essay about developing countries

119 Developing Countries Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best developing countries topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good essay topics on developing countries, 📌 most interesting developing countries topics to write about, ❓ questions about developing countries.

• Three Biggest Problems in the Developing Country-Ghana Education about AIDs in Ghana has helped to reduce the spread of the virus, which has consequently improved the lifestyle of many people living in the country.
• Tourism Contribution to the Developing Countries Development The money may be used to pay the workers at the tourism sites, construct good roads to the parks, provide environmental friendly recreational facilities inside the park and educate the people in the park surroundings […] We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Modernization Theory and Developing Countries Proponents of modernization theory believe that the introduction of modern technology in manufacturing, technology and agriculture will lead to industrialization and development of the developing countries.
• Nestlé’s Ethical Issues in Developing Countries In this case, the ethical elements of the operations pose questions about the motives of such corporations, which results in displeasure to the greatest majority.
• Is India Still A Developing Country? The second reason is that due to the problems with employment, the project of development does not meet the expectations and entails a range of other failures.
• Nike Company Analysis in Developing Countries Nike’s vision is to remain the “leading company in the industry by continuing to produce the high quality products that have long been provided in the past”.
• Impacts of Multinational Corporations (MNC) Involvement in Developing Countries MNCs contribute to the improvement of economies of the emerging states in different ways. MNCs also contribute to the improvement of social and development needs of the developing nations.
• Common Characteristics of Developing Countries Indeed, this is evident from the high number of slums and informal settlements within these nations. This is because the environment is the main source of food and other crucial resources.
• The Similarity Between Developing Countries: Africa, Asia and South America These divisions fault line is across the social, economic, and politics of the country. This is the major cause of poverty and under development in these countries.
• Education in Developing Countries Political independence brought young countries harsh difficulties including the problems with education; Children in such countries do not have access to high-quality education due to the poor technological, social, and economic development.
• Health Problems in Developing Countries Obeng-Odoom provides a debatable issue in terms of ‘NGOisation,’ privatization, and state strengthening of the health system to remedy the problems that exist in the sector.
• Causes of Corruption in Africa’s Developing Countries Corruption is the leading cause of underdevelopment and challenging economic conditions in Africa’s developing countries. Finally, legal and media institutions lack the freedom to practice justice and expose corruption.
• Hypertension in Developing Countries The article was received from the National Library of Medicine, demonstrating the credibility of the source. The second article is by Rovesti et al, and it explores a broader subject – the concept of health […]
• Public Health Outcomes for Women Experiencing Violence in Developing Countries The aim of this study is to determine risk factors and implications that violence against women has in developing world. The question for this research is: what type of factors can put women at a […]
• Health Inequalities in the Developing Countries Health inequalities refer to the variation of the health status among the members of society. Age is one of the essential determinants of the differences in the health situation of the members of society.
• Internationalization Process of Firms From Developing Country The systematization of the approach to the provision of related services is one of the successful strategies of IAID. According to Alyafei, the success of many Qatari SMEs is attributed to the efficient allocation of […]
• Birth Rates in Developed and Developing Countries Developed countries such as the United States and Australia have the same fertility rate of 1. Thus, the current paper tested a hypothesis concerning birth rate levels in developed and developing countries.
• Birth Rate in Developed and Developing Countries Since developing countries are often countries with a low standard of living, there is a problem of reducing the birth rate.
• Central Banks in Developed and Developing Countries In the course of the evolution of the world economy, the central bank has become the prevailing type of monetary authority worldwide.
• Why Developing Countries Sign BITs The main advantage of bilateral investment treaties is that if the host state is alleged to breach the BIT, the investor does not need to ask the government to accept a claim.
• Labor Rights in Developing Countries Moreover, the Western companies have to be exemplary in their respect for the rights of the employees and promote ethical standards throughout all the stages of production of its goods and services.
• Entrepreneurial Activities in a Developing Country The article by Eijdenberg et al.aims to fill the gap in the literature concerned with entrepreneurs’ individual experiences and responses to institutional constraints to entrepreneurship.
• The Third World Countries: Development and Communication This paper examines the problems that prevent the development of the third world countries and the reasons why the western countries continue to progress on the other hand.
• How Would Debt Relief for Developing Countries Improve Their Situation? Lending windows have been introduced through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust which became effective in January 2010: the Extended Credit Facility, the Standby Credit Facility, and the Rapid Credit Facility.
• Management Accounting and Control: Micro-Businesses Issues in Developing Countries In that regard, it can be stated that the topics discussed in the article, either outlining the necessity for knowledge, providing the overview of the usage of this type of knowledge on the individual and […]
• Entrepreneurial Intention in Developing Countries From this table, one can see which of the concepts are found to be the most beneficial for the entrepreneurial intention in developing countries, and which barriers are the most detrimental.
• “Why Do Developing Countries Tax So Little?” by Besley and Persson The present paper offers a response to the article by discussing the major strengths and weaknesses of the arguments provided in the article and describing the implications of the findings.
• Clean Water Change the Lives of People in Developing Countries The first one is from Africa which is considered to be the most afflicted region in the world when it is referred to the issue of having the access to clean water and to any […]
• Development Programs Effectiveness in the Third World Countries The foundation of this critique is the disillusionment regarding the effectiveness of the development programs offered to the third world countries in earlier periods.
• The Problem of Developing Countries Access to the WTO Dispute Settlement In his article, Najah Hassan Salamah has reviewed the state of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the WTO and whether the decision to join the organization was right for the economy of the state.
• War and Poverty Connection in Developing Countries The scholars claim that conflict and war in most nations have been found to exacerbate the rate of poverty in the affected nations.
• Pneumococcal Vaccines Markets in Developing Countries The main concern, however, remains to be the high cost of vaccines in the third world market. In other words, the capacity of production of pneumococcal vaccines is relatively high compared to the developing countries.
