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WHY POOR COUNTRIES ARE POOR?

There are three main causes of poverty
Social
Political
External

Social
Overpopulation:
Overpopulation is defined as the situation of having large numbers of people with too few resources
and too little space. Overpopulation can result from either a high population density (the ratio of
people to land area) or from low amounts of resources, or from both. A high population density
pressures the available resources in the country, as the resources can only support a certain number
of people. Poverty can also depend on the country's mix of population density and agriculture
productivity. For example, Bangladesh has one of the world's highest population density with 1,147
persons per sq km (2,970 persons per sq mi). A large majority of the people of Bangladesh engage in
low-productivity manual farming, which contributes to the country is extremely high level of poverty.
However, this only applies to third-world countries who do not have advanced technologies. High birth
rates contribute to overpopulation in many developing countries. Children, especially boys, are assets
to many poor families because they provide labor, usually for farming. Cultural norms in traditionally
rural societies commonly sanction the value of large families. Also, the governments of developing
countries often provide little or no support, financial or political, for family planning (see Birth Control)
Families may also not know about family planning due to the lack of education. Hence, most
developing countries have high rates of population growth.

Distribution of resources:
In many developing countries, the problems of poverty are massive and pervasive. In recent decades
most of these countries have tried to develop their economies with industry and technology with
varying levels of success. Many developing countries, however, lack essential raw materials and the
knowledge and skills gained through formal education and training. Because these things are
necessary for the development of industry, developing countries generally must rely on trade with
developed countries for manufactured goods, but they cannot afford much. Because people in
developed nations may have more wealth and resources than those in developing countries, their
standard of living is also generally higher. Thus, people who have what would be considered
adequate wealth and resources in developing countries may be considered poor in developed
countries. In contrast, people in developing countries may consider themselves to be doing well if
they have productive gardens, some livestock, and a house of thatch or mud-brick. In rural areas,
people may be accustomed to not having plumbing, electricity, or formal health care. By the
standards of developed countries, such living conditions are considered hallmarks of poverty.

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According to reports, peoples incomes are not enough to cover the cost of their basic necessities and
provide them basic services such as water, electricity, transportation and communication. It pointed
out that recent surveys confirm that 80 percent of citizens expenses go for to food, most notably
among vulnerable groups that are deprived of basic services and luxury means.

Lack of education:
Illiteracy and lack of education are common in poor countries. Governments of developing countries
often cannot afford to provide for good public schools, especially in rural areas. Whereas virtually all
children in industrialized countries have access to an education, only about 60 percent of children in
sub-Saharan Africa even attend elementary school. Poor people also often forego schooling in order
to concentrate on making a minimal living. In addition, developing countries tend to have few
employment opportunities, especially for women. As a result, people may see little reason to go to
school. Reports have also argued that 41 percent of Yemens rural population lives on less than two
dollars per day, and 85 percent of Yemens poor population live in rural areas. It clarified that 47
percent of Yemens population are illiterate, which is another reason for poverty and unemployment.
In countries with high populations, unemployment levels of only a few percentage points mean that
millions of working-age people cannot find work and earn an adequate income. Because
unemployment figures indicate only the number of people eligible to work who have no job but are
seeking employment, such figures are not necessarily an accurate indicator of the number of people
living in poverty. Other people may not be able to find enough work or may earn wages too low to
support themselves.

Environmental degradation:
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the natural environment, including the atmosphere,
bodies of water, soil, and forests is an important cause of poverty. Environmental problems have
led to shortages of food, clean water, materials for shelter, and other essential resources. As forests,
land, air, and water are degraded, people who live directly off these natural resources suffer most
from the effects. People in developed countries, on the other hand, have technologies and
conveniences such as air and water filters, refined fuels, and industrially produced and stored foods
to buffer themselves from the effects of environmental degradation.

