POVERTY, THE MAJOR CAUSE OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN

THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES

By

Amos Ukafia .S

INTRODUCTION

The terms Underdeveloped and Third world countries have been

intermittently used to describe the economically poor and technologically
backward nations of Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East, and the
Caribbean who have preferred to be referred to as Developing Nations ,
instead of the derogatory term- Third World. The reasons for their
underdevelopment are numerous, ranging from, poverty, political instability,
corruption, externally oriented economy, ethnicity, conflicts, weak states, poor
leadership e. t. c.
In this paper, I will be focusing on poverty as the major cause of
underdevelopment in third world countries because it embodies all other causes
of underdevelopment in third world countries.

WHAT IS POVERTY?
We all know that very word relates to the very poor, but what else?

"Poverty is the deprivation of common necessities such as food, clothing,

shelter and safe drinking water, all of which determine our quality of life."
Generally, the term poverty refers to :
1) the lack of daily necessities
-- water(potable water, of course)
-- food
-- clothing
-- shelter
2) financial incapability for education and other
With the lack of daily necessities comes many problems. Without potable water,
the risks of contracting cholera, a disease contracted upon contact with dirty water, are
higher. Without food, malnutrition, and other diet-related problems begin to emerge.

With no proper clothing, these people have nothing to protect their skin from the
roughness of the environment. Death rates among the populace will increase, creating
environmental problems. With that, more problems shall rise as each reaction leads to
another.
Without education, children of poor families cannot take on higher-paying jobs
since they lack the academic qualifications required, and are thus forced to take on
low-paying jobs i.e. contract worker, construction worker, cleaner, etc. With a low
paying job, these children will eventually be unable to support their families, let alone
support him or herself. With that, the vicious cycle goes on.

Causes of Poverty
In my short analysis of the many causes of poverty, I shall explore three
sections- Economic, Political, External.

Social
Overpopulation
Overpopulation is defined as the situation of having large numbers of people with too
few resources and too little space. Overpopulation can result from either a high
population density (the ratio of people to land area) or from low amounts of resources,
or from both.
A high population density pressures the available resources in the country, as the
resources can only support a certain number of people.
Poverty can also depend on the country's mix of population density and agriculture
productivity. For example, Bangladesh has one of the world's highest population
density with 1,147 persons per sq km (2,970 persons per sq mi). A large majority of

the people of Bangladesh engage in low-productivity manual farming, which

contributes to the countrys extremely high level of poverty. However, this only
applies to third-world countries that do not have advanced technologies.
High birth rates contribute to overpopulation in many developing countries. Children,
especially boys, are assets to many poor families because they provide labour, usually
for farming. Cultural norms in traditionally rural societies commonly sanction the
value of large families. Also, the governments of developing countries often provide
little or no support, financial or political, for family planning (see Birth Control)
Families may also not know about family planning due to the lack of education.
Hence, most developing countries have high rates of population growth.

Population density:
A countrys level of poverty can depend greatly on its mix of population density and
agricultural productivity. Bangladesh, for example, has one of the worlds highest
population densities, with 1,078 persons per sq km (2,791 persons per sq mi). A large
majority of the people of Bangladesh engage in low-productivity manual farming,
which contributes to the countrys extremely high level of poverty.
Some of the smaller countries in western Europe, such as The Netherlands and
Belgium, have high population densities as well. These countries practice mechanized
farming and are involved in high-tech industries.
On the other hand, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have population densities of
less than 30 persons per sq km (80 persons per sq mi). Many people in these countries
practice manual subsistence farming. These countries have infertile land and lack the
economic resources and technology to boost productivity. As a consequence, these
nations are very poor.
Birth rates:

High birth rates contribute to overpopulation in many developing countries. Children

are assets to many poor families because they provide labour, usually for farming.
Cultural norms in traditionally rural societies commonly sanction the value of large
families. Also, the governments of developing countries often provide little or no
support, financial or political, for family planning and birth control.