• Public Administration Role in Developing Countries: Mozambique The article has been keen to mention that, today, it is the overall duty for all the economists, accountants and even the dealing with public administration, especially with debt management and forecasting to come up […]
• Pricing AIDS Drugs Sold to Developing Countries The majority of the world’s HIV/AIDS cases are in Africa particularly the sub-Saharan and many of the infected have been faced with a huge challenge to live a normal life due to limitations in access […]
• Is Poverty From Developing Countries Imagined? That is why concepts like the “Third World Countries”, the “Second World Countries”, the “First World Countries” and now the “Developing Countries” has been coined.
• Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System for Developing Countries Knowledge of the impact and use of GIS is vital, and the most important in the application and understanding of GIS in traditional disciplines.
• Business in Developing Countries: India A number of studies have concluded that business is able to guarantee India and other South Asian countries the proper level of development; however, there exist certain pros and cons of business getting involved in […]
• Economic Growth & Developing Countries Sponsorship of trademarks will help the general public identifying the owner of goods in the market as also the availability of goods and services in the market and can protect people against false practices.
• Changes in World Trade Patterns of Developing Countries This is the rationale that explains the change in the trade pattern of developing countries. India is often showcased with regards to the trend of exporting and outsourcing of services, notably in IT.
• Micro-Credit Analysis in Several Developing Countries There are several countries who make use of micro-credit in their homeland and are improving their economic conditions with the help of their people.
• Women in Developing Countries: Globalization, Liberalization, and Gender Equality Owing to issues of gender, the voices of women in developing countries are never heard when it comes to the creation of trade agreements and policies or in their negotiations.
• The Pharmaceutical Industry and the AIDS Crisis in Developing Countries One of the reasons of this difference is that excise and custom duties that are responsible for the unaffordable prices of medicines have been avoided by the developed countries by the creation of pharmaceutical industries, […]
• Potentials for Tourism in Developing Countries Hence the enhancement of the tourism industry in the developing countries will enable these people to earn their living from this industry.
• Sociology of Mexico as a Developing Country It borders the Pacific Ocean on the west and south, on the north is the United States; on the east, it borders the Gulf of Mexico.
• Small & Medium Enterprises in Developing Countries In almost all the developed and developing countries, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises rely on local skills and technology and contribute to the establishment and maintenance of entrepreneurship.
• Economic Growth Damage in Developing Countries During the creation of the European single currency, the EMU left the fiscal policy to the individual member states. Subsidization of agricultural products in developed countries leads to overproduction and thus affecting the trade cycle.
• Microfinance for Sustainability in Developing Countries To know whether microfinance institutions contribute to the alleviation of poverty in a poor society. To find out how microfinance institutions lead to the establishment of small businesses by poor individuals in society.
• Risks of Globalization in Developing Countries The presence of an educated populace in western countries is credited with developing creative business solutions that have helped to expand their country’s economies.
• Human Rights of Poor in Developing Countries Their interactions with those in authority and the decision makers in the society have been marred with many obstacles and denied the rights to freedom of speech and expression that is being enjoyed by the […]
• Economic Growth and Land Reform in Developing Countries The most common land reform approach is state-controlled land reforms where the state seeks to promote land redistribution to contribute to the socio-economic development of a country.
• Green Economy Transition for Developing Countries It emphasizes the fact that such an alteration is advantageous for them because it allows for the enhancement of the living conditions of the population when other practices turn out to be ineffective.
• Infant Feeding in Developing Countries Gibson, Ferguson, and Lehrfeld carried out this research in developing nations with the view of assessing the nutrient and energy sufficiency in various complementary foods given to children during winning period.
• Energy Poverty Elimination in Developing Countries Responding to the article by Sagar, I would like to emphasize that the establishment of a special fund to assist the mentioned countries in alleviating energy poverty is a feasible idea.
• E-Commerce Barriers in Developing Countries This proposal outlines the model of developing research paper on the assessment of e-commerce barriers, which prevent the advance of information technologies in the countries of the ‘Third World.’ Thus, the proposed research paper will […]
• Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries The major factors that affect the management of waste in cities in developing nations are an ever-increasing quantity of waste generated, overburdened municipal resources because of the increased cost of waste management, and insufficient understanding […]
• International Advertising’ Effects in Developing Countries International advertising has come with its positive and negative effects in the developing countries that range from social and economic to the political state of developing nations. The major aim of international advertising is to […]
• National Identity Cards in Developing Countries The proposed research study will seek to assess the loopholes that exist in the system for registered citizens in developing countries, particularly, in relation to financial infusion, insecurity, and terrorism, with a view of categorizing […]
• Economic Principles for Developing Countries The third principle that can help a developing country to facilitate the development of its economy is attention to small business.
• Sustainable Democracy in Developing Countries However, the sustainability of such states is dependent on a variety of factors such as the efficiency of the government and economic development of a country; to a great extent, the future of these democracies […]
• The Third World: Concept and Controversy The Third World, which is popularly referred to the countries of the south or developing countries, consists of many states in Africa, Caribbean, South America, Asia, and those in Central America.
• Technologies Effects in Developing Countries In the given paper, the positive and the negative effects of the newest technologies in developing countries are compared in order to consider the possible outcomes of the future advances and come up with the […]
• Mali as a Developing Country In the last five years, the government of Mali has endeavored to improve the northern part of the country through road construction.
• Property Tax Role in a Developing Country In the light of this view, this paper discusses the role of property tax to in helping a developing nation to attain the goals of encouraging capital formation, increase the rates of savings of its […]
• European Union and Developing Countries Due to the dynamics in the globe regarding development projects as well as aspects of priority in several countries, the EU has had to change its development policies over the years.
• Openness and Wage Inequality in Developing Countries As the author puts it, the conventional wisdom theory that was developed from the experience of the East Asian countries in the 1960s argues that increased openness to trade particularly in the developing countries increases […]
