The Struggle for a Higher Standard of Living

Fülszöveg

the struggle for a higher
standard of living
THE PROBLEM OF THE UNDERDEVELOPED COUNTRIES
by
W. Brand


The problem of the undeveloped countries will probably remain with us for several generations. Despite the advances made in technology and organization which have lifted material welfare to unprecedented levels in the West, two-thirds of mankind inhabiting Africa, Asia and Latin America is still living at a minimum level of subsistence.
In this book, the author, formerly a member of the United Nations Secretariat, gives a comprehensive review of the difficulties faced by the poor countries in their efforts to improve their levels of living. Examples are given of actual situations in various countries and emphasis is placed on quantitative description and historical and institutional analysis rather than on an explanation in terms of an abstract model.
In the first chapter the causes and symptoms of a low standard of living are discussed by examining the specific... Tovább

Fülszöveg

the struggle for a higher
standard of living
THE PROBLEM OF THE UNDERDEVELOPED COUNTRIES
by
W. Brand


The problem of the undeveloped countries will probably remain with us for several generations. Despite the advances made in technology and organization which have lifted material welfare to unprecedented levels in the West, two-thirds of mankind inhabiting Africa, Asia and Latin America is still living at a minimum level of subsistence.
In this book, the author, formerly a member of the United Nations Secretariat, gives a comprehensive review of the difficulties faced by the poor countries in their efforts to improve their levels of living. Examples are given of actual situations in various countries and emphasis is placed on quantitative description and historical and institutional analysis rather than on an explanation in terms of an abstract model.
In the first chapter the causes and symptoms of a low standard of living are discussed by examining the specific problems of each production factor, i.e. land, capital, labor and leadership. The second chapter treats the domestic financial resources available for development and the relevance of the consumption and private investment pattern, the role of foreign trade and of the government in this respect. The relation of inflation to development is also covered in this section. In the third part, foreign investment, private as well as public, and the current programs of bilateral and international aid are discussed. This chapter is preceded by a short history of the trend of capital movements in the past and ends with a description of the function and scope of the new organs for enlarging the stream of public investment which have recently been proposed.
In a final chapter the tentative conclusions
reached in the previous sections are summarized. The economic level from which the poor countries start seems in many cases to be much lower than that at which the present industrial countries began. As far as our present knowledge goes, the relationship between population and resources seems to be unfavorable for most countries whereas their rate of population increase is far ahead of any growth encountered in the history of the West. In many countries the tradition of rationality and the rule of law which are prerequisites for economic development are not imbedded yet in their social and culturalstructure. Moreover, because of their lag in technical skill and knowledge of organization, they seem to have only limited opportunities in the near future for developing outside markets for manufactured products to offset unfavorable population-resource ratios. The evolution of the Soviet Russian economy as an example for the path to be followed by the underdeveloped countries is foimd wanting for various reasons.
The question whether the poor countries will succeed in raising their levels of living remains unanswered in this book. Because the subject is partly outside the scope of economics, the writer urges a greater effort on the part of both undeveloped and developed countries, on political and human grounds, to find ways and means to effect a successful transfer of the accumulated scientific and technical knowledge in the West. Despite the above mentioned obstacles, he believes that a vast improvement in the well-being of the masses of the world could be accomplished. Vissza