Chapter 5 - PROBLEMS OF THE
THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES
Third World Countries​ - refer to the less
developed or developing countries. These
are the nations that emerged from their
colonial periods - at least politically.
Third world countries occupy 60% of the
Earth’s surface with a population of 70% of
the human race. And yet their share of the
total world productive income is only 11%.
Characteristics of Third World
Countries
1. ​Subsistence agricultural economy
- the main economy of a less developed
country depends on agriculture.
- its major source of income is from export
of raw materials and few kinds of crops to
the industrial countries.
2. ​Low per capita income
- per capita income is obtained by dividing
the national income of a country by the
number of its people. Since the national
income of a poor country is low, and it is
overpopulated, the result is even a lower
per capita income.
3. ​High birth rate
- the less developed countries have very
high birth rates. Their average rate of
population growth is 2.5% per year.
- another feature of the populations of the
less developed countries is its young
populations. Children under 15 years old
constitute almost 50% of the total
population.
4. ​High illiteracy
- literacy refers to the ability of individuals to
read and write in their own dialects.
- Because of extreme poverty, many
parents cannot afford to send their children
even to government primary schools which
are free.
- literacy helps accelerate economic
development. It is easier to impart proper
attitudes, values, knowledge, and skills to
people who are literate.
5. ​Poor health
- many people in the less developed
countries are afflicted with poor health. They
are either undernourished or malnourished.
- poverty is the main cause
6. ​Negative attitudes, values and
institutions
- people with wrong attitudes and values
cannot hope to improve their own economic
conditions, let alone their countries.
- attitudes such as tardiness, individualism,
resistance to change, lack of self-reliance,
and the like are not suitable to economic
development.
- values such as colonial mentality, fatalism,
nepotism, extravagance, and other similar
ingrained habits erode all plans and
programs of development.
- likewise, political, social and economic
institutions are defective. They only serve
the interests of the elite.
7. ​Inefficient public administration
- public administration has been generally
inefficient in many developing countries. In
spite of the presence of the civil service
system, a high degree of nepotism and
personal connections still prevail.
8. ​High rate of unemployment
- the labor force is underutilized in the less
developed countries. Many are idle and
others work only part of the year.
- unemployment refers to a situation where
people who are able and willing to work
cannot find jobs.
THE PROBLEMS OF LESS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
- the basic problem of most societies is not
only scarcity of resources but also the
proper allocation and utilization of such
resources.
- poverty has many adverse implications
and linkages. For a simplistic illustration, a
very poor man cannot buy most of his basic
needs. And so he becomes undernourished
and unschooled. Likewise, he has no
savings because his meager income is not
even enough to support him and his family.
- most people in the developing countries
are trapped in the vicious circle of poverty.
Existing in absolute poverty, they have low
incomes. With such incomes, it is almost
impossible for them to save or invest. For
those with little savings, they contribute to
capital formation which is not much
substantial investment.
- Thomas Robert Malthus, an English
classical economist, authored “​Essay on the
​ ublished in 1798.
Principle of Population” p
- The Malthusian theory states that
unchecked breeding of men causes
population to grow by geometric
progression whereas food supply cannot
grow rapidly or more than in an arithmetical
ratio.
- He postulated that since food is necessary
for the existence of man, and that passion
between the sexes is also necessary, the
pressure of population on subsistence
becomes greater.
THE BARRIERS TO DEVELOPMENT
1. ​Improving values and institutions
2. ​Redistributing wealth and income
3. ​Adopting western technology
4. ​Preparing for industrial development
5. ​Reducing birth rate
6. ​Elimination economic exploitation
THE BIG PUSH
- in reality, it is not completely impossible to
break through the vicious circle of poverty.
To be able to free themselves from the
clutches of poverty, the less developed
countries could adopt economic measures
such as:
6. Foreign loans and aids should be applied
to productive social and economic
programs, preferably self-liquidating
projects, meaning those that can pay for
themselves.