• How do Migration and Urbanization Bring About Urban Poverty in Developing Countries? When there is a high rate of rural to urban migration, there is pressure on the limited resources in the urban centers.
• The Impact of Internationalization on Developing Countries Consequently, the economies of developing countries are at the mercy of the dollar. As a result, the economies of these countries are stretched due to overspending on these goods.
• Censorship of Social Networking Sites in Developing Countries Censorship of social media sites is the control of information that is available to users. The aim of this paper was to discuss censorship of social media sites in third world countries.
• International Economy is Seen as Limiting Developing Countries’ Interests Alongside the creation of the huge gulf between developed and developing nations, the international economy seeks to limit the dominance of individual nations.
• Childhood Obesity in Developing Countries – A Global Health Issue Childhood Obesity and the Globe As mentioned earlier, according to the data of WHO, the number of obese children in the world today is more than 42 million, and the vast majority of them are […]
• Globalization Impacts on Developed and Developing Countries Hak-Min diverges from the analysis of Brittan that the allocation of profits between industrialized and countries of the periphery has befall less distorted by demonstrating that globalization in the incorporated global financial system has directed […]
• Methodologies and Principles of Project Management in Developing Countries I feel that despite the opening of doors welcome the principles of free and competitive market forces to drive the economic policies that aim at orienting the economies in the developing world, challenges persists in […]
• Judicial Corruption in Developing Countries It originates from the judges and lawyers who are at the center of the legal systems in Africa. There is a lingering culture of impunity in African leadership that is the primary cause of corruption.
• Globalization Negative Effects: Developed and Developing Countries The aim of this article is to assess the assertion that the negative effects of globalization impact developing countries more than developed countries.
• What Affects Migration Patterns in Developing Countries The fiscal situation of various high income countries presents either positive or negative impacts to the developing countries and the world economy at large for instance the market instability present in most of the European […]
• Sustainable Economic Future in Developing Countries Use of appropriate technology such as use of energy efficient modes of industrial production will reduce energy use in production thus cut back on energy use, which is a significant factor of environmental degradation through […]
• Environmental Policy Making in Developing Countries The country’s environment is one of the richest in the world because of not only the flora and fauna, but also because of its ecosystems, which contain an excess of 15 % of the plant […]
• Syria as a Developing Country The country of Syria “is an Asian country located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan and Palestine to the south, the Mediterranean Sea […]
• Tourism Growth in Developing Countries In terms of social life, tourism is highly regarded as a sector that has the ability to engage people and promote good relations.
• Poverty Indicators in Developing Countries It was chosen by the World Bank for use in determining the poverty rates of poor countries. Poor countries are given first considerations in programming and implementing of the World Bank’s projects.
• Effects of Globalization on Developed and Developing Countries The economic development in the Asian states in the early 21st century led to a decrease in the distorted allocation of profits between urbanized and emerging economies.
• Developed Countries and Developing Countries Interrelations The disparity in development has led to the grouping of the world states in to two broad groups i.e.developed countries and developing countries.
• Impact of Free Trade in Developing Countries Statement of the problem There are no clear data and information to coin to the impact of free trade on developing countries.
• Horizontal Inequalities, Political Environment and Civil Conflict: Evidence From 55 Developing Countries The author evaluates the tendency of conflicts at ethnic, religious and regional levels due to the effect of factors such as the type of regime and political alienation.
• Providing a Financial Aid to the Third World Countries One of the reasons why, during the course of the late 20th century, it became a commonplace practice among ‘progressive’ politicians in the West to advocate the idea of aid, is that during this time […]
• Dualistic Labour Market in Developing Countries It disapproves the dualistic labour market assumptions by reviewing the informal and formal labour markets of the developing countries and the inefficiencies that operate in these markets.
• Dementia Life Expectancy: Developed vs. Developing Countries Analysis of Economic Aspects Influencing the Lifespan of People with Dementia in Developing and Developed Countries On the one hand, the previously discussed studies point to the direct influence of age on life of people […]
• Urbanisation Provides Potential Socio-Economic Benefits for Developing Countries Towns and cities in developing countries become the centres of the social and economic progress because of the concentration of the maximum of the necessary forces in urban territories.
• Water Quality Issues in Developing Countries According to WHO, the quality of drinking water is a foundation for the prevention and control of waterborne ailments, thus water quality is a critical environmental determinant of health for populations using the water.
• Are Foreign Aid and Remittances a Hedge Against Food Price Shocks in Developing Countries?
• Has China De-industrialized Other Developing Countries?
• Does Competition Improve Productivity in Developing Countries?
• Can Climate Finance Contribute to Gender Equity in Developing Countries?
• Are Labor Markets Segmented in Developing Countries?
• How Does Climate Change Impact Food Availability in Developing Countries?
• Can Developing Countries Benefit From Strategic Export Promotion?
• Are Patent Laws Harmful to Developing Countries?
• What Is the Relationship Between Developed and Developing Countries?
• Can Higher Education Reduce Inequality in Developing Countries?
• Does Globalization Benefit Both Developed and Developing Countries?
• Are Public Investment Efficient in Creating Capital Stocks in Developing Countries?
• Can High-Inequality Developing Countries Escape Absolute Poverty?
• How Does Capitalism Influence the Debt of Developing Countries?
• Did Chinese Outward Activity Attenuate or Aggravate the Great Recession in Developing Countries?
• Can Latest Tech Be Appropriate for Developing Countries?
• Does Agriculture Really Matter for Economic Growth in Developing Countries?
• How Do European Policies Impact Developing Countries?
• Can Market Potential Explain Regional Disparities in Developing Countries?
• What Can European Experience Teach Developing Countries About Integration?
• Does Health Insurance Decrease Health Expenditure Risk in Developing Countries?
• Can Small Developing Countries Survive in a Globalized Environment?
• Does Infrastructure Alleviate Poverty in Developing Countries?
• Why Are Developing Countries Growing Faster Than Developed Countries?
• Can Micro Loans Help Reduce Poverty in Developing Countries?
• Does Migration Support Technology Diffusion in Developing Countries?
• Can Public Management Contribute to Governance in Developing Countries?
• What Is the Fastest Developing Country in Europe?
• Does Tourism Bring More Benefits Than Drawbacks to Developing Countries?
• Could Developing Countries Take the Benefit of Globalization?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, September 26). 119 Developing Countries Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/developing-countries-essay-topics/

