Tainted Globalization: The Development Gap
May 2008
Despite all our advances in our struggle against poverty, the development gap is only getting wider. It doesn’t take an advanced university degree to recognize the existence of the divide, asking ourselves one simple question is enough. Does place of birth play a determinant role in defining a person’s capacity to lead a long, prosperous and free life? If the answer is “yes” then we will know that the development gap persists today.
Global statistics and studies only reconfirm the above intuition and highlight the gravity of the situation. There are extreme differences in the global distribution of wealth and the availability of health services. Today, a person born in a developing country can expect to earn fourteen times less (1) and live thirteen fewer years (2) than someone born in a developed nation. In an equitable world it would be your abilities and traits (not your place of birth) that would determine your earning and longevity.
If we could at least point to a certain level of improvement in these two basic areas we would be able to say that we were on the right path; this is not the case. Twenty-five years ago the earning gap between the developed and developing world was “only” seven times less (3). Things on the health front aren’t doing that much better, in fact, being born in modern day Zambia actually gives you less of a chance of reaching age thirty than having been born in pre-industrial England (4).
Looking at the extremes that makeup these averages points to precisely how wide the gap between these two worlds actually is. For example, a resident of the U.S. can expect to earn $ 42,000 in 2005 compared to only $ 700 for an Indian resident (1). Furthermore, a people in Japan have a life expectancy of eighty-three years compared to only forty-two years in Zambia (2). That is half a life span and more $41,300 dollars that are taken from you just for being born in the “wrong part of the world”.
It might be simple (not to mention convenient) to solely blame poor nations for their predicament; it would also be unfair. There is no doubt that nations, poor or rich, are responsible for the wellbeing of their citizens however we can not ignore the impact that international laws and regulations (especially in today’s globalized world) have on the lives of citizens all over the world. Ridding poor nations of corrupt and abusive national governments would go a long way in improving the living standards of their citizens, correcting biased international agreements and providing adequate aid would take us all the way.
Self-interest and greed (not altruism) should motivate the world to take action to shrink the development gap. This divide generates resentment between nations and is one of the main causes of war, terrorism, health epidemics and migration. On top of this, global poverty reduces the size of global markets, limiting the potential earnings of national and international companies. Reducing the development gap, on top of improving the wellbeing of all global citizens, would help restore peace in an increasingly violent world.
The gap that separates rich & poor nations is real and has divided the world in two. Shrinking this gap is no simple task, but doing so will save lives and generate innumerable benefits for all.
