C hapter 33 The Economic Problems of Less-Developed Economies © 2002 South-Western

CChapter 33hapter 33

The Economic Problems of Less-Developed Economies

Economic PrinciplesEconomic Principles

• Poverty in the Less-Developed Countries (LDCs)

• Economic Dualism

• The Big-Push Strategy for Economic Development

Economic PrinciplesEconomic Principles

• The Unbalanced Growth Strategy for Economic Development

• Foreign Investment in the LDCs.

• Economic Aid to the LDCs.

Confronting National Confronting National PovertyPoverty

Beginning in the 1950s economists began seeing the economies of Asia, Africa, and Latin America as something more than trading posts for our raw materials.

Complete the sentence:

In the 1960s economists dropped the terms _____ and _____ in favor of newly developing countries or less-developed countries.

Complete the sentence:

In the 1960s economists dropped the terms backwardness and underdevelopment in favor of newly developing countries or less-developed countries.

Backwardness and underdevelopment were seen as being much too prejudicial.

Less-Developed Less-Developed Countries (LDCs)Countries (LDCs)

Less-developed countries (LDCs)

The economies of Asia, Africa, and Latin America

Less-Developed Less-Developed Countries (LDCs)Countries (LDCs)

True or false: Decade after decade, the economies of LDCs have been stalled, generating at best only subsistence-level incomes.

• False. The economies of some LDCs have grown and modernized, while others have languished.

EXHIBIT 1 PER CAPITA INCOME, PER CAPITA INCOME GROWTH RATE, AND POPULATION GROWTH RATE IN SELECTED LDCs: 1990–98

Source: The World Bank, World Bank Atlas, 2000 (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2000).

Exhibit 1: Per Capita Income, Exhibit 1: Per Capita Income, Per Capita Income Growth Rate, Per Capita Income Growth Rate, and Population Growth Rate in and Population Growth Rate in

Selected LDCs: 1990-98Selected LDCs: 1990-981. Which of the following upper-middle-income LDCs has experienced the most rapid growth in per capita income between 1990 and 1998?

a. Algeria.

b. Venezuela.

c. Brazil.

Selected LDCs: 1990-98Selected LDCs: 1990-981. Which of the following upper-middle-income LDCs has experienced the most rapid growth in per capita income between 1990 and 1998?

c. Brazil.

Selected LDCs: 1990-98Selected LDCs: 1990-982. Which of the following LDCs had the slowest annual rate of population growth between 1990 and 1998?

a. Sri Lanka.

b. Ghana.

c. Syria.

Selected LDCs: 1990-98Selected LDCs: 1990-982. Which of the following LDCs had the slowest annual rate of population growth between 1990 and 1998?

a. Sri Lanka.

EXHIBIT 2 PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION UNDER 15 YEARS OF AGE FOR SELECTED COUNTRIES: 1997

Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1999 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1999), p. 835.

Exhibit 2: Percentage of Exhibit 2: Percentage of Population Under 15 Years of Population Under 15 Years of

Age for Selected Countries: 1997Age for Selected Countries: 1997

1. Which of the following countries had the highest percentage of its population under 15 years of age in 1997?

a. Ethiopia.

b. Philippines.

c. Germany.

1. Which of the following countries had the highest percentage of its population under 15 years of age in 1997?

a. Ethiopia.

2. Do countries with low population growth rates tend to have a high percentage of their population under 15 years of age?

• No.

• In countries with low population growth rates, such as Germany, France, and the Netherlands, typically less than 25 percent of the population is under 15 years of age.

• In contrast, in countries with high population growth rates, such as Nigeria and Kenya, typically more than 40 percent of the population is under 15 years of age.

LDC Per Capita LDC Per Capita IncomesIncomes

1. How is per capita income growth related to income growth and population growth?

• Per capita income growth is equal to income growth divided by population growth.

2. What happens to per capita income if population grows faster than income?

• Since per capita income growth is equal to income growth divided by population growth, if population grows faster than income, then per capita income must fall.

3. What is the vicious cycle of poverty?

• People are poor because they can’t invest in capital goods, and they can’t invest in capital goods because they are poor.

4. Why is the vicious cycle of poverty more likely to occur in countries that have a large percentage of their population under 15 years of age?