"119 Developing Countries Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." IvyPanda , 26 Sept. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/developing-countries-essay-topics/.

IvyPanda . (2023) '119 Developing Countries Essay Topic Ideas & Examples'. 26 September.

IvyPanda . 2023. "119 Developing Countries Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." September 26, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/developing-countries-essay-topics/.

1. IvyPanda . "119 Developing Countries Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." September 26, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/developing-countries-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "119 Developing Countries Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." September 26, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/developing-countries-essay-topics/.

• Economic Topics
• Third World Countries Research Ideas
• Demography Paper Topics
• Poverty Essay Titles
• Immigration Titles
• Birth control Questions
• Refugee Paper Topics
• Agriculture Essay Ideas
• Capitalism Paper Topics
• Deforestation Research Ideas
• Child Labour Research Topics
• Equality Topics
• Famine Essay Titles
• Gender Discrimination Research Topics
• Macroeconomics Topics

80 Developing Countries Essay Topics

🏆 best essay topics on developing countries, ✍️ developing countries essay topics for college, 🎓 most interesting developing countries research titles, 💡 simple developing countries essay ideas.

• Homelessness and Poverty in Developed and Developing Countries
• Impacts of Globalization on the Developing Countries
• Is Globalization a Threat or an Opportunity to Developing Countries?
• Environmental Issues in the Third World Countries
• Can Developing Countries Catch Up to Developed Countries
• Globalization’s Role for Developing Countries: Zambia
• Developing Countries Foreign Aid
• Urbanization and Developing Countries Urbanization takes a wide scope because of its effects on the economic, social, political systems’ organization of a nation, more especially on urban centers.
• Medical Research in Developing Countries This critique will consider three articles on the subject of medical research in developing countries and examine the concerns raised by the authors on participant safety.
• Corruption in Developing Countries – a Cultural Phenomenon This paper analyzes the way corruption has penetrated societies in developing countries, the factors and how they have combined to influence corruption in developing countries.
• Stealing Africa: How Rich Companies Benefit from the Developing Countries The Stealing Africa movie’s thesis is that multinational companies like Glencore are stealing from African countries and damaging countries’ economics and the environment.
• Should Aid to Developing Countries Be Stopped? The tragedy in aid business is when the very purpose of aid is construed in a way that does not only cause economic instability but environmental degradation as well.
• Companies Outsourcing in Developing Countries The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors that motivate or stop companies from outsourcing their production in developing countries.
• Measures to Counter Workplace Abuse in Developing Countries This paper discusses the main measures to counter workplace abuse in developing countries such as laws and regulations, social reforms, and the role of western countries in this issue.
• Personalism and Patrimonialism in Developing Countries Personalism implies the presence of a charismatic leader, who can enhance the authority of the ruling power or the whole state. Patrimonialism is another form of autocratic power.
• Issue for Farmers in Developing Countries Agriculture is a very important sector in the whole world economy since it makes available, food to every living person.
• Problems of Democratic Consolidation in Developing Countries The paper argues developing countries pursuing economic and political heights should strive to consolidate democratic forces.
• Causes of Corruption in Africa’s Developing Countries The major goal of this research project is to contribute to the solution of the problem of bribes and kickbacks in corporations that create a significant corruption challenge.
• Governance and Corruption in Developing Countries This research paper examines the problem of corruption in developing countries and the role of governance in countering corruption.
• Globalization Challenges in Developing Countries and Japan The participation of nations in global trade has several benefits, even though various problems impede countries from accessing global markets.
• Developing Countries’ Transformation Factors It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that many citizens of developing countries await their transformation into universalistic welfare states.
• Impacts of Political Risks and Institutional Environment on FDI Levels in Developing Countries This study aims at establishing which of the factors has the most significant impact on FDI flows in developing countries.
• Improving Hand Hygiene in Developing Countries The completed review and assessment of the research article indicate that the study presentation lacks details and explanations.
• Poverty and Covid-19 in Developing Countries In response to the pandemic, countries recommended and enforced policies on social distancing and shelter-in-place.
• Improving Disease Surveillance in Developing Countries The Kenya Medical Research Institute and the WHO argue that malaria kills about 50,000 annually. Children and expectant women are at the greatest risks of malaria infections
• Modern Energy Technologies Introduction to Developing Countries The ultimate goal of this marketing strategy would be to make new sources of energy affordable and attractive, not only to people but also to the government and local investors.
• Countering Workplace Abuse in Developing Countries Social reforms are part of the strategy of improvement for developing countries, which must make investments in safety nets for unemployed workers.
• Ethical Issues in Marketing Infant Formulas in Developing Countries Particular ethical issues that should be considered in this case include heath issues and the cost of the products.
• Globalization Effect on Developing Countries’ Business The objective of this study is to show how globalization can benefit a particular nation. This objective is implemented by considering a developing economy that is Nigeria.
• Healthcare Programs in the Developing Countries The paper studies healthcare programs solving the health crises in the developing countries: their cost-effectiveness, financially sustainability and challenges.
• Achieving Sustainable Development Within Developing Countries
• Implementing Policy Reforms in Developing Countries
• Adapting the WTO Trade Policy Reviews to the Needs of Developing Countries
• Can Denmark’s Flexicurity System Be Replicated in Developing Countries?
• Behavior, Environment, and Health in Developing Countries: Evaluation and Valuation
• Adjustment, Investment, and the Real Exchange Rate in Developing Countries
• Demand for Telecommunication Services in Developing Countries
• Beyond Poverty Escapes: Social Mobility in Developing Countries
• Manufacturing and Economic Growth in Developing Countries, 1950-2005
• Capital Controls and Monetary Policy in Developing Countries
• Openness, Economic Reforms, and Poverty: Globalization in Developing Countries
• Affordable, Quality Education for Developing Countries
• Bilateral Relationship Between Technological Changes and Income Inequality in Developing Countries
• Economic and Welfare Impacts of Climate Change on Developing Countries
• Aid, Agriculture, and Poverty in Developing Countries
• Factors Affecting Energy Demand in Developing Countries
• Child Labor and Human Capital in Developing Countries
• Biofuels: The Best Response of Developing Countries to High Energy Prices?
• Another Day, Another Dollar: Enterprise Resilience Under Terrorism in Developing Countries
• Health and Nutrition: Emerging and Reemerging Issues in Developing Countries
• Between the State and Market: Electricity Sector Reform in Developing Countries
• Import Competition From Developed and Developing Countries
• Automotive Industry Trends and Prospects for Investment in Developing Countries
• Climate Change, Agriculture, and Developing Countries: Does Adaptation Matter?
• Business Under Fire: Entrepreneurship and Violent Conflict in Developing Countries
• Adjustment Policies and Investment Performance in Developing Countries
• Catch Up: Developing Countries in the World Economy
• Bank Efficiency and Macro-economic Factors: The Case of Developing Countries
• Labor Mobility and Labor Utilization in Developing Countries
• Aggregate Agricultural Inputs and Outputs in Developing Countries
• Democracy, Elections, and Allocation of Public Expenditure in Developing Countries
• Catalyzing Investment for Renewable Energy in Developing Countries
• Aid and Public Sector Behavior in Developing Countries
• Economic Growth and Infant Mortality in Developing Countries
• Challenges and Policy Lessons for the Growth-Employment-Poverty Nexus in Developing Countries
• Beyond the ABCs: Higher Education and Developing Countries
• Alternative Pollution Control Policies in Developing Countries
• Family Ties, Institutions, and Financing Constraints in Developing Countries
• Bioenergy and Rural Development in Developing Countries
• Measuring and Explaining Government Efficiency in Developing Countries
• Child Mortality, Poverty and Environment in Developing Countries
• Biotechnology and Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries
• Oil and Energy Demand in Developing Countries in 1990
• Argentina: Lessons for the Developing Countries
• Educational Quality and Labor Market Performance in Developing Countries
• Beliefs, Economic Volatility, and Redistributive Preferences Across Developing Countries
• Global Brands and Labor in Developing Countries
• Assets and Child Well-Being in Developing Countries
• Microfinance: Improving the Standard of Living in Developing Countries
• Brain Drain and Human Capital Formation in Developing Countries: Winners and Losers

Cite this post

• Chicago (N-B)
• Chicago (A-D)

StudyCorgi. (2022, August 27). 80 Developing Countries Essay Topics. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/developing-countries-essay-topics/

"80 Developing Countries Essay Topics." StudyCorgi , 27 Aug. 2022, studycorgi.com/ideas/developing-countries-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . (2022) '80 Developing Countries Essay Topics'. 27 August.

