1 THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

OF

EASTERN AFRICA FACULTY

OF

OF

ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT

DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

SDS 107 INTRODUCTION TO MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS Lecture: 15.9.2010 FEATURES OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TARGETTED BY MDGs 1.0. INTRODUCTION It should be noted that there are certain features in the least developed countries which the MDGs are tar etin . 1.1. The Character st cs !" LDCs 1.1.1. !he nations of the !hird "orld# also alternativel$ referred to as the %Least Developed &ountries 'LD&s() or a ain %!he *outh) and the %developin countries). !hese countries are found in Latin +,erica# sub-*aharan +frica and in *outh-east +sia. *o,e of the ,ost fittin e.a,ples are /icara ua and 0aiti# 1thiopia and +n ola# M$an,ar and &a,bodia. !hou h the$ are inhabited b$ societies with widel$ var$in features of race and reli ion# it has been found possible to find so,e co,,on fra,ewor2s under which the$ ,a$ be enerall$ described. 1.1.2. !he specific features of the LD&s that are relevant to the portfolio of MDGs are as follows: Low levels of livin denoted b$ e.tre,e povert$# poor health and ,alnutrition# low enrol,ents in educational institutions3 li,ited safe water supplies3 hi h rowth of population and une,plo$,ent3 Do,inance# dependence and vulnerabilit$ in international relations3 1nviron,ental de radation3 0i h level of indebtness '!odaro 2004:# *5ir,ai 2006:25# "ebster 1990:24(. 1.1.4. !hese features have also the ,ar2in s which denote the state !" #$%er&%e'e(!)*e$t. !he$ have been bla,ed upon the ph$sical environ,ent# e.tre,es of cli,ate %too ,uch rainfall# too little rain# too ,uch heat)# disease causin insects such as ,os7uitoes# prone to disasters such as floods# fa,ine causin drou hts# cultural deter,inis,# presence or lac2 of certain ,inerals 'presence has the curse of perennial internal conflicts while absence ,eans povert$(. Gunnar M$rdal described these features as a co,ple. web of interloc2in vicious circles each of which has chain of cause-effect lin2a es where unfavourable circu,stances leads to other irreversible situations. 1.a,ple: 0i h birth rate - lar e fa,ilies unecono,ic land sub-division di,inished subsistence production - low inco,es - low or no schoolin poor health and ,alnutrition - vulnerabilit$ to other factors. 1.+. L!, Le'e(s !" L ' $- a$% E.)ectat !$s

2 1.+.1. Des)!$%e$c/0 !his includes the condition described b$ so,e scholars as widespread povert$ and ,alnutrition and eneral ,alaise and hopelessness. !his is true for ,ost of the LD&s at least in ter,s of low per capita inco,es# inade7uate housin # poor health and few health facilities# li,ited educational levels and opportunities. !he LD&s have the hi hest infant ,ortalit$ rates and low life e.pectations# in su,,ar$# a eneral sense of despondenc$. 1.+.+. I$c!*es: !he Gross /ational 8roduct G/8 is usuall$ used as a su,,ar$ indicator of the econo,ic wellbein of people in different nations. !he G/8 is calculated as the total do,estic and forei n value added a ainst the total population. !he G/8 co,parisons between the developed and the !hird "orld nations show that the developed countries with 209 of the total world population ,a2e :09 of the total world inco,e. ;n the other hand# the !hird "orld host :09 of the world population but contribute onl$ 209 of the world<s inco,e. In 199:# *wit5erland had the hi hest per capita inco,e =04 ti,es that of 1thiopia which is one of the poorest nations and 11= ti,es the inco,e of India which has one of the lar est population in the world. 1.+.1. S2e,e% D str 3#t !$4 I$e5#a( t/ !" I$c!*es4 L!, GNP -r!,th40 +nother an le of this is the rate of G/8 rowth which is fastest in the developed countries $et ver$ slow in the LD&s. In the latter the G/8 has sta nated and durin so,e periods has even declined in periods of econo,ic slu,ps. !here has been therefore a widenin of the inco,e ap between the developed and the LD&s. !he LD&s also show a s2ewed distribution of the inco,e ,eanin that few people and areas within the LD&s continue to en>o$ access to national resources at the e.pense of the rest of the ,a>orit$ population livin within the,. !his increasin inco,e disparit$ is itself a t$pical feature of !hird "orld econo,ies. !he poorest nations show ver$ hi h ine7ualit$ of inco,es. ;ther better off LD&s such as India# &hile# !an5ania and Lib$a show ,oderate disparities while the developed nations show the least ine7ualit$. !he ,ore une7ual the distribution of of inco,e the ,ore the incidence of povert$ in the LD&s. !he inco,e disparit$ at national levels is worse when the ine7ualit$ between ,en and wo,en are e.a,ined and between rural and urban areas is co,pared. 1.+.6. 7ea(th0 !he LD& population are in a continuous stru le with ,alnutrition# disease and ill-health. Life e.pectanc$ up to 199: avera ed =: while in developed countries it was ?5. the Infant Mortalit$ rate was 96 per 1#000 for LD&s while it is : per 1#000 in the developed countries. Malnutrition is the ,ost distressin aspect of povert$ affectin the LD&s. !his is because low calorie 'food( inta2e and children bein underwei ht reduces their educational perfor,ance and future. 1.+.8. Access t! c(ea$ a$% sa"e ,ater4 D!ct!r0P!)#(at !$ rat ! a$% 7IV9A %s0

