Under-Developed Countries - China, Nigeria and Liberia - Research Paper Example

RUNNING HEAD: UNDER-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES CHINA, NIGERIA AND LIBERIA Under-Developed Countries China, Nigeria and Liberia Name Institution Date Introduction Economical imbalance is undoubtedly one of the most dominant and permanent facts that has garnered significant attention across the globe. In fact, economical unbalance has remained a pressing concern for many decades whereby it has come to be associated with the terrible social tensions that are still currently predominant. According to Faridul (2007), the world comprises a group of wealthy nation-states and a larger proportion of poor countries. While it is generally held that the current underdeveloped or developing countries are still undergoing the capitalist stages that developed nations once passed through, assessing the inherent problems and using the comparative approach to weigh the problems in individual nations is key to ascertaining the various economic development levels. It is within this context that this particular paper intends to provide a detailed presentation and analysis of developmental problems in china, Nigeria, and Liberia. The question regarding whether a nation is developed, developing or underdeveloped is not new even to the 21st century capitalist world where the huge economical disparities between the economically well-developed nations and the insufficiently-developed nations has brought to light the underlying problems experienced by the insufficiently-developed nations such as China, Nigeria and Liberia. China in particular has stood out among many nations for its high population approximated by W.H.O (2013) to have reached 1,390,000,000 by 2012, and the consequent cheap and surplus labour that has actually enabled it to realize its market-oriented initiatives and achieve a competitive edge. 1 In actual fact, it is clearly evident how the nation has recently achieved a spectacular progress regardless of the immense difficulties encountered. According to U.N.D.P (2013), China’s human development index between the year 1980 and the year 2012 witnessed a 2.0% annual rise from 0.407 in 1980 to 0.699 in 2012.2 This placed China as a nation above its region’s average (0.683). Human Development Index: the trends since 1980 Human Development Index: Health, Education and Income The country also boasts of a gross national income per capita approximated to have been $8390 by 2011 based on the purchasing power parity (W.H.O, 2013). 3 Despite the above achievements, china is argued to grappling with the problems associated with inequalities in health and income. Health and income inequalities/disparities are key problems that have left the majority poor bearing the brunt of an unbalanced development. Additionally, just as UNDP (2008) highlights, corruption has remained inevitable in Asia nations including China.4 While it may seem not only unpleasant but also unethical, the corruption menace has proved unavoidable even within the Asian giant. Apart from infiltrating public institutions, corruption is indeed corroding public utilities, education and health care across the entire Asian region. This has similarly witnessed blatant injustice becoming a common spectacle with the corrupt police force and the corrupt courts being major drivers. Cross-border corruption is another striking feature in china where cross-border operations as well as transactions have been tainted by high corruption cases. An instance is the Illegal or unauthorized wildlife trades that have been difficult to tame due to corruption. There are indeed numerous obstacles that are cited to be hindering total development/growth within China, among which the autocratic political system takes the lead. The political system in china is argued to be autocratic and prevailing within a country with minor local protests that are in constant suppression in case they may gather critical mass and spin out of control. Extreme corruption levels and the conflicting cultures within it have and are still derailing the realization of the nation’s development plans. The commercial and the materialistic cultures within South-china and the north-China’s rural as well as spiritual cultures have often been involved in repeated conflicts. Actually, concerns over china’s social as well as political stability have figured prominently –and justifiably-within western governments’ policy formulations focused at Beijing. Unstable china actually presents varying political as well as strategic challenges to the western policy makers. Economical, political and social instability makes it quite difficult to guard/protect significant interests pursued by the western world, including access to Chin’s markets, human right improvements and governance. While political instability is deemed capable of triggering mass violence and culminating into government’s loss of authority, china’s failure to maintain its stability would possibly result in ineffective control of the exportation of mass destruction weapons and the related technologies that it has in plenty. In light of its problems, china has constantly received humanitarian aid from the USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA) which supports China’s programs across all its sectors, as highlighted by the USAID (2013). 