1. StudyCorgi . "80 Developing Countries Essay Topics." August 27, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/developing-countries-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "80 Developing Countries Essay Topics." August 27, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/developing-countries-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . 2022. "80 Developing Countries Essay Topics." August 27, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/developing-countries-essay-topics/.

These essay examples and topics on Developing Countries were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on December 27, 2023 .

The Edvocate

• Lynch Educational Consulting
• Dr. Lynch’s Personal Website
• Write For Us
• The Tech Edvocate Product Guide
• The Edvocate Podcast
• Terms and Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Assistive Technology
• Best PreK-12 Schools in America
• Child Development
• Classroom Management
• Early Childhood
• EdTech & Innovation
• Education Leadership
• First Year Teachers
• Gifted and Talented Education
• Special Education
• Parental Involvement
• Policy & Reform
• Best Colleges and Universities
• Best College and University Programs
• HBCU’s
• Higher Education EdTech
• Higher Education
• International Education
• The Awards Process
• Finalists and Winners of The 2022 Tech Edvocate Awards
• Finalists and Winners of The 2021 Tech Edvocate Awards
• Finalists and Winners of The 2020 Tech Edvocate Awards
• Finalists and Winners of The 2019 Tech Edvocate Awards
• Finalists and Winners of The 2018 Tech Edvocate Awards
• Finalists and Winners of The 2017 Tech Edvocate Awards
• Award Seals
• GPA Calculator for College
• GPA Calculator for High School
• Cumulative GPA Calculator
• Grade Calculator
• Weighted Grade Calculator
• Final Grade Calculator
• The Tech Edvocate
• AI Powered Personal Tutor

College Minor: Everything You Need to Know

14 fascinating teacher interview questions for principals, tips for success if you have a master’s degree and can’t find a job, 14 ways young teachers can get that professional look, which teacher supplies are worth the splurge, 8 business books every teacher should read, conditional admission: everything you need to know, college majors: everything you need to know, 7 things principals can do to make a teacher observation valuable, 3 easy teacher outfits to tackle parent-teacher conferences.

Developing Countries Essay Topics

• Water Quality Issues as a Critical Environmental Determinant of Health for Populations in Developing Countries
• How Urbanization Provides Potential for Towns and Cities in Developing Countries to Become the Centers of the Social and Economic Progress
• Analysis of Economic Aspects Influencing the Lifespan of People with Dementia in Developing and Developed Countries
• Dualistic Employment Market in Developing Nations
• The Effects of Multinational Companies (MNC) Involvement in Developing Nations
• The Commonplace Practice of Providing Financial Assistance to Third World Countries
• The Political Environment, Civil Conflict, and Horizontal Inequalities: Evidence from 55 Developing Countries
• Influence of Free Trade on Developing Nations
• Ghana’s Top Three Issues as a Developing Nation
• Contribution of Tourism to the Development of Developing Nations
• Developmental Inequality: Relationships between Developed and Developing Countries
• Globalization’s Impacts on Developed and Developing Nations
• Indices of Poverty in Developing Countries
• Tourism as a Sector that Can Engage People and Promote Good Relations in Developing Countries
• Making Environmental Policies in Developing Nations
• Future Economic Sustainability in Developing Nations
• Why Migration Patterns Vary in Developing Nations
• The Negative Effects of Globalization on Developed and Developing Countries
• Judicial Corruption as a Persistent Culture of Impunity in African Leadership in Developing Countries
• Project Management Methodologies and Guidelines in Developing Nations
• Globalization’s Effects on Developed and Developing Countries
• Obesity in Children in Developing Nations: A Global Health Concern
• Why the Global Economy Sees Developing Countries’ Interests as Constrained.
• Restriction of Social Media Sites in Third World Countries
• The Effects of Internationalization on Developing Nations
• How Does Urban Poverty Develop in Developing Nations Due to Migration and Urbanization?
• Wage Disparity and Transparency in Developing Nations
• Third World Nations and Modernization Principle
• Developing Economies and the European Union
• Significance of Property Taxes in Developing Nations
• The Developing Nation of Mali
• Effects of Technology Solutions on Developing Nations
• The Theoretical Framework and Debate of Developing Countries
• An Analysis of the Nike Company in Developing Nations
• India: Is it Still a Third World country?
• Sustainable Democracies in Underdeveloped Nations

Essay Topics on Developing Countries

• Economic Fundamentals for Developing Nations
• Government Identification Cards in Developing Nations
• The Ethical Challenges Facing Nestlé in Developing Nations
• Effects of Global Marketing on Developing Countries
• Handling of Solid Waste in Developing Nations
• Constraints to E-Commerce in Developing Nations
• Eradication of Energy Poverty in Developing Countries
• Neonatal Nutrition in Developing Nations
• Migration to a Green Economy for Underdeveloped Countries
• Land Reform and Economic Progress in Developing Nations
• Rights of the Poor in Developing Nations
• Standard Features of Developing Economies
• Transnational Risks in Underdeveloped Countries
• Microfinance for Sustainability in Developing Countries
• Adverse Effects of Economic Growth on Developing Nations
• Small and Medium Sized Businesses in Developing Nations
• Mexico’s Consumer Behavior as A Developing Nation
• The Windows of Opportunity in Tourism in Developing Nations
• The AIDS Epidemic and the Healthcare Sector in Developing Countries
• Globalization, Liberalism, and Gender Equality Among Women in Developing Countries
• An Analysis of Microlending Services in Several Developing Nations
• Trends in Developing Countries’ Foreign Trade Patterns
• Economically Developed and Developing Nations
• India: A Developing Country for Business
• Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing for Developing Nations.
• Is Poverty in Developing Countries Just an Imagination?
• Cost of AIDS Medications Offered to Developing Countries
• Markets for Pneumococcal Vaccines in Developing Nations
• An Analogy of Developing Countries: Africa, Asia, and South America
• Links between Poverty and War in Developing Countries
• Access to the WTO Dispute Settlement as a Concern for Developing Countries
• The Impact of Clean Water on People’s Lives in Developing Nations
• Besley and Persson’s “Why Do Developing Countries Tax So Little?”
• Entrepreneurial Aspiration in Developing Countries
• How Might Developing Nations’ Situations Be Made Better by Debt Relief?
• Progression and Communication in Third World Nations

Interesting Electrical Engineering Essay Topics

E-learning localization: everything you need to know.