Economic trends:
Poverty in many developed countries can be linked to economic trends.
Changes in labor markets in developed countries have also contributed to increased poverty
levels. For instance, the number of relatively high-paying manufacturing jobs has declined, while the
demand for workers in service- and technology-related industries has increased. Historically, people
have learned the skills required for jobs that involve manual labor, such as those in manufacturing,
either on the job or through easily accessible school vocational programs. As these jobs are replaced
by service- and technology-related jobsjobs that usually require skills taught at the college level
people who cannot afford a college education find it increasingly difficult to obtain well-paying work.
In many developed nations the number of people living in poverty has increased due to rising
disparities in the distribution of resources within these countries.

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Since the 1970s, for instance, the poorest 20 percent of all U.S. households have earned an
increasingly smaller percentage of the total national income (generally less than 5 percent) while the
wealthiest 5 percent of households have earned an increasingly greater percentage (about 45
percent of the total).

Demographic shifts:
Some researchers also cite demographic shifts as contributing to increases in overall poverty. In
particular, demographic shifts have led to increases in poverty among children. In the United States,
for instance, typical family structures have changed significantly, leading to an increase in singleparent families, which tend to be poorer. There are differing beliefs about individual responsibility for
poverty. Some people believe that poverty is a symptom of societal structure and that some
proportion of any society inevitably will be poor. Others feel that poverty results from a failure of social
institutions, such as the labor market and schools. In addition, many people in developed countries
blame cycles of poverty, or the tendency for the poor to remain poor, on overly generous welfare
programs. Supporters of this position, including some politicians, argue against government spending
and initiatives to help the poor.

Economic:
-

High rate of unemployment

- Unemployment is rampant now that the global financial crisis has ravaged the world's economy.
With a higher number of unemployed people, crime rates in these cities will increase as people grow
desperate to survive. It is also believed, however, that some governments of the world intentionally
keep a "sufficient" number of people out of work as a replacement batch when the need arrives.
- Unfair trade
High subsidies and protective tariffs for agriculture in the developed world drains the taxed money
and increases prices for consumers in the developed world, decreasing competition and efficiency
and preventing exports by more competitive agricultural and other sectors in the developed world due
to retaliatory trade barriers and undermining the very type of industry in which developing countires
do.

Corruption (Economically-wise)
Corruption often accompanies centralization of power, when leaders are not accountable to those
they serve. More directly, corruption inhibits development when leaders help themselves to money
that would otherwise be used for development projects. Corruption, both in government and business,
places heavy cost on society. Businesses should enact, publicize and follow codes of conduct
banning corruption on the part of their staff and directors.
Citizens must demand greater transparency on the part of both government and the corporate sector
and create reform movements where needed. Corruption is both a major cause and a result of
poverty around the world. It occurs at all levels of society, from local and national governments, civil
society, judiciary functions, large and small businesses, military and other services and so on.
Corruption affects the poorest the most, whether in rich or poor nations.
The issue of corruption is very much inter-related with other issues. At a global level, the economic
system that has shaped the current form of globalization in the past decades requires further scrutiny
for it has also created conditions whereby corruption can flourish and exacerbate the conditions of
people around the world who already have little say about their own destiny.

Poor Governance
Governance is defined as the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country's
social and economic resources for development. Good governance implies a capacity to turn public
income into human development outcomes. Good governance is an essential pre-condition for propoor growth as it establishes the enabling regulatory and legal framework essential for the sound
functioning of land, labor, capital and other factor markets. Corruption and political instability resulted
in weakening of business confidence, deteriorating economic growth, declining public expenditure on
basic entitlements, low efficiency in delivery of public services as discussed in the earlier section on
human development, and a serious undermining of state institutions and the rule of law.