5 The aid includes the promotion of environmental safety and clean energy, assistance with the development of legal system supporting fair and transparent governance, preservation of cultural traditions, rescue missions and illness/disease prevention, including HIV/AIDS Africa’s under-development has similarly been studied in details and debated about since these nations gained independence and self-governments. The potentials and enormous resources of The Federal Republic of Nigeria, have not only enabled it enjoy a competitive edge economically but also ensured it stands out among successful African states. Actually, this most populous African nation and the seventh most populated nation globally has come to be regarded as Africa’s giant. In spite of the tremendous resources the country is endowed with, it is argued to be facing developmental problems. According to The World Bank (2013), countries within sub-Saharan Africa live within minimal budgets whereby 48.5% of the population lives within $1.25 on a daily basis with an overall 69.9% making it to $2 daily.6 Similarly, According to U. N.D. P. (2013), Nigeria is ranked position 153 in out of the 187 countries having such comparable data in terms of human development index. 7 In actual fact, the human development index of the sub-Saharan Africa is argued to have increased from 0.366 to 0.475 from 1980 to date thereby placing Nigeria’s human development index of 0.471 below the regional average. Human Development Index: Trends 1980 to date Human Development Index: Health, Education and Income Nigeria’s development has time and again been seriously negated by the poor leadership within it, higher levels of corruption and the obvious poverty incidents among its attendant population that has significantly risen since 1980. The high levels of corruption have not only distorted the policy making process but also distorted the resource allocation. Additionally, the intercommunal conflicts and competition experienced within this particular nation have acted negatively on its economic growth. Compared to the developed nations, the country’s productivity is lower due to the low human capital levels including education. Nigeria has received humanitarian aid from USAID in the form of safe drinking water, improvements in agricultural productions, renovation of schools, and voluntary counseling and HIV testing (USAID, 2013). 8 Liberia is another African nation that the term underdevelopment is not new to. It has witnessed challenges in the global economic environment where it is argued as among the under-developed nations still facing hurdles in economic development. It is still categorized under least-developed nations with low income, food deficits, political upheaval and higher rates of food insecurity (W. F. P., 2013).9 According to The World Bank (2013) while the country’s population reached 4.190 million in 2012, the GDP was $ 1.767 billion while inflation rate was 6.8%.10 According to the U. N. D. P. (2013), Liberia ranks position 174 out of the total 187 countries in terms of the human development index. 11 This index takes into consideration the health, education and income standards within the country. Liberia’s index is indicated as 0.388 as compared to the region’s increase from 0.366 to 0.475 since 1980. Liberia is thus highlighted as below the actual regional average. Human Development Index: Trends 1980 to date Human Development Index: Health, Education and Income Featuring among the main problems experienced within this nation are political instability/civil unrest, Poverty, corruption, health challenges and inequalities. According to the W. H. O. (2013), Liberia has a lower Gross national income per capita approximated to be $540 and a further human development index approximated to be half of the world’s mark (0.694). 12 Development within this particular nation has remained largely elusive owing to increased incidences of corruption, income disparities and political instability. Such problems, while still persisting, have seriously affected institutional structures and the protection of the property rights. Due to its low development status and the consequent challenges faced by the nation, The World Bank has been at the forefront in facilitating poverty-reduction strategies including the restoration of the core functions as well as institutions, facilitating infrastructures and eventually facilitating growth. Conclusion The question regarding whether a nation is developed, developing or underdeveloped is not new even to the 21st century world. In the above analysis, China, Nigeria and Liberia are presented as undergoing development and faced with a myriad of challenges. However, compared and contrasted, it is clearly evident that Liberia’s development ranks the least, followed by Nigeria and lastly China. China actually poses a significant question regarding its rapid rate of development that threatens to be the global economy driver. Hindrances to its development are however quite evident and driven by corruption, inequalities, conflicting cultures and instability. This is almost similar to Nigeria’s case having immense potentials and resources but limited by high corruption levels, poor leadership and poverty. In terms of human development index, Nigeria and Liberia are considered as faring poorly and below the regional level, contrary to China’s higher index surpassing the regional level. It is evident that despite their under-development status, these nations have the capability of gaining significant growth if their development hindrances are adequately addressed. Reference Faridul, Muhammad (2007). Education and economic growth: lessons from Japan for Bangladesh. Michigan: Adorn Publication. The World Bank. (2013). “Poverty”. Accessed on 15th November 2013 from United Nations Development Programme. (2013). “Human Development Reports” Accessed on 15th November 2013 from United Nations Development Programme. (2008). “Tackling Corruption, Transforming Lives: Asia Pacific Human Development Report” Accessed on 15th November 2013 from U.S. Agency for International Development. (2013). “Where We Work” Accessed on 15th November 2013 from World Health Organization. (2013). “Statistics”. Accessed on 15th November 2013 from World Food Programme (2013). “Countries” Accessed on 15th November 2013 from http://www.wfp.org/countries Read More