• Most people under age 15, and particularly those under 10, are unable to produce enough to meet their own consumption needs.

4. Why is the vicious cycle of poverty more likely to occur in countries that have a large percentage of their population under 15 years of age?

• If almost one-half of a country’s population consumes more than it produces, there are few resources that can be shifted from producing consumer goods to producing capital goods.

EXHIBIT 3 THE VICIOUS CIRCLE OF POVERTY

Exhibit 3: The Vicious Exhibit 3: The Vicious Cycle of PovertyCycle of Poverty

What is the consequence of Ethiopia producing at point a rather than point b in Exhibit 3?

• Slower economic growth rates and lower per-capita incomes in the future.

Human CapitalHuman Capital

Human capital

The investment in workers’ health and knowledge, acquired through education, training, and/or experience that enhances their productivity.

Other Indicators of the LDCs’ Other Indicators of the LDCs’ Lack of Economic Well-BeingLack of Economic Well-Being

1. True or false: The capital investments that yield the highest payoffs in an economy are those made in machinery and factories.

• False.

1. True or false: The capital investments that yield the highest payoffs in an economy are those made in machinery and factories.

• Investments in human capital—in the form of education and health care—rank among the most important of the capital goods contributing to national economic growth.

2. Which of the following best describes the timeframe between investment in human capital and the realization of payoffs in the form of improvements in a person’s working efficiency?

a. Immediate.

b. Brief.

c. Relatively long.

2. Which of the following best describes the timeframe between investment in human capital and the realization of payoffs in the form of improvements in a person’s working efficiency?

c. Relatively long.

EXHIBIT 4 LIFE EXPECTANCY, INFANT MORTALITY, PEOPLE PER PHYSICIAN, PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN IN SCHOOL, AND PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WITH SAFE WATER FOR SELECTED COUNTRIES: 1998 OR LATEST YEAR AVAILABLE

Source: Ruth Leger Sivard, World Military and Social Expenditures, 1966 (Washington, D.C.: World Priorities, 1966), pp. 30–52, and The World Bank, World Bank Atlas, 2000 (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2000).

Exhibit 4: Life Expectancy, Exhibit 4: Life Expectancy, Infant Mortality, People Infant Mortality, People

Per Physician, etc.Per Physician, etc.

1. What is the relationship between per capita income and life expectancy?

• Life expectancy tends to be directly related to per capita income.

Per Physician, etc.Per Physician, etc.

2. Do low-income LDCs tend to have more people per physician than higher-income LDCs?

• Yes. With a few exceptions, there are usually many thousands of people per physician in low-income LDCs.

Per Physician, etc.Per Physician, etc. 3. Based on the percentage of children in school, how well are Ethiopia and Kenya doing at investing in human capital when compared to Botswana and South Africa?

• Very poorly.

Per Physician, etc.Per Physician, etc. 3. Based on the percentage of children in school, how well are Ethiopia and Kenya doing at investing in human capital when compared to Botswana and South Africa?

• Fewer than one-half of the children in Ethiopia and Kenya are receiving a school education, while this figure exceeds 90 percent in Botswana and South Africa.

Per Physician, etc.Per Physician, etc. 4. Are people in low-income LDCs very much more likely to risk exposure to waterborne diseases such as dysentery and cholera than in higher-income LDCs?

• In general as per capita income rises, the percentage of people with access to safe water also rises.

Economic DualismEconomic Dualism

True or false: While conditions in low-income LDCs are poor, there is a high degree of equality in these societies, and all people bear a roughly equal share of the burden of poor living conditions.

• False.

True or false: While conditions in low-income LDCs are poor, there is a high degree of equality in these societies, and all people bear a roughly equal share of the burden of poor living conditions.

• Many LDC doctors, lawyers, merchants, accountants, and exporters and importers, among others, have access to safe water, hospitals, education, and decent housing.

Economic dualism

The coexistence of two separate and distinct economies within an LDC; one modern, primarily urban, and export-driven, the other traditional, agricultural, and self-sustaining.

EXHIBIT 5 ECONOMIC DUALISM

Exhibit 5: Economic Exhibit 5: Economic DualismDualism

1. What are the characteristics of the labor market in the traditional sector of an LDC economy?

• The labor market for the traditional sector is shown in panel a.

• The labor market in the traditional sector features a relatively low and flat demand curve.

