennium Development Goals: cut in half the proportion of world’s population living in extreme poverty by half by 20152007: Global South as a whole, proportion fell from 31% to 20%, but much of this improvement came from China (33% to 14%) and South Asia. But Africa stayed about the same (at 50%)This is because China and South Asia experienced higher levels of growth during that time.While in general more people are out of the extreme poverty category, there is still a large and, in absolute terms, growing income gap between North and South (average annual per capita income, South: $5,500;average annual per capita income, North: $31,000)
Poverty and basic human needs
Basic Human Needs:FoodClean waterShelterClothingMedical careEducation (particularly literacy)Problems: Children in Global South:1 in 4: malnutrition1 in 5: no safe drinking water1 in 7: no access to adequate health care1 in 3: no access to education
Poverty and Basic Human needs
More general global problems:1 in 7 people don’t have access to safe drinking water40% have no access to sanitation30% of worlds doctors for 75% of world’s population5% of medical research conducted on problems that affect less developed areasLack of immunization against deadly disease despite availability of vaccinesGeneral lack of resource expenditures on these problems despite the fact that most (education, basic immunization) are very cheap per capita
Problems of hunger
In general, 15% of people globally (about 850 million) are undernourished (lack of needed food that results in a lack of necessary calories)The largest absolute number is in South Asia (330 million in total); the highest percentage in terms of population is in Africa (23%).China has done the best in terms of dealing with malnutrition among children; South Asia lags behind and no improvement in Africa since 1990.
Problems of hunger
Reasons:Low per capita incomeMovement of people off the land into large cities in search of employment, meaning they cannot subsist by growing food if necessaryFarming on marginal landLack of access to modern methods and technology among poorer and smaller farmersIntroduction of commercial farming in colonial and modern timesMovement away from subsistence crops to commercialcrops for the world marketConcentration of land in hands of fewer owners, leading to people leaving the land to go to the citiesNatural disastersWars and civil warsRegional overpopulation
Position of women
Women also tend to be more vulnerable to problem of poverty given their generally lower social status, assignment of gender roles, and role in reproduction.Also the case that providing women with a chance to succeed has large effects on problems of poverty even though much of their labor is not recorded and used in the calculation of GDPImportant for lowering birthrates in overpopulated countriesImportant for providing for the welfare of children and the elderly
Position of women
Efforts to reduce poverty by addressing problems pertaining to women:End discrimination in educationInformation regarding health, nutrition and fertilityRaising status of adult women, entry into full citizenshipProvide opportunities, information, financing and infrastructure (childcare) for women to engage in formal economic activities.Handicraft cooperativesMicroloansTraining in business practices
Immigrants and Refugees
People also attempt to move from less developed to more developed areas, either voluntarily or due to circumstances that force them to leave.Immigrants: people who voluntarily leave their native country in search of better opportunities, generally economic.Refugees are people who have been involuntarily displaced from their homes by war, discrimination or natural disasters.
Immigrants and refugees
Immigrants may live in poverty becausethey are unable to enter the country in which they wish to live,enter a country illegally and therefore cannot work, or cannot be paid well for work, orenter a country legally, but do not have the linguistic and other skills, or cultural knowledge, to do well there
Immigrants and refugees
Refugees have problems in large part because they are unable to enter a country and live a normal life.They are often contained in camps form which they are unable to leave,The are often unable to work,They often have no statusThey are often sustained by charitable effortsThey are often subjected to problems that result from overcrowding, including bad sanitation and infectious diseasesThey often receive at best inferior educational and training opportunitiesThey have no permanent status in any non-native country and are expected to return to their country of origin even if that is impossible for several years.There are approximately 33 million refugees in the world
Human Trafficking
An associated problem is human trafficking. This is the practice of conveying people across borders either involuntarily or through a payment that is usually discharged through labor.Involuntary trafficking is associated with the sex trade, with those trafficked usually kidnapped or tricked into a compromising situation, then transported to another country and kept involuntarily in degrading conditions.Voluntary trafficking involves the use of people smugglers to get illicit immigrants into a country. However, to pay the debt owed the trafficker, these people often work as virtual slaves for months or years and are also subjected to degrading,impoverished conditions.