Matthew Lynch

Related articles more from author, fascinating corporation essay topics to write about, simple & easy indian culture essay topics, donation essay topics, cold war essay topics, research topics about american politics, research questions about money.

Home — Essay Samples — Geography & Travel — Developing Country

Essays on Developing Country

Portugal: a historical and cultural overview, comparison between a developing and a developed country: uruguay and spain , made-to-order essay as fast as you need it.

Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences

+ experts online

Impact of Mnc and Globalisation on Developed and Developing World

Where the government's money is actually going in kuwait, living standard of developing countries, supporting the developing countries to use renewable resources, let us write you an essay from scratch.

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Report on The Development of Ethiopia

Economic gap between the global north and south, india: emerging as a multi-sporting country, managing nigeria's resources: the route to development, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

Expert-written essays crafted with your exact needs in mind

A Study of Transnational Company's Impact Oт The Environment of Third World Countries

South korea:opportunities and disadvantages, the history of thailand, a research of whether brazil is a developed or a developing country, the composition of sri lanka island, to eradicate slums using technology in urban areas, what to visit in gambia, case study: a city where modernity meet tradition, seoul , review on the republic of chile, importance of foreign aid in developing nations, the opportuities of nigerian agriculture, the perfect country: myanmar, international development and its negative trends in modern day, the general characteristics of ethiopia, what it means for architecture to be sensitive and appropriate for its site, unique culture of nicaragua, brief description of the haiti, why china has continued to rise economically and her impact on the world economy, hybrid and renewable energy resources in india, innovation and entrepreneurship – a national perspective, relevant topics.

• Bermuda Triangle
• New Zealand
• Philippines

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Advertisement

Convergence Between Developed and Developing Countries: A Centennial Perspective

• Original Research
• Published: 14 September 2020
• Volume 153 , pages 193–225, ( 2021 )

Cite this article

• Dominik Paprotny   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5090-8402 1  

46k Accesses

19 Citations

9 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

Are countries at a low level of socio-economic development catching up with developed countries over time or rather falling further behind? Existing work on the subject is not conclusive, partially due to methodological differences. The aim of the paper is to carry out a broader analysis with longer time series and a more diverse set of indicators. The study divides countries of the world into 21 developed “benchmark” countries and 156 developing countries. The distance between the benchmark and developing countries is measured using the “time lags” method, applied here to nine indicators covering topics such as the economy, health, education and the environment. The study further utilizes a probabilistic approach to extrapolate missing historical data for developing countries, so that the analysis can cover a full century starting in 1920 and ending with short-term projections to year 2020. The study finds that a majority of developing countries, and the population-weighted developing world as a whole, has reduced its lag in most indicators between 1920 and 2020. Progress was unevenly distributed, with East Asian and European countries converging the most with the benchmark, while most African countries have diverged along with some American ones. Catch-up in education attainment and life expectancy has been more successful than in infant survival rate, GDP per capita or technology adoption. The findings are put in context of United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, showing how the time lag method could improve setting targets for some of the goals. Further, time lags are used to analyze the current demographic, economic and political situation of developing countries, identifying opportunities and risks for future catch-up with developed countries.

Similar content being viewed by others

The Relationship Between Income Inequality and Economic Growth: Are Transmission Channels Effective?

Seher Gülşah Topuz

Gender inequality as a barrier to economic growth: a review of the theoretical literature

Manuel Santos Silva & Stephan Klasen

Classical Approaches to Development: Modernisation and Dependency

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

The problem of disparities between developed and developing countries has long been an interest of scientists (Barro and Sala-i-Martin 1992 ; Baumol 1986 ). The origin of this global inequality is seen in the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, which brought wealth to some countries, leaving the rest behind (Deaton 2014 ; Piketty 2014 ). Maddison ( 2001 , 2008 ) has shown that the divergence in income and life expectancy has started even earlier—already by the beginning of the early modern era. This raises questions about the trajectory of recent and future inequality between countries, which is considered a major problem that needs to be addressed globally (ISSC et al. 2016 ). For instance, Sustainable Development Goal 10 is to “reduce inequality within and among countries” (United Nations 2018a ). Numerous studies have investigated time series of various development indicators (primarily income, health and education indicators) across countries of the world in order to determine whether countries are converging (i.e. inequality between them is decreasing) or diverging (increasing inequality). They have shown evidence for both divergence (Decancq et al. 2009 ; Mazumdar 2003 ; McGillivray and Pillarisetti 2004 ; Milanovic 2005 ), with Pritchett ( 1997 ) declaring „divergence, big time”, and convergence (Kónya and Guisan 2008 ; McGillivray and Markova 2010 ; Jordá and Sarabia 2015 ; Jordá and Niño-Zarazúa 2017 ), with Sala-i-Martin ( 2006 ) declaring in dissent “convergence, period!” The lack of consensus in the findings is caused by the use of different developments indicators, sets of countries, time frames, and methodologies. Milanovic ( 2012 ) has shown that the Gini coefficient indicated an increase in inequality (divergence) between countries of the world between 1952 and 2011 if average GDP per capita or mean income of countries is considered. Yet, if average income is assigned to individual citizens of countries, the Gini coefficient will show a decrease in inequality (convergence).

There are two main concepts of convergence. One is “Beta” convergence, which proposes that poorer countries (or regions of countries) growth faster than richer ones and therefore catch-up on them (Barro and Sala-i-Martin 1992 ; Monfort 2008 ). The concept originates from Solow’s ( 1956 ) neoclassical growth theory, which postulates that factors of production, mainly capital, are subject to diminishing returns. In the long run, a steady-state should be reached depending only on exogenous factors (technological progress, labor growth). However, it was argued that countries in fact converge towards different steady-states (Quah 1993 ), hence poor countries will not necessarily catch-up with richer ones. Therefore, the concept of “Sigma” convergence was proposed (Sala-i-Martin 1996 ), indicating simply a reduction in dispersion between countries or regions as they converge towards different steady-states. In contrast to “Beta” convergence, “Sigma” convergence can be inspected with a variety of methods, e.g. coefficient of variation or Gini, Theil and Atkinson indices (Monfort 2008 ).

The problem with the convergence concepts is that they were created in context of economic development and income growth. Application to other measures of well-being is problematic. Noorbakhsh ( 2006 ) suggested that the concept of diminishing returns is also applicable to health and education indicators. This is because e.g. college education is more expensive than primary education and improvements in life expectancy in developed countries rely on advanced medical technology in contrast to low-cost prevention and treatment options that can easily reduce mortality in developing countries (Jordá and Sarabia 2015 ). Still, existing measures of “Beta” and “Sigma” convergence have some general weaknesses. First, they are intended to compare the disparity of a group of countries (or regions) and not the distance between particular countries. Hence, they do not indicate the extent of effort needed by poor countries to reach the rich ones, or in other words, how far behind they are. It is also not possible to compare how far behind (or lagged) the poor countries are in different indicators, namely which indicator requires more attention due to a greater lag than other indicators.

