Causes Of Underdevelopment

INTRODUCTION:


There are so many causes of under development, some of those discuss here. Causes of under development are not same in all under developing nation states, somewhere corruption is the major cause, somewhere lack in resources are the major cause, and somewhere wrong policies are the major cause of under development. But the most common cause of under development is the dependency upon developed countries, and terrorism.


COMPARE & CONTRAST:


A developed country is one which provides a high standard of living to its people as a result of the per capita income and Gross Natural Product (GNP). European countries which have already developed all their resources and have reached a high level of development can now generate their own capital as they do not have any financial restrictions and can thus enjoyed a high standard of living, a high capital income and a high productivity. In contrast, under developed nations are said to be court up in a vicious circle of poverty. In such countries, as Asia, Africa and Latin America where financial problems and Economic stagnancy exist, people lived below the poverty line. According to Professor Ragnar Nurkse, ‘Economic development has much to do with human endowments social attitudes, political conditions and historical accidents,’ implying that underdevelopment is a man-made problem, for which man-made solution need to be found. One of the common features of developing countries is a rapid rate of population increase. This rate has been rising still more in recent years as a result of advances in medical sciences; mortality rate has been reduced cause by epidemics. [1]






DEPENDENCY THEORY:


According to dependence theories, the cause of underdevelopment is the dependence on industrialized countries while internal factors of developing countries are considered irrelevant or seen as symptoms and consequences of dependence. The development of industrialized countries and the underdevelopment of developing countries are parts of one historical process. Developing countries are dependent countries. The economic and political interests of industrialized countries determine their development or underdevelopment. The goals are superimposed. Underdevelopment is not backwardness but intentional downward development [2]



STRUGGLE FOR THE IMPROVEMENT:

Since the end of World War II, we have been experiencing a worldwide struggle for the improvement of living conditions in the so-called developing countries. At the beginning, there was little query as to the causes of underdevelopment; the newly independent countries as well as United Nations bodies and industrialized countries tried to promote development by applying measures like the introduction of know-how through the assignment of experts, the expansion of education, the development of infrastructure, etc., i.e., they followed the example of the industrialized countries. In the course of time it became obvious that this was more or less a treatment of symptoms instead of causes, and the gap gradually widened between the developed and less developed countries of this world. During the early period of development efforts there was little discussion on the historical causes and the real nature of underdevelopment. Theoretical considerations at this time of "cold war" explained the situation of underdevelopment and the path for development from the viewpoint of western or socialist metropoles. Only in more recent times has the viewpoint of developing countries gained momentum in development theory. This has


great practical implications: development theory offers the justification for policies. The answer to the question "What is development?" determines which strategies, policies, projects, what type of industry, or what organization of agriculture should be considered to be in line with development goals or detrimental to these. Different positions in development policy are based on differences in underlying development theories. [3]

CORRUPTION:

Corruption defined as 'the abuse of public power for personal ends' has always existed. During recent decades, however, it has grown both in terms of geographic extent and intensity. Since the mid 1970s, it has infiltrated virtually every country in the world. It was hoped that the easing of political and economic restrictions that characterized the 1990s after the end of the Cold War would have gone some way to reducing this phenomenon. Through increased openness resulting from political pluralism and the freedom of the press, the process of democratization should, under normal circumstances, mobilize efforts to overcome corruption. However, emergent democracies are still fragile and seem to find the task of tackling established self-interests a formidable one [4]

POLITICAL CORRUPTION:
In broad terms, political corruption is when government officials use their governmental powers for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, like repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Illegal acts by private persons or corporations not directly involved with the government is not considered political corruption either. Illegal acts by officeholders constitute political corruption only if the acts are directly related to their official duties.


All forms of government are susceptible to political corruption. Forms of corruption vary, but include bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, and embezzlement. While corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and trafficking, it is not restricted to these organized crime activities. In some nations corruption is so common that it is expected when ordinary businesses or citizens interact with government officials. The end-point of political corruption is a kleptocracy, literally "rule by thieves".
What constitutes illegal corruption differs depending on the country or jurisdiction. Certain political funding practices that are legal in one place may be illegal in another. In some countries, government officials have broad or not well defined powers, and the line between what is legal and illegal can be difficult to draw.