3 "ater borne diseases is responsible for =09 of deaths of $oun children. !his is worsened in conditions inLD&s where access to health care is also poor and where doctor-population ratio was =.=. per 100#000 in 2000. In the developed countries the ratio is 21? per 100#000. In the LD&s# ,ost health facilities and doctors are concentrated in the urban areas whereas the reater population is rural. In @en$a# the capital cit$# /airobi# had a doctor:population ratio of 1:6?2 while in the rest of the countr$ it ran es fro, 1:20#000 to ,ore than 1:200#000. !he health situation for LD&s is co,pounded b$ the devastatin effects of 0IAB+ids. ;ver 909 of all infections are found in the LDcs# half of the, wo,en. 1.+.: E%#cat !$ (e'e(s: Inspite of the fact that education sector ta2es the hi hest bud et in the LD&s and inspite of the increasin enrol,ent fi ures for bo$s and irls# the literac$ levels re,ain low in ,an$ LD&s with onl$ =59 of their population considered literate co,pared to 999 in the developed nations. 1.1. L!, Pr!%#ct !$ a$% Pr!%#ct ' t/ a$% U$e*)(!/*e$t 1.1.1. La3!#r Pr!%#ct ' t/: !his can also be viewed as lar e scale underutili5ation of labour. !he low productivit$ of labour in developin countries results fro, li,ited or poor ,ana erial co,petence# access to infor,ation# wor2er ,otivation and severe lac2 of capital. !he LD&s re7uire to increase do,estic and forei n finance to enerate new invest,ents in capital oods and to build hu,an capital throu h education and trainin . Institutional refor,s such as in land tenure# ta.ation# credit and ban2in s$ste,s are still needed in the LD&s to i,prove on capital for,ation and productivit$. It is believed that the %+sian !i ers) 0on @on # *outh @orea# *in apore and !aiwan succeeded to brea2 out of LD& ran2s because of i,proved 7ualit$ of their hu,an resources# attitude towards industr$# discipline# adaptabilit$ and a,bition. 1.1.+. U$%er&e*)(!/*e$t a$% O)e$ #$e*)(!/*e$t0 In co,parison with developed nations# the LD&s inade7uate or inefficient utili5ation of labour contributes to low levels of livin as shown in these two for,s: Underemployment where people in e,plo$,ent wor2 less than the$ could dail$# wee2l$ or seasonall$. +lso where those in fullti,e e,plo$,ent produce as little as if the$ are on part ti,e. Open unemployment where people who are ea er and have so,e 7ualifications see2 >obs but cannot find wor2. !hese nu,bers are soarin in the LD&s because of natural population increase $et >ob creation continues to la behind. !he situation is ,ade worse b$ rural-urban ,i ration and the absence social securit$ s$ste,s for une,plo$ed people si,ilar to what is available for une,plo$ed people in the developed nations. *o nobod$ can afford to be une,plo$ed. 1.6. 7 -h Rates !" De*!-ra)h c Gr!,th4 Ur3a$ ;at !$ a$% De)e$%e$c/ B#r%e$ Discussin this feature of LDcs ,ust also include issue of an e.plosive rate of urban rowth that the$ e.perience. !he birth rates in the LD&s are ver$ hi h.

4 +nd there continues to be an e.cess of births over deaths ever$ $ear with over =09 of the population bein children that have to be supported alon with the elderl$ and une,plo$ed population. !he e.pected cru. of the proble, will be in the future when the population stops rowin and a tripled stable population has to be ta2en care of since the current levels are alread$ proble,atic. !here has been uncontrolled rowth of ,e a-cities such as Me.ico and &alcutta which are ni ht,ares to cit$ planners and overn,ent in ter,s of service provision and slu, for,ation. !he rural-urban ,ove,ent e.ceeds the capacit$ for absorption in the cities. 1.8. D!* $a$ce4 De)e$%e$ce a$% V#($era3 ( t/ $ I$ter$at !$a( Re(at !$s &o,pared with their counterparts in developed nations# the LD&s are disadvanta ed b$ the hi hl$ une7ual power# political and econo,ic levera e the developed nations e.ercise over the,. !he latter are in a position to dictate the ter,s in the processes of trade# technolo $ transfer# aid and private capital. ;ne silent contribution that does not favour LD&s is the transfer of Western world values# institutions and standards of behaviour# so,e of which are not appropriate to the !hird "orld. 1.a,ples are the colonial transfer of educational structure# curricula# school s$ste,s# trade unionis,# >ustice s$ste,# curative rather than preventive health s$ste,s3 1.:. E$' r!$*e$ta( De-ra%at !$4 L!, (e'e(s !" Tech$!(!- ca( Ca)a3 ( t es !he pressure of population on available resources# also t$pical in the !hird "orld# has led to environ,ental de radation. 8ollution laws are i,ple,ented with la.it$ and industrial waste is often channeled into rivers and la2es with little or no filtration. !o.ic substances and effluents are du,ped into the i,,ediate environ,ent. Deforestation# the cuttin down of trees# charcoal burnin contribute to the dr$in of water sources# lac2 of rainfall# desertification and landslides. Land de radation also results fro, uncontrolled use of che,icals and fertili5er in certain intensive far,in areas. !hus povert$ contributes to de radation in the !hird "orld. It should be noted that this proble, is not new or restricted onl$ to the !hird "orld. !he developed nations underwent the sa,e phase of poor environ,ental da,a e durin the industrial revolution in the late 1:50s.. 1.7. 7 -h Le'e( !" De3ts !his characteristic of LD&s is related to the Debt &risis of the earl$ 19:0s and it has worsened as the !hird "orld stru les to balance between pa$in bac2 previousl$ ta2en loans with interest. !he LD&* continue to be heavil$ indebted to the developed countries and capital ,ar2ets. 1ven the structural ad>ust,ent pro ra,s that was ,eant to address the proble, did not succeed ,uch.