Political
Prejudice and inequality
Social inequality that stems from cultural ideas about the relative worth of different genders, races,
ethnic groups, and social classes. Ascribed inequality works by placing individuals in different social
categories at birth, often based on religious, ethnic, or 'racial' characteristics. In certain countries in
the world, governments tend to favor a specific creed or race or people. This is evident in South
Africa. In South African history, apartheid laws defined a binary caste system that assigned different
rights and social spaces to different races, using skin color to automatically determine the
opportunities available to individuals in each group. These people enjoy educational, social and
welfare benefits. For example, the children of these people are able to enjoy education with
subsidized school fees; adults are able to obtain high-paying jobs easily etc. Instead of channeling
resources to help those at need, the governments of these countries choose to treat different races
and creeds with prejudice and will treat others with less favoritism. Hence, this leads to poverty.

Corruption (Politically-wise)
Corruption is a rampant problem in the world today, especially in third-world countries. It undermines
democracy and good governance by flouting formal processes. Corruption often occurs when leaders
are not accountable to those they serve. Corruption usually inhibits development when leaders help
themselves to money that would otherwise be used for development projects. Corruption increases
the cost of business through the price of illicit payments themselves, the management cost of
negotiating with officials, and the risk of breached agreements or detection. Also, it generates
economic distortions in the public sector by diverting public investment into capital projects where
bribes and kickbacks are more plentiful. In Nigeria for example, more than 400 Billion dollars was
stolen from the National Treasury by Nigeria's leaders from 1960 to 1999. Forms of such corruption
include embezzlement, bribery, cronyism, nepotism, graft etc. Hence, this leads to poverty as leaders
should have used the money they usurped to help the poor, which results in a lack of funds.

External & Other Causes

Civil War
Nations experiencing civil war will experience stunted economic growth rate. For example, from 1990 to
1993, the period encompassing Desert Storm, per capita GDP in Iraq fell from $3500 to $761.This is
significant as it shows the drop in the well being of all citizens in the affected country. It however, fails to
capture the broader affects of damages to the infrastructure and social services, such as health care and
access to clean water, which are not captured. The loss of infrastructure and breakdown of society will
inevitably lead to the nation having to spend a hefty sum to rebuild and prepare itself for the economy.
Furthermore, civil war diverts scarce resources from fighting poverty to maintaining a military. This is
evident in the cases of Ethiopia and Eritrea. The most recent conflict over borders between the two
countries erupted into war during 1999 and 2000, a period when both countries faced food shortages due
to droughts.
Natural Disasters
Natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes have caused millions of dollars worth of
infrastructure and the loss of lives. Developing countries often suffer much more extensive and acute
crises at the hands of natural disasters, because limited resources become obstacles for the construction
of adequate housing, infrastructure, and mechanisms for responding to crises. Natural disasters, being
uncontrollable by man, affect annual agricultural output, such as floods destroying the fertility of soils by
washing away mineral-rich topsoil, and take away natural decomposing agents, rendering the soil
infertile. Droughts cause the land to become barren and unsuitable for cultivation. The states of the U.S.A
situated in Tornado Alley face constant fears of poor harvests in the face of frequent
tornado occurrences. In the case of the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008 and The 2004 Tsunami catastrophe
not only resulted in the loss of agriculture, but the destruction of millions of dollars worth of infrastructure
as well.

Uneven distribution of resources/lack of adequate resources in the world

economy
for example, it is known that many countries are facing poverty due to the lack of resources in the
country. Why is this case? One reason is due to the legacy of colonisation. It was known that many years
ago, many countries were colonised, which led to the transportation of many goods to the country which
colonised it. Hence, the colonised country does not have enough food/resources for its people. Moreover,
when these once colonised countries start development towards modernization, they lack raw
infrastructure, such as transportation systems and power-generating facilities. These countries also lack
raw materials and knowledge skills. As a result of this, the countries must rely on trade with developed
countries for manufactured goods, instead of themselves, which burdens them even more. The lack of
materials also leads to lesser jobs for the population, in which will increase the rate of poverty, since most
people in that countries will be unemployed, and are unable to earn themselves a living. As this goes on
and on, the rate poverty will increase drastically.