Economic essayThe way for poor to develop.docx

Economic essayThe way for poor to develop.docx

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EconomicessayThewayforpoortodevelop

Thewayforpoortodevelop

by

HaoChen

ID:

043070440

EC207

November16,2005

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Thewayforpoortodevelop

OutofPoverty:

andintoSomethingMoreComfortable.

byJohnStackhouse,

VintageCanada,382pp.,$24.95CDN/$17.50US

Povertyisalwaysapopulartopicforthoseconcernedwiththeeconomicdevelopment.Thepresentconditionofpovertyintheworldisreallybad.IntermsofthedatafromtheWorldBankandtheUnitedNations,aboutone-fifthpopulationliveonlessthanoneUSdollarsperday,andnearlyhalfpeopleliveonlessthantwoUSdollarsperday.Almostalltheone-fifthpoorestpeopledonothavethemostbasicsanitationfacility,andabout826millionofthemlackenoughnutrition,morethan850millionareilliterate.1JohnStackhouse,whohadstudiedMacroeconomicsinuniversity,havetraveledtosomedevelopingcountriesinAsiaandAfricaasanoverseasdevelopmentwriterforTheGlobeandMail.InhisbookOutofPoverty:

andintoSomethingMoreComfortable,Stackhousedidagoodjobofdescribinghisinvestigationonthepoorregionsandhisfindings.Hefoundthatpovertycouldbeentrenchedinlotsofplaces,butinthebrightside,povertycouldberemediedbypoorthemselvesandtheoutsideinstitutionsaidcouldbeunnecessary.

Stackhousebelievedthatitisthehumannaturetostruggleforthe

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betterlives.Soifpoorcouldcontrolthebasicdecisionoftheirlives,theywouldcontributetheirpersonaleffortandasaresulttheywouldhavebetterlives,inotherwords,beindevelopmentprocess.However,thereweresomebasicobstaclesfromsocialinstitutionsintheway.Someofthemevencamefromthepovertyreductioninstitutions.Outsideinstitutionsoftendesignedradicalneweconomicsystemtohelppoor.Butthedevelopmentwasnotaboutthepoorparticipatingintheoutsideinstitutiondesignedprograms,itshouldbethepoortakinginchargeofthedevelopmentprocess.Whenpeoplelivinginvillageshadthepowertomaketheirowndecisionsofdevelopment,theycouldhaveanequalopportunityinlife.Theotherbasicobstacleinthedevelopmentprocesswassometraditions.Itwasthebiggestchallengefordevelopment.

Inthe1980s,thedevelopmentorganizationsbelievedauniversalruleofdevelopmentthatfairandopeneconomypluscivillibertiesandappropriatepublicinvestmentequaltodevelopment.Inthe1990s,theformulahasbeenchangedtodevelopmentequalstodemocracyplusfreemarketandsmallgovernment.Intermsofthedevelopmentformula,theWorldBankandtheInternationalMonetaryFund（IMF）believedtherewasacleardevelopmentpathaheadforthewholedevelopingworld.

Thailandwasthestarstudentofthedevelopmentformula.Withabundantforeignaid,heavyinvestmentinprimaryeducation,

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infrastructureandsuccessfullandreform,Thailandeconomyhadbeenboomed.However,Thailandwasstillamilitaryregimeinthe1990s.There

wereriotsandoppressioninthedictatorshipcountry,followingbythewealthwasconcentratedbyafewpeopleinThailand.So,humandevelopmentisnotonlyabouteconomicdevelopment.Itisacomplexprocessincludingeconomic,politicalandsocialimprovement.

Enteringthe21stcentury,Stackhousesawthenewhopeofthedevelopingworld.Hefoundthatpeoplebegantosharelandandwater,establishdemocraticschoolboards,promotetradeandcreditmarket,andthegovernmentsbecamemoreaccountable.

Stackhouse’sstorybeginswithhisvisittoBiharipur,asevenhundredpeoplevillagewhichwasmorethanthreehundredkilometerssouthfromNewDelhiinIndia.Thevillageseemedtobeisolatedfromtheoutsideworld.AlthoughitwasonlyaboutfivekilometersawayfromatownnamedTilhar,thepeopleStackhousemetallhaveneverheardofthevillagebefore.Theroadtoenterthevillagewasliketohavebeenbombedinawar.Stackhouseandhiscompanieshadtogetoutofthecarandwalkinthevillage.

Stackhousewroteindetailaboutwhathehasseeninthevillage.Thereseemedlikeapermanentpovertyinthevillage.Timeseemedtogobacktoacenturyago,becausetherewasnomodernthingscouldremind

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youthatitwasinthe1990s.Thevillagehadnoelectricalwires,pavedroad.Almostallthehousesweremadebymanure,strawandsticks.Waterpumpwasof19thcenturydesign.Childrenhadnoshoes,hadscabiesandshitoutside.Peoplelivedinthevillageknewverylittleabouttheoutsideworld.TheyhaveneverheardofCanada,thehomecountryofStackhouse.TheystillthoughtBritishweretherulerofIndia.

HowcanavillagelikeBilharipurdevelopandcatchupwiththeoutsideworld?

