Developing country
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Different economist have their varied point of views regaring the underdevelopment of a country. Some considering low per capita income as their base and some considering low per capital formation. A developing country is a country with a relatively low standard of living, undeveloped industrial base, and moderate to low Human Development Index (HDI). In developing countries, there is low per capita income and widespread poverty and low capital formation as well. The term has tended to edge out earlier ones, including the Cold War-defined "Third World", which has come to have unintentional negative connotations associated with it. Another term synonymous to developing country is Less developed country (LDC) or Less economically developed country (LEDC). LEDC is a term used by modern geographers to portray the countries classified as "developing countries" more accurately, specifying that they are less economically developed, which usually correlates best with other factors such as low human development.
Development entails a modern infrastructure (both physical and institutional), and a move away from low value added sectors such as agriculture and natural resource extraction. Developed countries, in comparison, usually have economic systems based on continuous, self-sustaining economic growth in the tertiary and quaternary sectors and high standards of living.
The application of the term developing country to all of the world's less developed countries could be considered inappropriate: a number of poor countries are not improving their economic situation (as the term implies), but have experienced prolonged periods of economic decline.
Countries that have the more advanced economies among the developing nations but have not yet fully demonstrated the signs of a developed country, are grouped under the term Newly Industrialized Country.
[edit] Measure and concept of development
The term "developing country" refers mainly to countries with low levels of economic development, but this is usually closely associated with social development, in terms of education, healthcare, life expectancy, etc. The term generally implies an inferiority of the developing countries.
The development of a country is measured with statistical indexes such as income per capita (GDP), life expectancy, the rate of literacy, et cetera. The UN has developed the HDI, a compound indicator of the above statistics, to gauge the level of human development for countries where data is available.
Developing countries are in general countries which have not achieved a significant degree of industrialization relative to their populations, and which have a low standard of living. There is a strong correlation between low income and high population growth, both within and between countries'''.
The terms utilized when discussing developing countries refer to the intent and to the constructs of those who utilize these terms. Other terms sometimes used are less developed countries (LDCs), least economically developed countries (LEDCs), "underdeveloped nations" or "undeveloped nations", Third World nations, the South and "non-industrialized nations". Conversely, the opposite end of the spectrum is termed developed countries, most economically developed countries (MEDCs), First World nations and "industrialized nations".
The United Nations allows each nation to decide for itself whether it will be designated as "undeveloped" or "developing" (though many economists and other observers ignore the UN rule about self-designation).
To moderate the euphemistic aspect of the word developing, international organisations have started to use the term least developed countries (LLDCs) for the poorest nations which can in no sense be regarded as developing. That is, LLDCs are the poorest subset of LDCs. This also moderates the wrong tendency to believe that the standard of living in all of the developing world is the same.
The concept of the developing nation is found, under one term or another, in numerous theoretical systems having diverse orientations — for example, theories of decolonization, liberation theology, marxism, anti-imperialism, and political economy.
[edit] Sources of (under) development
According to different theories, sources of underdevelopment include:
- Low saving which may lead to low investment according to Harrod-Domar model but large amount of saving and investment still does not imply strong development
- Intrinsic attitudes and aptitudes, real or used as justification
- attitudes and culture of the people;
- aptitudes and behavior of the elites and leaders;
- High rates of fertility
- Legal structures and institutions
- a breakdown in the rule of law
- high corruption
- Extrinsic factors, real or used as justification
- Geopolitical or commercial interest that it creates compared to other countries;
- place of the country in a historical and cultural system;
- inadequate reforms imposed in counterpart with financing of last resort, by multilateral organizations (like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank) to get out of situations of deficit and indebtedness in which the country is placed (see Developing countries' debt).
- lack of interest in and comprehension for the specific dynamics of a nation, by multinational companies.
- Domination of trade rules by richer countries
- Using up of resources to pay interest on debts.
[edit] Typology and names of countries
Countries are often loosely placed into four categories of development:
- Developed countries, and their dependencies (For a list of countries, see developed country.)
- Countries with an economy consistently and fairly strongly developing over a longer period (People's Republic of China excluding Hong Kong and Macau which are developed, Mexico, Brazil, Pakistan, India, South Africa, Turkey, the Philippines, Egypt, much of South America, several of the Persian Gulf Arab States, Malaysia, Thailand, the former Warsaw Pact, etc.). See Emerging markets.
- Countries with a patchy record of development (most countries in Africa, Central America, and the Caribbean excepting Jamaica (category 2) and Puerto Rico (U.S. territory); much of the Arab world falls in this category); also much of Southeast Asia, falls under this category excepting Singapore (category 1), Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand (category 2). 76% of the world's countries fall under this category.
- Countries with long-term civil war or large-scale breakdown of rule of law or non-development-oriented dictatorship ("failed states") (e.g. Haiti, Somalia, Sudan, Myanmar, perhaps North Korea)
The term "developing nation" is not a label to assign a specific, similar type of problem.