5 +.0. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS In su,,ar$# the !hird world suffers low levels of inco,e and slow rowth so,eti,es sta nation and decline in G/8. 0i hl$ s2ewed patterns of inco,e distribution with top 209 of the population havin as ,uch as 5 to 10 ti,es inco,e as the botto, =09 of the population. +s a result# a reat ,ass of !hird "orld population e.perience absolute povert$ with up to a total of 1.4. billion people on subsistence inco,es between C* D 1 and C* D : per da$ Lar e se ,ents of the population o throu h unattended ill-health# ,alnutrition and debilitatin diseases and hi h infant ,ortalit$. Low levels of education coupled with hi h drop-out rates# inade7uate and often poorl$ e7uipped institutions. +ll these factors interloc2 to reinforce and perpetuate the proble,s of povert$# i norance and disease that restrict the lives of so ,an$ people in the LD&s. !hese are also the ,ain areas that are the roots of povert$ that the ,illenniu, develop,ent oals are tar etin . !he above described characteristics provide a rather loose but still accurate description of developin countries or LD&s. !he de ree to which these characteristics e.ist in different countries widel$ varies. Eor e.a,ple# the share of a riculture e,plo$,ent in !an5ania# @en$a or 1thiopia is ,uch hi her than in Fra5il or +r entina. 8olitical instabilit$ was ,ore pronounced in Gwanda and DG& than in Morocco or Malawi. /ations within the !hird "orld appear unifor, in the above described characteristics thou h the$ obviousl$ will differ in the de ree and intensit$ of the proble,s. !his is because of their diverse histor$# social# political# econo,ic and cultural ,a2e-up. !he societies which ,a2e the, up are 7uite different. !his state of underdevelop,ent ,ust also be seen as the result of a ran e of co,ple. interactions in the historical past and in the present3 natural and ,an ,ade environ,ents# e.ternal and internal conditions. +s was seen in the first lecture presentation# various re,edies in the for, of successive policies and pro ra,s have been tried to deal with povert$ features and pro,ote faster develop,ent in the last 60 $ears. REFERENCES: !odaro# 8.M. : Economic Development 8earson 1d. 1sse. 2004 *5ir,ai# +. : The Dynamics of Socio-economic Development, An Introduction# &a,brid e 2006 Chambers, R.: Rural Development Putting the Last First L !"ma! S#$e!%$&$# Te#h!$#a' ( h! )$'e* a!+ S !s I!# ,--. )$''$s /. : Theories and Practices of Development R0%'e+"e P0b'$sh$!" 1223

6 A''e! T. a!+ Th mas A. Poverty and Development into the 21st Century O4& r+ U!$5ers$%* Press 1222 De 6eer, Fr$7 & S8a!e9 ', H. :1222; Introduction to Development Studies 1!+ E+. O4& r+ U!$5ers$%* Press CUEA L$brar* HD <3 .6. 1222 )ebs%er, A. : Introduction to Sociology of Development Ma#M$''a! Press ,--2 ) r'+ 6a!7: Global Economic Prospects : Realizing the Development Promise of the Doha Agenda, 2 !, The ) r'+ 6a!7, )ash$!"% ! D.C. /abba=, Omar: The Challenge of frican Development O4& r+ U!$5ers$%* Press 122>. ) r'+ 6a!7: "ub#"aharan Africa from $risis to "ustainable Gro%th, A &ong 'erm Perspective, )6 ,-?/ambham9a%$, U.S. : Development and Developing (orld, 6'a#78e'', 122. CUEA L$brar* HC 3-.< ./> 122. He%%!e, 6. : De5e' 9me!% a!+ %he Three ) r'+s 1 !+ E+. L !"ma! ,--3 CUEA L$brar* HD <3 .H. ,--3 )ournals for further Reading
,.

)ournal of Economic *istory, Cambr$+"e U!$5ers$%* Press.