Challenges for Development
March 6, 1993
<< Previous Panel | Next Panel >>
Panelists:
Uner Kirdar
Director, Development Study Programme, United Nations Development Programme; Editor, Change: Threat or Opportunity for Human Progress
Gita Sen
Professor, Center for Population Studies, Harvard University; Author, Development Crises and Alternatives: Third World Women's Perspectives
Max Sisulu
Director of Environment/Economic Analysis for the African National Congress, South Africa
Michael Unger
Chief Financial Economist, Private Enterprise Sector, Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of State
Interlocutor:
Benjamin Pogrund
Chief Foreign Sub-Editor, The Independent, London; former Editorial Director, Panos Institute
Moderator:
Christine Barnes
EPIIC Colloquium
"The right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all people are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized."
-Article 1, United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development
| ||
| ||
|
Since World War II, development assistance to the developing countries has primarily come from multilateral lending institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. This aid had been both beneficial and controversial with the accompanying demands for structural adjustment and an emphasis on export crops and primary resources. With the end of the Cold War and decreasing political need and support for proxy leaders of the Third World, more emphasis is being placed on conditional aid -- linking issues such as human rights reforms and decreased militarization to grants.
However, developing countries need more than aid to become economically viable. Developing countries comprise 76 percent of the world's population, yet they contribute no more than 20 percent of world production. The developing world can provide the industrialized world with an extensive export market and is still an important source of commodities and raw materials. But poverty, population, the growing AIDS epidemic, and poor educational systems continue to plague developing countries. MNC's television and tourism spread Western culture faster than internal programs, the World Health Organization, the World Bank or bilateral assistance can meet basic human needs. While Nicaragua has access to the most recent episodes of Latin American soap operas or American movies, the country suffers from an unemployment rate of over 60 percent, and inadequate education, sanitation and health facilities.
What is development and how should growth and progress be measured? Burdened by colonial legacies, economic development in developing countries has also been denied by corruption, bureaucratic morass, and the proliferation of policies of arms producers in the developed world. While some progress has been made in various regions through intra-regional cooperative efforts -- e.g. Southern Africa -- many states are in danger of being marginalized with the growth of regional trading blocs and the threat of global recession.
The third world debt crisis aggravates these conditons. Countries in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa have been especially hard hit. After the tumult that upset international exchange rates and developed currencies, borrowing nations faced increased external public and private debts to commercial banks and institutions. The total debt of developing countries increased from $58.1 billion in 1970 to $1.3 trillion in 1988 -- or one-half of their combined GNPs. Each year, there is a net flow of $44 billion back to developed countries.
The role of Multinational Corporations, while indirect contributors to development, is also quite controversial. Their investments in developing countries produce capital, develop infrastructure, introduce goods, services and technology, and provide jobs and skills. However, disregard for labor and environmental regulations have had negative consequences for the developing world and in many ways infringe on national sovereignty.
These challenges to development have been further complicated by the transitions in the world's demography, and in its technological, social and ecological sectors, as well as the current global recession. This changing context includes accelerated population growth -- 95 percent of the five billion people the world will add in the next 35 years will be born in the developing countries -- depleted natural resources and environmental degradation.
There is a need to focus on reversing the cyclical nature of underdevelopment -- rapid population growth, poor health and education, meager housing and diets, and unstable governments caught up in bureacratic process. Growth/Development models evolved in Japan and in the Newly Industrialized Countries which achieved unprecedented rates of economic development. These models exemplify that development is both achievable and not necessarily based on Western principles. These countries embraced export-led growth, import protection and a strong government directive. Long-term policy planning was emphasized.
There are some economic success stories; but their success is debatable when distribution of wealth, human rights and environmental impact are considered. Development strategies in lesser developed countries and Eastern Europe should be tailored to each country. This should include a more sustainable approach to development, where human needs and long-term planning are critical ingredients.