Global Studies
Underdevelopment, developmental aid and food crisis
Underdevelopment
Why are there poor countries?
Detailed:
Internal reasons External reasons
No address and land title
➔ No collateral
➔ No documents No banking system Bureaucracy Corruption No rule of law Undemocratic
No governmental institutions
Bad infrastructure → no access to markets Religious and ethnic conflicts
Backward traditions
Colionalism
➔ Borders divide ethic groups
➔ No functioning administration left
➔ No democratic state institutions
➔ Fostering of an elite
➔ Exploitation of resources No manufacturing
➔ Single product economies Dependent on:
• 1st world markets
• Multinational companies
• Aid (Redces motivation)
Slow development Summary:
Internal reasons External reasons
• Complicated bureaucracy
• Bad infrastructure
• Corruption
• Unreliable government
• Farmers can’t get loans because they lack collaterals like land titles
• Landlocked → Harder to ship goods
• Former colonies
• Ethnically fractured
Solutions: Microcredits
No loans
No investments
Low productivity
Role of multinational companies
Multinational companies often exploit resources in a developing country and then sell it to a very low price to a subsidiary outside of the country, where it then is sold to the rest of the world with high profit and thus avoid paying the taxes to the country that they got the resources from. It’s called transfer pricing.
→ Copper makes up 70% of Zambia’s exports but only 2.3% of its tax revenues.
African countries had to privatize mines in order to get financial support from the IMF.
Developmental aid
Development theories
Core periphery model of development
The core periphery model of development states that as a given region grows and develops from a central starting point – the core – its development is bound to spread to and
influence peripheral locations as it continues to expand (e.g. EMDCs and ELDCs) Dependency theory
As wealthier countries continue to grow they hinder the development of peripheral
countries. Resources flow from developing states to wealthy states and thus compromise at which the developed states can grow. In this way less developed countries are dependent upon the more developed countries for means of sustenance as they continually ship out their resources for the benefit of other states.
Rostow’s growth model
This growth model defines development of all regions as occurring in five stages of varying lengths dependent on a region’s rate of development. Further explanation to this model can also be found in the document “Developing countries and world trade”(page 8).
Development Strategies
1960s: “Development by growth”
- Supply of capital
- Industrialization, modernization - Integration in world market
- Create growth poles; trickle-down effect 1970s: “Basic needs first”
- Food - Health - Education - Jobs
For everyone
1980/90s: “Neo-liberal ideas” (“Reaganomics”) - Deregulation
- Free markets - Privatization After 2000s “Millenium goals”
- Poverty reduction
- Sustainable development Dimensions of development
Means Goals
Human rights + +++
Environment + ++
Governance ++ +
Economic Growth +++ o
Education ++ +
Health + ++
Culture + +++
Types of aid
Bilateral vs. Multilateral aid
Bilateral: One country directly assists another Multilateral:
Non-governmental aid (Charities, trusts)
Assistance from charities such as Oxfam, Brot für die Welt etc.
Funds from donations and supports small scale and self-help projects
Advantages Disadvantages
• More flexible
• Less dependent on political considerations
• They usually have less money
Short term vs. long term aid
Short term aid (emergency relief): Usually after natural disasters; Provided to keep people alive.
Long term aid (development aid): Provided to improve the long-term standards of living.
Project aid: For particular schemes (e.g. a small irrigation project).
ecology
economy Society (Social)
Funds from many countries
UN ELDC
The problem of food aid
For food aid Against food aid
• Saves millions from starvation
• Improves children’s diet (nutrients)
• Good for donors conscience
• Hugely ineffective and inefficient
• Fosters/Strengthens corruption
• Wreaks havoc on local food prices
• Only treats the symptoms, not the cause
• Uneven distribution
• Food aid is not sourced regionally
• Food arrives too late
• High administration costs (1/3) Governmental aid as a political lever
Governments can also threaten other countries to stop their aid to force them to do abide their will.
For example the governmental aid for Rwanda was suspended because they were suspected to support the rebellion in neighbouring East Congo.
