GLOBALIZATION DEVELOPMENT
Globalization is further believed to be the silver bullet to bring about development in the Third World countries. Here it is important to explain what is meant by the Third World.
What do we understand by the term Third World
This term rose in the Cold War era and was used to categorize the non aligned countries that is these countries were neither aligned with the capitalist countries (First World countries) and nor with the Soviet Bloc (Second World countries). These were essentially the newly independent countries of Asia and Africa (such as India, Indonesia, Egypt). However, since that time on Third World colloquially refers to the poor and under-developed countries of the world (Gupta, 1992 pg 65 and Nations Online).
The invention of this terminology is not the only legacy of the post Second World War era. This era saw the rise of development studies in the social sciences. Modernizationtion theories of the 1950s and 1960s popularized the notion of modernization to denote the process conceived in the theory as replication of the Western experience of development. Development implied the spread and consolidation of capitalist economy and society into the underdeveloped regions (the assumption was that capitalism would generate development and higher standard of living) and was enthusiastically embraced by many policy makers in the Third World countries (Robinson, 2002 pg 1048). Certainly the penetration of the Third World firms (such as those of India and China) into the markets of the First World countries argues the case of the success of globalization in the Third World under developed countries (Hirst and Thompson, 1996 pg 2).
This begs the question Why are so many of parts of the world underdeveloped
Most countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America are underdeveloped, i.e. they lack access to job opportunities, health care, potable water, nutrition, education and shelter. There are many internal factors and institutions such as politics, corruption, overpopulation, lack of technological advancement and incomes that contribute to rendering so many parts of the world as underdeveloped.
Underdevelopment and Politics Majority of the underdeveloped countries in the world are under dictatorial regimes and face political instability. According to Amartya Sen (1999) this in turn contributes to their underdevelopment as in non democratic and unstable political regimes governments have little or no incentive to paid heed to the demands of the population and work for their development.
Underdevelopment and Corruption Corruption is believed to be a major factor impeding economic development (Fisman and Miguel, 2006 pg2). The economic consequences of extensive corruption include low labour productivity, unequal distribution of incomes, reduced investment and consequently lower growth (Dearden, 2000 pg 9). This argument can be empirically verified by the fact that most corrupt countries in the world (such as Somalia and Sudan) are also among the most underdeveloped (Corruption Perception Index, 2009).
Underdevelopment and Overpopulation The UN sponsored Population Conference held in
1974 recognised that that population and underdevelopment are interrelated and overpopulation and rapid population growth (population explosion) have contributed to the underdevelopment of the underdeveloped Third World countries (Loraine, 1974 pg 83). Half the population of this area is below the age of 19 whereas the average age of people in the rich countries is 31 years. The excess of youth in Asia, Africa and Latin America is highly disadvantageous. Young people require housing, educational facilities and medical care. Their presence prevents adequate investment and development they are one of the reasons why living standards in the Third World have been so difficult to raise. The burgeoning populations have contributed to an increased unemployment rate which in turn contributes to underdevelopment of a country (Loraine, 1974 pg 85).
Underdevelopment and Income, Low Technological Growth Underdeveloped countries have low incomes both in terms of GDP and per capita income. This in turn leads to a situation where in underdeveloped countries cannot invest in RD and technology which in turn translates into inefficient production. This keeps poor countries locked in a vicious cycle of lack of innovation and poverty (Acemoglu, 2005 pg5).
These are the internal factors that contribute to the underdevelopment of a country.
In conclusion, globalization has thrown development studies into this paradigmatic quagmire by modifying the reference points of macrosocial analysis. Globalising processes are bringing about changes in social hierarchies in the world capitalist system which traditional categories and frameworks in development studies are unable to capture (Robinson, 2002 pg 1048).