Distribution of resources:
In many developing countries, the problems of poverty are massive and pervasive. In
recent decades most of these countries have tried to develop their economies with
industry and technology with varying levels of success. Many developing countries,
however, lack essential raw materials and the knowledge and skills gained through
formal education and training. Because these things are necessary for the development
of industry, developing countries generally must rely on trade with developed
countries for manufactured goods, but they cannot afford much.
Because people in developed nations may have more wealth and resources than those

in developing countries, their standard of living is also generally higher. Thus, people
who have what would be considered adequate wealth and resources in developing
countries may be considered poor in developed countries.
In contrast, people in developing countries may consider themselves to be doing well
if they have productive gardens, some livestock, and a house of thatch or mud-brick.
In rural areas, people may be accustomed to not having plumbing, electricity, or
formal health care. By the standards of developed countries, such living conditions are
considered hallmarks of poverty.
According to reports, peoples incomes are not enough to cover the cost of their basic
necessities and provide them basic services such as water, electricity, transportation
and communication. It pointed out that recent surveys confirm that 80 percent of
citizens expenses go for to food, most notably among vulnerable groups that are
deprived of basic services and luxury means.

Lack of education:
Illiteracy and lack of education are common in poor countries. Governments of
developing countries often cannot afford to provide for good public schools,
especially in rural areas. Whereas virtually all children in industrialized countries have
access to an education, only about 60 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa even
attend elementary school. Poor people also often forego schooling in order to
concentrate on making a minimal living. In addition, developing countries tend to
have few employment opportunities, especially for women. As a result, people may
see little reason to go to school.
Reports have also argued that 41 percent of Yemens rural population lives on less
than two dollars per day, and 85 percent of Yemens poor population live in rural
areas. It clarified that 47 percent of Yemens population are illiterate, which is another
reason for poverty and unemployment.
In countries with high populations, unemployment levels of only a few percentage
points mean that millions of working-age people cannot find work and earn an
adequate income. Because unemployment figures indicate only the number of people
eligible to work who have no job but are seeking employment, such figures are not
necessarily an accurate indicator of the number of people living in poverty. Other
people may not be able to find enough work or may earn wages too low to support
themselves.

Environmental degradation:
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the natural environment, including
the atmosphere, bodies of water, soil, and forests is an important cause of poverty.
Environmental problems have led to shortages of food, clean water, materials for
shelter, and other essential resources. As forests, land, air, and water are degraded,
people who live directly off these natural resources suffer most from the effects.
People in developed countries, on the other hand, have technologies and conveniences
such as air and water filters, refined fuels, and industrially produced and stored foods
to buffer themselves from the effects of environmental degradation.

In developing countries, deforestation has had particularly devastating environmental

effects. Many rural people, particularly in tropical regions, depend on forests as a
source of food and other resources, and deforestation damages or eliminates these
supplies. Forests also absorb many pollutants and water from extended rains; without
forests, pollution increases and massive flooding further decreases the usability of the
deforested areas.

Economic trends:
Poverty in many developed countries can be linked to economic trends.
Changes in labour markets in developed countries have also contributed to increased
poverty levels. For instance, the number of relatively high-paying manufacturing jobs
has declined, while the demand for workers in service- and technology-related
industries has increased. Historically, people have learned the skills required for jobs
that involve manual labour, such as those in manufacturing, either on the job or
through easily accessible school vocational programs. As these jobs are replaced by
service- and technology-related jobsjobs that usually require skills taught at the
college levelpeople who cannot afford a college education find it increasingly
difficult to obtain well-paying work.
In many developed nations the number of people living in poverty has increased due
to rising disparities in the distribution of resources within these countries.
Since the 1970s, for instance, the poorest 20 percent of all U.S. households have
earned an increasingly smaller percentage of the total national income (generally less
than 5 percent) while the wealthiest 5 percent of households have earned an
increasingly greater percentage (about 45 percent of the total).

Demographic shifts:
Some researchers also cite demographic shifts as contributing to increases in overall
poverty. In particular, demographic shifts have led to increases in poverty among
children.
In the United States, for instance, typical family structures have changed significantly,
leading to an increase in single-parent families, which tend to be poorer.
There are differing beliefs about individual responsibility for poverty. Some people
believe that poverty is a symptom of societal structure and that some proportion of any
society inevitably will be poor. Others feel that poverty results from a failure of social
institutions, such as the labour market and schools.
In addition, many people in developed countries blame cycles of poverty, or the
tendency for the poor to remain poor, on overly generous welfare programs.
Supporters of this position, including some politicians, argue against government
spending and initiatives to help the poor.

