Development and Globalization of the Country - Term Paper Example

Development and Globalization Question The development of a country can be measured using a number of different approximation methods. However, use of GDP as a measure of development has been found to be inappropriate. This is because; scholars assert that estimation of GDP growth involves a lot of inaccuracy and untrue data. For instance, in the year 2008, the data provided by the GDP about the recession was later proved to be wrong and inaccurate by economists. Therefore, measurement of the GDP involves many errors which at times are meant to give a better and positive picture to economists (Roberts & Hite, 2007, 6). Estimation of GDP growth also leaves out a lot of information, which might be useful in measuring the development of a country, and thus, it is thought to be an insufficient of measure development. In addition, GDP is also said to use very limited information in its measurement. It leaves out a lot of information that might be useful in measuring the development of a country. For instance, GDP doe not report about the standards of living of individuals in a country. GDP measurement only assesses the per capita income of persons in a country. Thus, a country with many rich people may report a very high GDP yet, the level of development may be very low (Frank, 2003, 77). This is because; GDP does not consider that there might also be poor people in the same country. Therefore, if there are people in a country earning low incomes, then it will imply that; although the standards of leaving are high, the level of development is low (Roberts & Hite, 2007, 4). GDP also does not account for issues such as pollution, environmental degradation and social well-being. This is because; GDP mainly deals with items that can be measured numerically accurately. However, some of the items that determine the level of development of a country cannot be measured numerically. A country with high pollution levels cannot be said to be developed even if its GDP is high. (Word Count= 327) Question Two According to Robert wade, the developing space of many countries is shrinking (Wade, 2005, 280). This implies that; the number of development policies available for developing countries has reduced. This is because; the capital incomes available for investments have reduced. In addition the competition in the economy is very stiff an unfavorable for growth (Wallerstein, 1979, 56). Therefore, Robert asserts that the potential for development has reduced significantly. The economy is becoming compressed each time countries continue to face cases of inflation and depressions (Rodrik, 2011, 10). On the other hand, Thomas Friedman argues that ‘the world is flat’. This implies that, the world is like a playing field where every person is a player equal to another player. In addition, it also implies that there many opportunities in the economy that people can take advantage of any time they wish (Friedman, 2005, 248). Therefore, according to Friedman, the world will continue to develop as long as people continue to take advantage of the opportunities available to them. This is because, he believes that human beings can expand themselves without being limited due to the many opportunities at their disposal (Friedman, 2005, 250). The views of these two authors are contradictory. This is because; while one author suggests that the extend of development becomes limited as days go by, the other author states that, the development is unlimited and each person is free to trade and invest since there are many opportunities. The argument that I find more convincing is that of Robert Wade that the development space is shrinking. This is because with time, people are becoming less and less competitive (Wade, 2005, 282). The geographical area also continues to decrease with time and thus, with time, the opportunities available to invest will be limited. In addition, with the stiff competition, it will be very difficult to start up new businesses in the market. Therefore, the rate of development will be very low (Roberts & Hite, 2007, 12). (Word count = 309) Question 3 In the year 1989, Francis Fukuyama stated that the world might be facing the ‘end of history’. This majorly implied that the world was growing at a very fast rate since; man had no control over technology. In addition, Fukuyama also meant that development factors were ending since; the ideological evolution of man was coming to an end. Therefore, man would not be able to come up with new and innovative ideas of developing the world (Rostow, 2003, 50). According to Fukuyama, there would be a world only dominated by economic concerns and no clash over nations. Therefore, the struggle of man to be more innovative would be replaced by a multitude of technological problems, environmental problems and high consumer demands. All these issues will be require to be addressed and thus, the world economy might end up stagnating instead of growing (Rodrik, 2011, 18). Samuel Huntington on the other hand, argued that the world might be embarking on a ‘clash of civilizations. This ideally, meant that civilizations of different countries would clash with time because; there have been many differences between civilizations (Huntington, 2003, 16). In addition, according to the author the world is getting smaller with time and thus, communication between people is becoming easier with time. Based on my course I think neither of these authors was right. This is because; the world keeps on growing with time. Man’s intelligence also keeps on evolving and thus, as long as long as man is living, there will always be new technological inventions. Therefore, the economy cannot be said to be ending. On the other hand, civilizations can also not be said to be clashing. This is because; people will continue being civilized and developed as long there is technological advancement in the economy. In addition, development of technology can be controlling man since; it is man who comes up with the technology. Technology is also important to a country since it leads to growth and development. (Word Count 322) Question 4 Social-economic inequality has become rampant in the economy today because the society today composed of both poor and rich persons. Therefore, there is a big gap in the level of status among people (Green, 2008, 18). In addition, there is number of persons who were poor and some who are rich. Therefore, not all the individuals contribute to the economy in the society. Inequality in the society also comes in the form of gender inequality among people. In most societies, some opportunities are only available to men. This leads to poor performance of the society because; some of the individuals are not contributing to the whole economy (Rodrik, 2011, 15). The three key reasons identified for socio-inequality in the society