POLITICAL IN-JUSTICE:

Political injustice involves the violation of individual liberties, including the denial of voting rights or due process, infringements on rights to freedom of speech or religion, and inadequate protection from cruel and unusual punishment. Such injustice often stems from unfair procedures, and involves political systems in which some but not others are allowed to have voice and representation in the processes and decisions that affect them. This sort of procedural injustice can contribute to serious social problems as well as political ones. If voting or litigation procedures, for example, are perceived to be unjust, any outcome they produce is liable to be unstable and produce conflict. In addition, any procedures that are carried out in a biased manner are likely to contribute to problems of religious, ethnic, gender, or race discrimination. When the procedure in question has to do with employment or wages, such issues can lead to serious economic and social problems. [5]



ECONOMIC IN-JUSTICE:

Economic injustice involves the state's failure to provide individuals with basic necessities of life, such as access to adequate food and housing, and its maintenance of huge discrepancies in wealth. In the most extreme cases of misdistribution, some individuals suffer from poverty while the elite of that society live in relative luxury. Such injustice can stem from unfair hiring procedures, lack of available jobs and education, and insufficient health care. All of these conditions may lead individuals to believe that they have not received a "fair share" of the benefits and resources available in that society. [6]


POVERTY: CASE STUDY:

Large populations of the 420 million people living in Latin America and Caribbean have begun the third millennium living under conditions of poverty. Near 40% of households are poor and 16% extremely poor (cepal 1999). Poverty is even more widespread and deep in rural areas where 32% of population live and work. Near 55% of rural households are poor and about 33% extremely poor. This is a sad record for Latin America and Caribbean most of its countries constituted themselves as nation states after 1810, under the liberal ideals of equality, liberty and fraternity.

Furthermore, all those countries under took massive economic development programs after world war II many of them financed by World Bank, the IADB, USAID, UNDP, and many other international agencies and donors.


In Latin America & Caribbean, like in other third world areas, poverty reduction never was a major policy goal in itself until the beginning of the 1970’s. The assumption was the economic development per see will reduce poverty, and economic growth was the development measurement.

TERRORISM:

Terrorism is another cause of underdevelopment, where terrorism exists the process of development stopped. Foreign investments, trade, and exchange of goods & services which are the keys for underdeveloped states are stopped because of terrorists activities.

Terrorism is a controversial term with no internationally agreed single definition. There are however several International conventions on terrorism with somewhat different definitions. In one modern sense, it is violence against civilians to achieve political or ideological objectives by creating fear. Most common definitions of terrorism include only those acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to a lone attack), and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants. Some definitions also include acts of unlawful violence and war.
Terrorism is also a form of unconventional warfare and psychological warfare. The word is politically and emotionally charged, and this greatly compounds the difficulty of providing a precise definition. One 1988 study by the US Army found that over 100 definitions of the word "terrorism" have been used. A person who practices terrorism is a terrorist.
Terrorism has been used by a broad array of political organizations in furthering their objectives; both right-wing and left-wing political parties, nationalistic, and religious groups, revolutionaries and ruling governments.


The presence of non-state actors in widespread armed conflict has created controversy regarding the application of the laws of war. [7]

OVER POPULATION:

Overpopulation in underdeveloped countries has previously been cited as the cause of economic poverty; however, underdevelopment may result from imperialism and exploitation of the Third World nations. Limiting population is not the solution for underdeveloped countries since the North American population increased from 26-167 million people from 1850-1950 at which time economic growth was significantly stimulated. Instead, it is the capitalist countries that own the means and resources to develop countries that choose to exploit underdeveloped countries by exporting more than 7 billion dollars more than they send to those countries. In addition, much of the land that could be used for agricultural purposes is owned by wealthy industrialists so that the majority of food supplies are provided by 2% of the farms. Moreover, underdeveloped countries export items such as fishmeal to capitalist countries for them to use as catfood rather than feeding their own malnourished people. It seems that developed and industrialized countries undergo a decrease in population; therefore, underdeveloped countries should not be initiating birth control programs with the hope of developing economically. [8]

The main issues of world population - overpopulation, underdevelopment and poverty, are discussed in light of the World Population Conference held in Bucharest in 1974. Some of the necessary ingredients for a realistic population policy in a developed country such as Britain are reviewed. At the core of the Bucharest meeting was the United Nations Plan of Action for World Population, which emphasized the health aspects of overpopulation, the urbanization problems of Third World countries, the interrelation of population and underdevelopment, the importance of women's rights, and



the responsibilities of nations to the world as a whole. There was strong disagreement about the content of the Plan, with many Third World nations refusing to regard overpopulation as a major problem. Figures on world population growth indicate that by the year 2000 we should expect 6500 million people, with the Third World bearing the brunt of population pressures. A notable feature of the population in Third World countries is the excess of youths which cause a considerable drain on resources because of their dependency. There is also a threat of food shortages on a global scale. Excessive urbanization is also a feature of Third World countries. Unemployment and underemployment are rampant. Family planning, however, has yet to be a success in Third World nations. The traditional domination of family planning by physicians has prevented wide acceptance. Too much has been asked of family planning methods among people who are living in extreme poverty, where human dignity is minimal, where women are unemancipated and when children represent their only stake in this world. The United Kingdom faces many problems which are exacerbated by its population density. However, population is absent as a political issue in Great Britain. A population policy for Britain must include freer access to contraceptives, abortion and sterilization. The education of the young is also paramount to an effective population program. A population policy must concern itself with women's rights. In addition, the people of Britain must be made aware of their role in helping underdeveloped nations attain economic growth so that they, too, may reduce their populations. [9]