In the United States, the belief that cash welfare assistance actually encouraged
personal decisions leading to poverty dominated policy discussions of the 1990s. In
response, in 1996 the U.S. Congress created a new welfare program called Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). This program ended the guarantee of cash
benefits for poor families with children, shifted more control to the states, and
established stricter work requirements for recipients. The numbers of poor families
with children receiving cash welfare fell dramatically, from 4.6 million in 1996 to 2.1
million at the end of 2001.

Others:
Reports have noted that poverty is also symptomatic a symptom of poor basic
services, scarce financial resources and low returns from natural wealth such as oil,
gas, minerals and fisheries while revenues from public investments and taxes are
exposed to corruption and embezzlement.

Economic
- High rate of unemployment
- Unemployment is rampant now that the global financial crisis has ravaged
the world's economy. With a higher number of unemployed people, crime rates
in these cities will increase as people grow desperate to survive. It is also
believed, however, that some governments of the world intentionally keep a
"sufficient" number of people out of work as a replacement batch when the need
arrives.
- Unfair trade
High subsidies and protective tariffs for agriculture in the developed world
drains the taxed money and increases prices for consumers in the developed
world, decreasing competition and efficiency and preventing exports by more
competitive agricultural and other sectors in the developed world due to
retaliatory trade barriers and undermining the very type of industry in which
developing countries do.
Corruption (Economically-wise)
Corruption often accompanies centralization of power, when leaders are not
accountable to those they serve. More directly, corruption inhibits development when
leaders help themselves to money that would otherwise be used for development
projects.
Corruption, both in government and business, places heavy cost on society. Businesses
should enact, publicize and follow codes of conduct banning corruption on the part of
their staff and directors.

Citizens must demand greater transparency on the part of both government and the
corporate sector and create reform movements where needed.
Corruption is both a major cause and a result of poverty around the world. It occurs at
all levels of society, from local and national governments, civil society, judiciary
functions, large and small businesses, military and other services and so on.
Corruption affects the poorest the most, whether in rich or poor nations.
The issue of corruption is very much inter-related with other issues. At a global level,
the economic system that has shaped the current form of globalization in the past
decades requires further scrutiny for it has also created conditions whereby corruption
can flourish and exacerbate the conditions of people around the world who already
have little say about their own destiny.
A difficult thing to measure or compare, however, is the impact of corruption on
poverty against the effects of inequalities that are structured into law, such as unequal
trade agreements, structural adjustment policies, free trade agreements and so on.
It is easier to see corruption. It is harder to see these other more formal, even legal
forms of corruption. It is easy to assume that these are not even issues because they
are part of the laws and institutions that govern national and international communities
and many of us will be accustomed to itit is how it works, so to speak.
This is not to belittle the issue of corruption, however, for its impacts are enormous
evidently.
Tackling corruption
-A broader way to try and tackle corruption can be made by attempting to provide a
more just, democratic and transparent process in terms of relations between donor
nations and their creditors:
An independent process would have five goals:
1. To restore some justice to a system in which international creditors play the role of
plaintiff, judge and jury, in their own court of international finance.
2. To introduce discipline into sovereign lending and borrowing arrangementsand
thereby prevent future crises.
3. To counter corruption in borrowing and lending, by introducing accountability
through a free press and greater transparency to civil society in both the creditor and
debtor nations.
4. To strengthen local democratic institutions, by empowering them to challenge and
influence elites.
5. To encourage greater understanding and economic literacy among citizens, and
thereby empower them to question, challenge and hold their elites to account.
Poor Governance