A different approach to analyze convergence, which forms the basis of this study, is the “time lag” method. This simple concept had its first dedicated study with Comin et al. ( 2008 ), who applied it to explain adoption rates of different technologies. The paper illustrated the concept with the following question: “how many years before the year 2000 did the United States last have the real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita that China had in 2000?”. As the authors’ data revealed, it was in 1894, which translates into a time lag of 106 years. If China’s time lag would increase over time, it would mean that its GDP per capita growth rate was lower than in the United States, when it was at the same level of economic development. Several authors followed-up this study with analyses of transportation, communication or medical technology adoption time lags for various demographic and economic applications (Comin and Hobijn 2010 ; Ferraro 2017 ; French 2014 ; Jovanovic 2009 ).

Still, utilization of the method to other socio-economic development indicators has been limited so far. Paprotny ( 2014 ) used GDP per capita and three demographic indicators of mortality to show that Poland largely failed to converge with a group of 25 developed countries, except for technology adoption. Paprotny ( 2016 ) expanded the analysis to central and eastern European countries and added employment in agriculture as an indicator of the modernity of the economy. The results have broadly shown slight catch-up with developed countries. The latter study has shown how time lags could be used to set convergence indicators in the context of European Union’s cohesion policy, and development goals in context of national development strategies made by European countries. The time lags reveal how many years a country is behind the frontier in economic, social and technological development, and which indicator requires most effort as it has the highest number of years to catch-up.

The aim of this paper is to analyze convergence between a “benchmark” comprising a group of developed countries and the rest of the world using the time lag method. The study builds upon data and methods described in Paprotny ( 2016 ), but expands its scope from central and eastern Europe to the whole world, introducing additional indicators of development, and improving data collection and processing. The starting point of analysis is year 1920, in the aftermath of the First World War. This date was chosen due to the data availability, which is reduced substantially in earlier years. The study then incorporates short-term projections up to year 2020 in order to round off a full century. It should be noted that this study was completed before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and that projections for year 2020 do not include the severe economic disruption brought by the epidemic, extent of which was uncertain at the time of writing.

The paper is organized as follows: Sect.  2 describes the time lag method, selection of benchmark and developing countries, the indicators of socio-economic development and finally handling of missing country-level data. Details of the data sources and the subdivisions of the world used to synthesize the results are provided in the Appendices. Section  3 presents the results firstly by giving a global overview and then providing more details on major parts of the developing world. Section  4 analyses the demographic and political factors that could influence future progress in developing countries, looks into next research steps and possible applications of the method and results. The paper draws conclusions in Sect.  5 . The complete time lag dataset and graphs from the study are available on figshare ( https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.9436514 ).

2 Materials and Methods

2.1 the time lag method.

The time lag method can be illustrated with the following example. The mean number of years of schooling attained by people in Bangladesh in 2017 was 5.8 years, according to the United Nations Development Programme ( 2018 ). By comparison, the mean years of schooling in Iceland exceeded 5.8 years already in 1960 (Barro and Lee 2013 ) and, until 2017, the indicator’s value hasn’t fallen below that threshold. Consequently, Bangladesh can be said to lag Iceland in terms of educational attainment of its population by 57 years. The method can be also written more formally (Comin et al. 2008 ; Paprotny 2016 ). An observation \(X_{d,t}\) of the value of an indicator in a developing country \(d\) in year \(t\) (e.g. mean year of schooling in Bangladesh in 2017) can be compared with a set of observations \(\left\{ {X_{b,s} } \right\}\) for a developed (benchmark) country \(b\) , indexed by \(s\) (e.g. Iceland, with annual observations between 1870 and 2017). The result will be a set of observations of \(s\) during which the value of \(X_{d,t}\) has been lower or equal to \(\left\{ {X_{b,s} } \right\}\) . The year after the last year of this set of observations will be the starting year of uninterrupted observations higher than \(X_{d,t}\) , denoted \(\bar{s}_{b}\) :

where \(S\) is the entire set of observations for country \(b\) , assumed here to be without any gaps in the annual time series. Using the aforementioned example of Bangladesh and Iceland, \(\bar{s}_{b} = 1960\) . As there are multiple developed countries that could be compared against, the time lag \(L_{d,t}\) will be:

where \(B\) is the number of benchmark countries. For Bangladesh in 2017, using a set of 21 benchmark countries (see Sect.  2.2 ), \(L_{d,t} = 73.0\) . In other words, Bangladesh lags behind developed countries in terms of educational attainment of its population by 73 years on average. Positive values of time lags \(L_{d,t}\) indicate lower level of development for country \(d\) in year \(t\) , compared with developed countries, while negative values are possible if it is ahead of a majority of developed countries already.

Equation ( 1 ) is valid for indicators with values increasing over time. Yet, one of the indicators used in this study (described in Sect.  2.3 ) decreases when countries achieve higher level of development. Therefore, Eq. ( 1 ) is slightly modified as follows:

while Eq. ( 2 ) remains the same. It should be further noted that Eq. ( 2 ) uses a simple average of time lags of individual developed countries. As noted in Paprotny ( 2016 ), this makes the analysis more comparative, since a population-weighted average would result in large countries such as the United States, Japan and Germany dominating the analysis.

2.2 Study Area

Selection of countries and territories for the analysis required consideration of possible limitations in data availability as well as changes to the political divisions of the world in the past century. To the extent possible, present-day borders were used throughout. As a starting point of country selection, ISO 3166 standard (International Organization for Standardization 2019 ) was used to identify 249 countries and territories, with one additional territory (Kosovo) added from the databases of the World Bank ( 2019 ). The first selection criterium was the population figure, which had to exceed 250,000 as of mid-2019 (Fig.  1 ). This was done to remove very small countries that typically have very limited data available. The population data were obtained from United Nations ( 2019 ). The remaining 187 countries were split according to whether they are independent (according to information contained in ISO 3166) or not. All independent states were assumed to have sufficient data, while non-independent territories were assessed individually. In the end, only four such territories were included in the analysis (Hong Kong, Kosovo, Puerto Rico and Taiwan). For brevity, the term “country” will be used henceforth to encompass all territories, present-day or defunct, included in the study irrespective of their international status.