Long-term Aid
Voluntary manpower
Improvement of Infrastrucutre
Innovation education
Political measures Political
measures money Voluntary manpower
Basic care Emergency
Aid
Aid
Control of corruption Crossborder cooperation Temporary solution only!
Medical assistance water
food
Accomodation
Water collecting points Water pipelines New farming concepts community projects Better land use general schooling Founding of global organization responsible for draught and famine Sanctions on those who hinder measures
Time
Amount Food Population
Food Crisis
Carrying capacity
Carrying capacity describes how many people the earth can
“carry” (feed) i.e. the level of population that can be supported.
The latest prediction from 1972 predicted a maximum capacity of 8.000.000.000 people. But this prediction was wrong
because people have surpassed the estimated food production.
Not only the physical-geographic factors, but also the socio-economic factors account to carrying capacity. The goal is Ecological carrying capacity (meaning long-term sustainability).
Causes for hunger
There are different causes for Hunger:
• Poverty
People can’t afford food.
• Food shortages and waste
If there’s been a bad harvest, farmers have a hard time getting enough to eat.
• Poor infrastructure
makes it impossible to transport food to areas in need or to sell surpluses of food.
• Unstable markets
Any fluctuation on basic food that pushes prices up creates additional hardship.
• Climate change
is damaging food and water security in significant ways.
• War and Conflict
Hunger is both cause and effect of war and conflict. Important infrastructure might be destroyed during such a conflict.
• Nutritional quality
Often they have an unbalanced diet, causing malnourishment and increasing the IMR.
Consequences of hunger
• Health
o Poorer overall health status and compromised ability to resist illness
• Psychosocial and Behavioral
o Higher levels of aggression, hyperactivity, and anxiety as well as passivity
• Learning and Academic
o Impaired cognitive functioning and diminished capacity to learn
Adaptation to this undernutrition requires a reduction in physical activity needed for household and community improvement as well as work output. Iron deficiency interferes with cognitive performance, resistance to infection, and capacity for work. Other nutrient deficiencies add to the damage to the individual and society.
Lack of food also leads to competition for food and thus even to war between hungry tribes.
When there’s no hope left, they might migrate to areas with better climate conditions and therefore with more food.
Summary
Reasons and Countermeasures to desertification Overgrazing
Soil is stripped of its vegetation and compacted by excessive numbers of cattle. This way it loses its ability to support plant growth and to hold moisture.
Over-cultivation
Farmers tend to expand their farming land after some good years to less suitable land, leaving both pastoralists (=Hirten) and farmers worse off because it neither yields crops nor does it feed cattle.
Irrigation systems
When the irrigated water evaporates from the ground it leaves behind high levels of salt, making the soil less fertile.
Deforestation
Much of the energy in Africa comes from wood. By deforestation however, the soil loses its fertility through erosion and runoff. Also it has a low water-holding capacity, causing rivers to flood and dry out faster.
Loss of traditional knowledge (indirect)
The former knowledge that was more suited for the climate conditions is now forgotten and thus less effective techniques have to be used.
Lack of rainfall Population increase
Bad harvest
Famine
Migration to greener pashes
More cattle More firewood More farmland
erosion
desertification Migration
Cities Wetter south
Europe
Cash crops (indirect)
By foreign exchange, more and more crops are sold to other countries instead of being consumed by the inhabitants. This leads to more farmland and yet less food. The increasing economic growth of crops can also block the way of pastoralists and use far more water than dozens of people.
Poverty (indirect)
Poor people have no other choice than to farm degraded land that yields almost no crops and also prevents the soil from restoring.
Summary Causes
• Excessive overuse
• Industrial logging
• Misuse and misconception Impacts
• High costs
• Migration
• Hunger
• Violence
Countermeasures
• Regulated use
• Rainwater-catching-systems
• Drought resistant plants
• New farming methods o Fertilizing soils o Crop rotating o Fallowing (Brache)
• Planting trees to stop erosion
• Building stone walls to stop erosion
• Cooperation of different groups o Water rights
o Price for water
• Spain: Restricted land for construction / tourism
Affected regions
• Mali
• Burkina Faso
• India
• Tajikistan (Turkmenistan)
• Southern Spain