Governance is defined as the manner in which power is exercised in the management

of a country's social and economic resources for development.
Good governance implies a capacity to turn public income into human development
outcomes. Good governance is an essential pre-condition for pro-poor growth as it
establishes the enabling regulatory and legal framework essential for the sound
functioning of land, labour, capital and other factor markets.
Corruption and political instability resulted in weakening of business confidence,
deteriorating economic growth, declining public expenditure on basic entitlements,
low efficiency in delivery of public services as discussed in the earlier section on
human development, and a serious undermining of state institutions and the rule of
law.
Political
Prejudice and inequality
Social inequality that stems from cultural ideas about the relative worth of different
genders, races, ethnic groups, and social classes. Ascribed inequality works by placing
individuals in different social categories at birth, often based on religious, ethnic, or
'racial' characteristics. In certain countries in the world, governments tend to favour a
specific creed or race or people. This is evident in South Africa. In South African
history, apartheid laws defined a binary caste system that assigned different rights and
social spaces to different races, using skin colour to automatically determine the
opportunities available to individuals in each group. These people enjoy educational,
social and welfare benefits. For example, the children of these people are able to enjoy
education with subsidised school fees; adults are able to obtain high-paying jobs easily
etc. Instead of channelling resources to help those at need, the governments of these
countries choose to treat different races and creeds with prejudice and will treat others
with less favouritism. Hence, this leads to poverty.
Corruption (Politically-wise)
Corruption is a rampant problem in the world today, especially in third-world
countries. It undermines democracy and good governance by flouting formal
processes. Corruption often occurs when leaders are not accountable to those they
serve. Corruption usually inhibits development when leaders help themselves to
money that would otherwise be used for development projects. Corruption increases
the cost of business through the price of illicit payments themselves, the management
cost of negotiating with officials, and the risk of breached agreements or detection.
Also, it generates economic distortions in the public sector by diverting public
investment into capital projects where bribes and kickbacks are more plentiful. In
Nigeria for example, more than 400 Billion dollars was stolen from the National
Treasury by Nigeria's leaders from 1960 to 1999. Forms of such corruption include
embezzlement, bribery, cronyism, nepotism, graft etc. Hence, this leads to poverty as
leaders should have used the money they usurped to help the poor, which results in a
lack of funds.

Centralization of Power
In many developing countries, political power is disproportionately centralized.
Instead of having a network of political representatives distributed equally throughout
society, in centralized systems of governance one major party, politician, or region is
responsible for decision-making throughout the country, causing development
problems. For example, politicians make decisions about places that they are
unfamiliar with, lacking sufficient knowledge about the context to design effective
and appropriate policies and programs.
External & Other Causes
Civil War
Nations experiencing civil war will experience stunted economic growth rate. For
example, from 1990 to 1993, the period encompassing Desert Storm, per capita GDP
in Iraq fell from $3500 to $761.
This is significant as it shows the drop in the well being of all citizens in the affected
country. It however, fails to capture the broader affects of damages to the
infrastructure and social services, such as health care and access to clean water, which
are not captured. The loss of infrastructure and breakdown of society will inevitably
lead to the nation having to spend a hefty sum to rebuild and prepare itself for the
economy.
Furthermore, civil war diverts scarce resources from fighting poverty to maintaining a
military. This is evident in the cases of Ethiopia and Eritrea. The most recent conflict
over borders between the two countries erupted into war during 1999 and 2000, a
period when both countries faced food shortages due to droughts.
Historical
There is a lack of uniform, basic infrastructure, such as roads and means of
communication and hence, development can hardly occur in poor countries. Some
scholars have asserted that colonial history was an important factor and reason to the
current situation.
In most countries with a history of colonization, colonialists used the colonies to
provide raw materials and other resources for their own economic growth and
development. M. E. Chamberlain once said that the "Industrial revolution depended
on raw materials like iron and coal. Africa was likely to be more significant as a
supplier than as a market." Moreover, David Thompson also asserted that the special
attractions of Africa and Asia were, indeed, that they offered many of the raw
materials needed by the multiplying factories of Europe: including cotton, silk, rubber,
vegetable oils, and the rarer minerals. This is significant as the colonialists colonised
these countries due to the fact that the colonies would provide natural resources and
markets for economic and industrial growth, thus solving their economic woes.
Furthermore, H.R. Cowie has also pointed out that "New systems of agricultural