include; low economic growth, high unemployment levels, and poor leadership in the country (Green, 2008, 17) . This is because; with a poor economy, it will imply that the incomes available in the society will be few and limited. In addition, a low economic growth will also imply that the resources are not being fully utilized (Roberts & Hite, 2007, 11). On the other hand, socio-economic inequality is also caused by high unemployment levels in the country. This is because; high unemployment levels imply that there is a large proportion of people in the economy that are unemployed. Therefore, while some people are employed, others are unemployed. Poor leadership in the country also causes socio-inequality among people because; the leaders do not ensure that there is equal distribution of resources among the people. Inequality in the society can be curbed by ensuring that employment opportunities in the economy are added. People should be given more opportunities in order to increase their standards of living and increase equality among people in the society (Rodrik, 2011, 10). In addition, education standards should also be advanced in order to ensure that each person is equipped with skills that can offer him or her some job. (Word Count 305) Question 5 Dani Rodrik argues, “Markets must be deeply embedded in systems of governance”. By this statement, he implies that, markets cannot be completely for them to operate effectively. There must be some form of government control in each market irrespective of the type of market. This can also imply that; markets must be subject to some rules and regulations by the government (Rodrik, 2011, 8). Indeed, I agree with him. This is because; markets cannot operate solely and be able to succeed. They need a body to control and direct them on serving the consumers. In addition, the government connects the organizations in the market with international organizations. The government can find profitable deals for organizations in the market and thus, making the markets to obtain international clients (Frank, 2003, 77). Markets must also be deeply embedded in systems of governance in order to be able to operate profitably. This is because; markets that are not effectively governed will not have a clear sense of direction and thus, most likely they will end up making a multitude of losses (Roberts & Hite, 2007, 6). In addition, governance ensures that there is healthy competition in the market. When the market is deeply embedded in systems of governance, the level of control offered will ensure that organization do not compete unfairly. Therefore, markets also need coverage and insurance from governance systems when they are taking some risks in business (Wallerstein, 1979, 15). Therefore, they need to operate hand in hand with governments in order to be able to be able to obtain coverage from leaders. This is because; there must be some level of risk taking in all government systems. Governments also direct the trading systems of all markets and therefore; firms need to comply with government systems in order to obtain the licenses and permits of expanding to such international markets. This way, even if markets expand, they will operate effectively since; they will be well directed (Rodrik, 2011, 9). (Word Count= 313) Question 6 Although different organizations have tried to curb green house emissions, the quantity of green house gases is still very high. The objective to reduce these emissions are mainly limited by three crucial obstacles which include; high rate of industrialization, increased human activity and increase traffic (Wallerstein, 1979, 30). Industrialization is the most crucial obstacle that is making forces of reducing green house emissions to be futile (Foster and Fred, 2009, 15). This is because; each year the number of industries in the economy increase by a very large percentage. An increase in the number of industries implies that there will be an increase in the emissions to the environment. Industries use energy sources that emit gases that are very harmful to the environment (Rodrik, 20). Therefore, the more the industries, the more the level of pollution and consequently, the more the green house effects. On the other hand, countries cannot survive without industries. This is because; industries produce food and other products that are essential to human beings. Therefore, success in curbing greenhouse emissions has been futile because new types of energy have not been found for these industries (Foster and Fred. 2009, 17). Human activities include burning of items, use of poor energy sources, and dumping of chemicals that emit poisonous chemicals when they decompose. Human activities such as burning charcoal are also very harmful to the environment since they emit smoke that affects the environment negatively (Rodrik, 2011, 14). The high levels of traffic also contribute to green houses in the environment. Every person in the modern days wants to own his or her own car. Therefore, people rarely use public means of transport. This increases the number of vehicles in the environment by a very large number. Consequently, the number of rate of emissions in the environment also increases due to the type of fuel used by the vehicles. Therefore, with many vehicles, the green house effect will continue to increase over time (Roberts & Hite, 2007, 9). (Word Count= 308) Works Cited Foster, John B, and Fred Magdoff. The Great Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2009. Print. Frank, Andre G. "The Development of Underdevelopment, 1969." The Globalization and Development Reader 1.1 (2003): 76-84. Print. Friedman, Thomas L. "It’s a Flat World, After All." The Globalization and Development Reader 1.1 (2005): 247-255. Print. Green, Duncan. From Poverty to Power: How Active Citizens and Effective States Can Change the World. Oxford: Oxfam International, 2008. Print. Huntington, Samuel. "The Change to Change: Modernization, Development, and Politics, 1971, and Political Order in Changing Societies,." The Globalization and Development Reader 1.1 (2003): 56-67. Print. Roberts, J T, and Amy Hite. The Globalization and Development Reader: Perspectives on Development and Global Change. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Pub, 2007. Print. Rodrik, Dani. The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 2011. Print. Rostow, W W. "The Stages of Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto, 1960." The Globalization and Development Reader, 1.1 (2003): 47-55. Print. Wade, Robert. "What Strategies are Viable for Developing Countries Today? The World Trade Organization and the Shrinking of ‘Development Space." The Globalization and Development Reader, 1.1 (2003): 277-294. Print. Wallerstein, Immanuel M. The Capitalist World-Economy: Essays. Cambridge [Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1979. Print. Read More