ILLITERACY:


The U.S. population grew to around 250 million in 1991. But over 10%- 25+ million- cannot read or write at all. Another 45 million are functionally illiterate. That's around 28% that are out to lunch. 44% of the American adults do not read a book in a year. A publishing industry study showed that from April 1990 to March 1991, 6 out of 10 households did not buy a single book. It's no wonder the country is falling further and further behind in skills and competency. The Japanese statement that many of the U.S. workers are



lazy and illiterate may be reasonably accurate. While the aspect of being lazy is subjective, a illiterate person working hard probably isn't worth that much anyway. [10]

When illiterate, one cannot read or write at all. In contrast, one who is functionally illiterate has a basic grasp of literacy (reading and writing text in his or her native language), but with a variable degree of grammatical correctness, and style. In short, when confronted with printed materials, functionally illiterate adults cannot function effectively in modern society, and cannot adequately perform fundamental tasks such as filling out an employment application; understanding a legally-binding contract; following written instructions; reading a newspaper article; reading traffic signs; consulting a dictionary; or understanding a bus schedule.
Those who are functionally illiterate may be subject to social intimidation, health risks, stress, low income, and other pitfalls associated with their inability.
The correlation between crime and functional illiteracy is well-known to criminologists and sociologists throughout the world. In the early 2000s, it was estimated that 60% of adults in federal and state prisons in the United States were functionally or marginally illiterate, and 85% of juvenile offenders had problems associated with reading, writing, and basic mathematics. [11]

UNSKILLED LABOUR:

For years, American workers have grown increasingly angry over the exodus of U.S. jobs to fast-industrializing India. Think auto parts manufacturing, call centers, computer help desks, or software programming jobs. So it's not without a bit of irony that we note this week that employers on the Indian subcontinent many of whom have built their business models on offering


lower-cost labor to Western companies are now experiencing labor shortages that are pushing their own wages up.
It seems that all the foreign demand for India's bargain-priced manufacturing and high-tech labor -- plus a boom in construction and consumer services jobs sparked by India's heady internal growth -- has left skilled workers at a premium across the subcontinent. Wages for some semi-skilled textile factory workers have jumped 10% this year, while supervisors' salaries have risen by 20%. And overall Indian salaries will rise 12.3% this year, Mercer Human Resource Consulting figures, more than double the nation's inflation rate.While many U.S. workers might view this as a fitting comeuppance for Indian industry, that would be wrong for several reasons. The developed nations look increasingly to the Third World to provide them with ever-cheaper items to maintain high living standards. Call that the Wal-Mart (WMT ) effect. But too-rapid wage inflation in developing countries puts that symbiotic relationship at risk. Likewise, rising wages could fuel general inflation in India, slowing its economic growth and making Indian companies less able to buy high-value goods and services sold by First World companies. That eventually hurts Western workers as well.The real problem for India isn't a lack of workers. In a nation where the population has tipped 1 billion, there's no shortage of warm bodies. Instead, India's ability to train new workers can't keep pace with its rapidly expanding economy's demand for manpower. For example, India's world-class elite universities boast fewer than 100,000 graduates each year. But its high schools graduate about 14 million students annually -- so nearly all go on to lesser universities or trade schools providing training beneath global standards.The lesson here is that education, training, and development of intellectual infrastructure are every bit as important as low wages for today's global trading powers. (China recognized this early on; Mexico didn't.) Interestingly, that same message also offers hope for the more mature economies (and expensive workforces) of the U.S. and Europe. Continued


investment in human capital may be their best hope to remain truly competitive in a world full of faster-growing, low-wage competitors. As India's current predicament shows, wages matter but skilled workers matter more. [12]

CONCLUSION:

The reason behind the underdevelopment of underdeveloped states is the lack of determination, if people and the Government work together for the better future of their nation they can do, but problem is this who to start and where to start because the system is very weak. I believe developed states not guide properly to underdeveloped nations, developed nations take them as their competitor. Yes, underdeveloped states can be developed with the help of proper utilization of wealth, resources, and labor. The main focus of underdeveloped states should be on the education of their people, because educated people and skilled people can play the fruitful role in the development of nation.