Theinstitutions,includingthegovernmentandinternationalaidorganizationstriedtohelp.Threehandwaterpumpshadbeeninstalledfordrinkingwater.Healthyworkerscametothevillageeveryfewmonths.Therewasaschoolinanearbyvillagewhichwasonlytwokilometersaway.Adung-fuelledgasgeneratorhadbeeninstalledforcooking.Thelambardar,thechiefofthevillage,hadbeeneducatedinuniversity,triedtoappealforaschoolandhealthclinicforthevillage,andpavingtheroadinthevillage.Butthecorruptedgovernmentdidnotaccepthissuggestion.Thelambardarbelievedtherewasnowaytochangethestatusquo,becausethepoliticiandidnotwanttochange,farmersdidnotknowhowtochangeandevenworse,thepopulationwaskeptgrowing.

InIndia,womenweremuchworseoffthanmen.Indailylives,womenweresupposedtogetupearlierthanmen.Wivespreparedhottea

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fortheirhusbandandmadebreakfast.Thebiggestdaughterwassupposedtosweepthehouse,feedtheanimal,helpthemothertomakebreakfastandgettheyoungerbrothersandsistersup.By1991,theUnitedNationsestimatedthattherewasonly12.3percentliteracyrateforwomeninIndia,oneofthelowestcountriesintheworld.Stackhousementionedanimportantdetailaboutalittlegirl,whowasforcedtogetmarriedattheageofthirteenyearsold.Infact,lotsoffathersdidnotwanttheirdaughterstogotoschool,becausetheyfearedthatthegirlswouldstarttohavetheirownthoughtsandthusstarttosay“no”tothem.Anotherreasonwasthatthefathersdidnotwantto“waste”moneyonthedaughters’educationbecausetheywouldgetmarriedandlefttheirfamiliesanyway.

SometraditionsinIndiawereencumbrancestothedevelopmentprocess.Themostimportantonewascastesegregation.Peopledistrustedanddidnotco-operatewellbetweendifferentcastes.Thus,Indiaactuallywasdividedbylotsofindependentandisolatedsmallcommunities.Itcouldnotobtaineconomicefficiencyifpeoplecouldnotworktogether.Forexample,therewasaschooljusttwokilometersawayfromtheBiharipurvillage.ButchildrenintheBiharipurvillagedidnotgotheschoolbecausetheschoollocatedindifferentcastevillage.Anotherexampleofthesenotgoodtraditionswasaboutafatherofabride.Afatherhadtopaylots

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ofmoneyfortheweddingofhisdaughter,althoughhewasverypoor.Theresultwasthathehadtoborrowmoneywiththeveryhighinterestrate,morethanthirtythreepercentannually.Hehadtobeinheavydebtjustbecauseofthewedding.

Highbirthratewasanotherprobleminpoorareabecausetheverylimitedresourceshadtodistributetomorepeople.Itincreasedthescarcityofresourcesforeveryone.InIndia,thereweresterilizationcampstotrytodecreasethepopulationgrowth.Buttheeffectwasverylimited.Tosolvetheproblem,thebetterwaysweretodelaythegirls’marriageage,betterhealthcareforwomenandchildren,andcheapercontraceptives.Thesemethodshadtakeneffectsinsomearea.

InBangladesh,thegovernmentdidagoodjobtoinvestinirrigation,subsidizefertilizeranddistributeofhybridseeds.However,thereshouldtakemorelocalcouncillevelelectionsandmakedemocracymoreaccountable,responsiveandeffective.

InAfrica,StackhousevisitedSomalia,Tanzania,Uganda,CoteD’ivoireandGhana.Somaliahadlotsofresourcestofeeditself,likelivestock,fishandfertileland.Butthecivilwarcrashedanypossibledreamofdevelopment.Thewarlordsusedthepoorandfaminetogetforeignaidtofeedtheirarmy.TheyclaimedtheirsovereigntyandrefusetheUnitedNation’stroopstostopthecivilwar.Thereweredozensof

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countrieslikeSomaliainAfrica.Ifthegovernancesysteminthesecountriescouldnotbechanged,therewouldbenowaytodevelop.Otherthanthesetroublecountries,mostofcountriesinAfricahasgainedrisinginadegree,althoughtheyallhadsomeweaknessneedtoberemedy.InTanzania,otherthanessentiallyheavydebtrelief,humandevelopmentshouldbemoreconsideredintheresurgence.InUgandaandCoteD’ivoire,peopleneeded“secondindependence”.Theyneedednotonlytheforeignaid,butalsothepowertocontroltheirownlivesanddestinies.InGhana,morefairtradewouldbegreathelptothedevelopment.

Indonesiaexperiencedbothincredibleeconomicriseandtragicfallintherecentdecades.Stackhousebelievedthatdevelopmentwithoutfosteringlibertycouldincreasetheinequalityandfinallymightleadtoriotsandeconomicfalls.

TheGlobeandMailclaimedthatthisbookwasthebestbookof2000.TheHamiltonSpectatorandQuill&QuirebelievedthatinthisbookStackhousehasfoundthesolutiontothepovertyproblem.

Itiscorrectthatinhumannaturethepoorwouldsettheirownagendatodevelopiftheycouldhavesomebasiccontrolovertheirlives.However,theaidandhelpfromoutsideinstitutionscannotbeneglectedaswell.Onthecontrary,thepooralwaysneedtherightaidandhelptospeedupthedevelopmentprocess.Insomec