production imposed upon colonial communities transformed land owners into wage
earners susceptible to the threat of unemployment." This is evident in Senegal and
Nigeria in which the groundnut-oil mill was restricted. It was also known that the state
agricultural export monopolies in Burma and in East and West Africa have withheld
from the producers a very large production of the sales proceeds. This is significant as
colonialism brought along poverty indirectly as they prevented the colonies from
developing. This is again propounded by J.A Hobson, H.N Bralisford, Leonard Woolf
and Lenin, who said that colonialism brought about exploitation of economies and
resource primarily through conquest of markets for capital and commodities.
Professor Gunnar Myrdal also said that colonialism brought about the retardation of
economy by depriving the colonies of the economic benefits of a sovereign state. He
elaborated that the inability of locals to pursue active economic development policies,
especially in undertaking comprehensive central planning via state control, leading to
the retardation of the economy. Hence, countries that were ex-colonies (such as Excolonies Somalia and Uganda) face corruption and poverty.
Natural Disasters
Natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes have caused millions of dollars
worth of infrastructure and the loss of lives. Developing countries often suffer much
more extensive and acute crises at the hands of natural disasters, because limited
resources become obstacles for the construction of adequate housing, infrastructure,
and mechanisms for responding to crises. Natural disasters, being uncontrollable by
man, affect annual agricultural output, such as floods destroying the fertility of soils
by washing away mineral-rich topsoil, and take away natural decomposing agents,
rendering the soil infertile. Droughts cause the land to become barren and unsuitable
for cultivation. The states of the U.S.A situated in Tornado Alley face constant fears of
poor harvests in the face of frequent tornado occurrences. In the case of the Sichuan
Earthquake in 2008 and The 2004 Tsunami catastrophe not only resulted in the loss of
agriculture, but the destruction of millions of dollars worth of infrastructure as well.
Uneven distribution of resources/lack of adequate resources in the world
economy
For example, it is known that many countries are facing poverty due to the lack of
resources in the country.
Why is this the case? One reason is due to the legacy of colonisation. It was known
that many years ago, many countries were colonised, which led to the transportation
of many goods to the country which colonised it. Hence, the colonised country does
not have enough food/resources for its people. Moreover, when these once colonised
countries start development towards modernisation, they lack raw infrastructure, such
as transportation systems and power-generating facilities. These countries also lack
raw materials and knowledge skills. As a result of this, the countries must rely on
trade with developed countries for manufactured goods, instead of themselves, which
burdens them even more. The lack of materials also leads to lesser jobs for the
population, in which will increase the rate of poverty, since most people in that
countries will be unemployed, and are unable to earn themselves a living. As this goes
on and on, the rate poverty will increase drastically.

Some social scientists argue that neo-colonisation, a type of colonisation, is also

practised in many wealthy countries. The affluence of these countries is based to a
large extent on favourable trade with the developing world. Developed countries have
been able to get inexpensive natural resources from poorer countries in Asia, Africa,
and Latin America, including oil for power, ores and minerals for manufacturing
durable goods, and manufactured goods made by low-wage workers in factories
operated by multinational corporations. This practice contributes to the dependency of
poorer countries while not raising their standards of living.

CONCLUSION
There are things that some people until now can't apprehend. Aside from the everyday
expenditure, many people have vices such as cigarettes and alcohols which I wasn't
able to include in our daily expenses. When people begin to get wages or salaries, they
immediately spend the money for worthless and nonsense things instead of saving it.
Some of them, if it is not for their vices, they spend their money in stakes, testing their
luck and expecting to be rich immediately.
As we all know, poverty is a curse. It was written in the Bible that God has curse man,
"In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life." This only means that man can't eat
without working hard. God will only provide for those who are persistent without
overly-depending on the government for everything we need. There's no place in this
world for lazy people.

References
- Wikipedia Encyclopaedia
- Ray Deep-Third World Underdevelopment 2010.
-Eric Holt-Gimenez and Loren Peabody: Poverty At Large: A Dark
Spot in Humanity 2008
-Oxford Dictionary.