• The relatively low opportunity costs associated with traditional labor produce a relatively flat supply curve for labor.

• As a result, the labor market in the traditional sector of an LDC economy yields low wages.

2. What are the characteristics of the labor market in the modern sector of an LDC economy?

• The labor market for the modern sector is shown in panel b.

• The labor market in the modern sector features a higher and steeper demand.

• The higher opportunity costs associated with skilled workers in this sector generates a steeper supply curve.

• As a result, the equilibrium wage rate in the modern sector is considerably higher than in the traditional sector.

3. What factors might cause economic dualism to persist?

• The vicious cycle of poverty prevents the parents of children living in poverty from investing in their children’s human capital. These children forego an education and begin working at an early age.

• In contrast, people earning a high income in the modern sector can afford tutors, private education, health care, and adequate food for their children.

• When they become adults, the children of the elite can prosper and succeed in the modern sector. The children of workers in the traditional sector may never get the education necessary to enter the labor force in the modern sector.

The Absence of Basic The Absence of Basic PrerequisitesPrerequisites

1. In what way is political stability important to the proper functioning of an economy?

• Laws become meaningless when governments that displace each other too frequently and by force are inclined to set aside past government commitments and, at times, even basic property rights.

1. In what way is political stability important to the proper functioning of an economy?

• Such political discontinuities interfere with routine economic decision making. For example, businesses will be more hesitant to make new capital investments.

2. How might economic development be inhibited by the psychological, religious, and cultural character of LDCs?

• Cultural traditionalism can inhibit economic development by promoting large families, inhibiting the use of new technologies, and denying women access to education and work outside the home.

3. Are there difficulties transplanting modern production technologies and facilities in an LDC?

• Modern production requires an extensive support system.

3. Are there difficulties transplanting modern production technologies and facilities in an LDC?

• This support system includes workforce training, sources of credit, and networks of telecommunications, power, and transportation.

InfrastructureInfrastructure

Infrastructure

The basic institutions and public facilities upon which an economy’s development depends.

The Big Push The Big Push StrategyStrategy

Big push

The development strategy that relies on an integrated network of government-sponsored and -financed investments introduced into the economy all at once.

1. What is the argument in favor of the big push strategy?

• Each potential investment’s success depends upon there being a market for its output.

• For example, in order for an automobile plant to succeed, there must be input producers, a road system, and gasoline stations, as well as people with sufficient income to purchase the cars.

• Therefore the big push strategy builds everything at once so that all necessary infrastructure and markets are in place.

2. What are some possible problems with the big push strategy?

• Skills and materials may get spread too thinly, and the tax burden needed to finance the big push may be destabilizing.

The Unbalanced The Unbalanced Development StrategyDevelopment Strategy

What is the basic idea underlying the unbalanced development strategy?

• Government triggers the process by funding and putting into place key infrastructure investments.

The Unbalanced The Unbalanced Development StrategyDevelopment Strategy

What is the basic idea underlying the unbalanced development strategy?

• Private entrepreneurs initiate investments that are funded from the entrepreneur’s own savings or from the private banking system.

Forward LinkagesForward Linkages

Forward linkages

Investments in one industry that create opportunities for profitable investments in other industries, using the goods produced in the first as inputs.

Backward LinkagesBackward Linkages

Backward linkages

Investments in one industry that create demands for inputs, inducing investment in other industries to produce those inputs.

EXHIBIT 6 PRODUCTION POSSIBILITIES CURVE WITH FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Exhibit 6: Production Exhibit 6: Production Possibilities Curve with Possibilities Curve with

Foreign InvestmentForeign Investment

How does foreign investment affect the production possibilities curve for consumption and capital goods?

• It shifts out the production possibilities curve.

EXHIBIT 7 U.S. FOREIGN ECONOMIC AID: 1970–99 ($ MILLIONS)

Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1999 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1999), p. 800.

Exhibit 7: U.S. Foreign Exhibit 7: U.S. Foreign Economic Aid: 1970-97 ($ Economic Aid: 1970-97 ($

Millions)Millions)

What accounts for the increase in total U.S. foreign economic aid?

• Most of the increase can be attributed to an increase in grants.

C hapter 33 The Economic Problems of Less-Developed Economies © 2002 South-Western

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