For a named Caribbean country, discuss five factors hindering its development and suggest two measures it can

undertake to ensure sustainable levels.

Economically speaking, development is the ability of a country to advance through stages by the measurement of its per capita income, GDP, etcetera , which are categorized as the economic indicative factors. However, development is not solely defined by economic growth, but it is rather a multi-dimensional process. It involves an improvement and enlargement of peoples choices. It involves raising peoples living standards. This includes incomes and consumption, levels of food, health care and education. Also development involves putting conditions in place that can enable the growth of self-esteem in people and promote a sense of respect and human dignity, and these are categorized as the non-economic indicative factors. It is the ability of a country to meet the present day generations needs without jeopardizing the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs. The indicative factors of development fall into two main categories, that is the economic and the non-economic factors. There are factors in Jamaica that severely hinder development. Over the years there are significant factors that hindered the development of Jamaica. The factors have been present and continuous even to this day. These are a few that comes to mind immediately, these include unequal distribution of wealth, crime, corruption, environmental factors, tourism, social mobility and globalization. To prove my point, I will show how these factors hinder development throughout my essay. In Jamaica there are little avenues or scope for social mobility. This has led to people seeing themselves as inferior. Though in Jamaica Education can move someone up on the social mobility ladder, the existence of jobs for the educated is few. Some avenue for upward social mobility must exist to reward people who are industrious and productive. If these avenues do not exist, people will feel inferior and will not feel empowered. When people feel do not feel empowered it breeds a heavy reliance on the government There exist the lingering remnants of slavery, which magnified prejudice, poverty and the unequal distribution of wealth. Distribution of wealth and resources can either hinder or promote development. The Jamaican society has always been one characterized by social stratification where the elites owned the capital; the middle owned some property while the lower classes only had their labour to sell. If wealth is unevenly distributed then this can hinder development. When concentrated in the hands of a few it can lead to low level of investment, high unemployment, high level of unskilled labour force as there is low expenditure on

education. It can also result in corruption. The descendants of black slaves tend to be among the poorest classes in Jamaica, while white and mixed-race descendants of plantation owners tend to be way better off. While watching the news about a year ago, I was shocked to find out that Jamaica has the fourth-highest poverty rate when compared with 23 regional neighbours. How then can development take place if this is the case? Equally concerning is Jamaica's unequal distribution of income, ranked as the second-worst among Caribbean countries. When wealth is held by such few people it leads to corruption. Corruption in Jamaica within the government has been well documented. It is well known fact that monies for development of infrastructure such as roads and bridges have been spent in a way contrary to the intended use or goal. Many projects lay unfinished or incomplete and the monies that were designated to perform the work have long been spent. One can remember a few years ago, when the Cuban light bulb scandal had occurred and how much the then government had defended the culprit, who got off the charges with a slap on the risk. I bring about this point to show just how much corruption controls this country and how politicians can get away with almost anything. It is this kind of corruption and mismanagement that has held back development of this country and maintained poor road conditions that we presently experience. In the absence of proper infrastructure, investors will choose not to invest in Jamaica as it may be a hindrance to their business. Where there is corruption in the government and mismanagement, the job creation for the people of Jamaica on the part of the government has been none and absence. People who lack job opportunities, and who are without hope, find illegal ways to put food on their table in an attempt to survive. Crime in Jamaica has arisen to a level unparalleled in any other Caribbean country. Studies and publications have revealed that the level of crime is indirect correlation with the absence of job and opportunities. With the constant killing and criminal act and defrauding of other people, Jamaica has now been identified as a mecca of criminal activities. When that fact is combined with the established corruption within the government, it only serves as ample reason for potential investors to avoid doing business in Jamaica. In a developing country, job creation is critical in providing income and opportunities to the citizens. Traditionally, a large part of job creation is provided by outside investors, however with these known factors, the outside investors do not invest in Jamaica and the government itself has proven to be so corrupt that it is unable to decrease the high level of employment over the year. A case in point to illustrate the severity of crime as a deterrent for investors and subsequently a loss of job creation; overseas investors have chosen to bring Chinese workers to perform on behalf of their companies in Jamaica. The government has sanctioned this action even in light of the fact that Jamaicans are trained to do similar work. These Chinese workers are brought in and job opportunities that could go to our own people are filled by someone else. This in no way leads to further developing this country in the area of job creation. In fact,

this arrangement does not benefit Jamaica greatly because the profit that these companies make is not spent in Jamaica but is rather sent back to their home country. Environmental factor is one other influences of economic growth. The farming industry has been in crisis due to mismanagement, natural disasters and a lack of proper assistance from the government. Water is life, however and in recent years, Jamaica has been starved of the precious commodity. There are times when there is a significant reduction in rainfall intensity Island wide. The country that has been dubbed as the land of wood and water has no proper system in place to assist farmers when they are being plagued by drought. This results in high imports of ground provision that can very well be produced here simply because there is a lack of water supply. Drought is a natural feature of our climate; this is something we may have to learn to live with. However, proper preparations and policies should be implemented to alleviate the problem. Our banana industry has also been severely damaged and has not recovered since the occurrence of a major hurricane. Exports have severely decreased. The banana plantation cannot compete with cheaper bananas from Central America and the country has not established trade partnerships with other countries to ensure that our bananas have a market. Resources in Jamaica are very limited, yet they are not being allocated in the most efficient ways. One cannot deny that globalization has definitely impacted on the countrys development. Globalization is the process by which flows of trade, finance and information between countries are broadened so that there exist a functioning of one global market place without borders. Globalization affects Jamaica in terms of the plants and animals, people, technology, and culture. Americanization, drug traffic, and just how much multinational corporations have imposed on our country and further complicate and make development unstable. There has been a steady increase in emigration. There are now farm work programs and hotel working programs that allows Jamaicans to work abroad. Now, some say more Jamaicans live outside the country than within, sending yearly remittances daily back to families. Our economy heavily relies on remittances and so do our people. Globalization brings with it increased competition, which very well drives down the sale of local produce and goods that tend to be more expensive and monopolies in the country are no longer profitable as they use to be. All is not lost, as there are measures the country can take to increase the levels of development.