Selection of benchmark (developed) and developing countries for the analysis

The remaining 177 countries were divided into benchmark (developed) and developing countries. Benchmark countries are those that have been among the most developed countries in the world in the past century and at the same time have very good availability of very long data series, i.e. going back into the nineteenth century; 21 such countries have been identified: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg (except indicator “GDP per capita”), the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Compared to Paprotny ( 2016 ), the list of benchmark countries was reduced by two through the exclusion of Greece and Portugal, as they have been increasingly falling behind the other developed countries in recent years. Overall, the 21 countries constituted exactly 12% of world population in 2019, according to the United Nations ( 2019 ). All benchmark countries are member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a club comprising only developed countries.

The other 156 countries will be referred to as “developing” countries. They represent 87.84% of the global population as of 2019, which means the study only excludes entities containing barely 0.16% of the world’s inhabitants (12 million). Due to geopolitical changes in the past century, nine “aggregate” countries had to be created, representing countries that have split into smaller states, but historical data is available mostly for those defunct states rather than their successors. The reader is referred to “Appendix 1” for a list of such cases. To synthesize the large amount of country-level information, the results mostly refer to various country groupings. Several divisions of the world are referred to here: Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) regions, United Nations subregions, United Nations development regions (More, Less and Least developed, Land-Locked Developing Countries, Small Island Developing States), geographical continents and World Bank income groups (Low, Lower-middle, Upper-middle and High income). However, those divisions had to be adjusted to fit the political division of the world including the nine aggregate countries. Maps in “Appendix 1” show the grouping of countries into eight SDG regions and four income groups, as those divisions are used most frequently in the analysis. Detailed listing of all countries and regions is provided in Supplementary Information 1. In the paper, the time lags for regions (and the developing world altogether) are calculated primarily on the basis of population-weighted indicators for individual countries. An alternative calculation using the median value of an indicator per region was also made, but the results are only mentioned when they led to different conclusions than results from the other method.

2.3 Indicators

The study utilizes nine indicators, as listed in Table  1 . Their choice was broadly practical given the aim of the paper to track long-term development. Datasets with historical statistics on various topics were investigated for comparable (across time and countries) indicators with at least century-long time series, e.g. International Historical Statistics by Mitchell ( 1993 , 1998a , b ), CLIO Infra ( 2019 ) database and almost a century of yearbooks by the League of Nations and United Nations. Relatively few indicators have been calculated commonly enough to provide a global long-term outlook. Seven out of nine indicators were also used in Paprotny ( 2016 ), who discussed those and several other potential indicators. He noted that some indicators are strongly influenced by geographical factors. For instance, agricultural efficiency depends on climate, soils and availability of land (some countries practice low-yield extensive farming and others high-yield intensive farming). Electricity consumption depends on the climate and availability of energy production sources within the country (fossil fuels, hydropower). Other indicators are not comparable between countries due to great variation in definition of particular phenomena (e.g. urban population share, crime statistics). Some have no definite direction in which an indicator changes with progress (e.g. industrial share of labor or economy, gender inequality in labor or education, income inequality). Adoption of technologies, analyzed by various authors with time lags, can be used only for those technologies that were used throughout the study’s timeframe (1920–2020). Therefore, modern technologies such as computers or internet are not applicable (Ferraro 2017 ).

Thanks to improved data availability from new research datasets, it was possible to add two indicators (compared with Paprotny 2016 ). They expanded the coverage into the domain of education (education attainment) and environment (CO 2 emissions index), apart from the economy, health and technology adoption in transport and communications. All indicators could be connected to the Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations 2018a ), especially goals 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), 4 (Quality Education), 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). Wider use of SDGs is not possible, as few of the goals are quantified and measurable (McArthur and Rasmussen 2019 ) and long data series for the whole world are available for even fewer goals.

Mean years of schooling is an indicator of educational attainment preferable to enrollment rates, as it synthesizes multiple levels of education in one variable. Recently, the mean years of schooling has replaced literacy rate in the Human Development Index (United Nations Development Programme 2018 ). Enrollment ratios were replaced by the expected years of schooling in the index. However, long-term data are not available for either indicator of youth education, therefore we can only analyze here information on the education level of adults. An index of CO 2 emissions measures progress towards clean energy sources. However, emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) rise at first when countries industrialize—peak emissions relative to the size of the economy were achieved in the benchmark countries between 1880s (United Kingdom) and 1980s (Australia), according to the data collected here (see “ Appendix 2 ”). Additionally, emissions per unit of GDP vary substantially between countries due to the different structures of the economy or availability of alternative energy sources such as hydropower. Therefore, the emissions index was constructed by first identifying peak emissions per GDP using a 5-year moving average. This average emission value forms the basis of the index. Emissions after the year of the peak are divided by the baseline emission. Then, the baseline emission is divided by the emissions that have occurred before the year of the peak. In this way, an index with a downward trajectory is achieved, representing at which stage of transition from agricultural to industrial and finally post-industrial economy is the country in question.

Definitions of the indicators and data sources are described in “ Appendix 2 ”. The data for benchmark and developing countries were handled separately, largely due to the different timeframes of the two. Data on the benchmark countries had to be more extensive in order to provide adequate comparison to the developing countries. As a result, the time series for the benchmark countries cover three centuries (1800–2100) instead of only one century for developing countries (1920–2020). On occasion, such a long time series might not be enough for comparison, e.g. GDP per capita in Ghana in 1980 was lower than at any point of time since 1800 in the Netherlands. In such occurrences, the value of \(\bar{s}_{b}\) was set to 1800 or 2100, except for the late-nineteenth century inventions, passenger cars and telephones, for which the oldest data series begin in 1895 and 1876, respectively.

The dataset for benchmark countries is largely based on the data collected in Paprotny ( 2016 ), but it was expanded, thoroughly revised with latest estimates and projections, and amended with new sources of historical statistics. The primary source of data were national statistical institutes’ publications and databases of all 21 benchmark countries, with other sources being used mainly when national data were not obtainable directly or the use of international resources offered better comparability of the data. By contrast, the data on the 156 developing countries were collected specifically for this study, using compilations of data by international organizations as the main resource, supplemented by databases of historical statistics produced by researchers. Due to the amount of territories involved, the use of country-specific sources was limited.

2.4 Data Gap-Filling

Data collection efforts have been extensive, but the dataset of indicators is not free of missing information. Where possible, the data was interpolated linearly between available records. For the developing countries, a small number of pre-1920 data points were collected specifically for interpolation with data referring to years after 1920. Similarly, GDP per capita figures for some benchmark countries before 1820 were interpolated using estimates for year 1700 from Maddison ( 2010 ). Remaining data had to be extrapolated. The dataset for the benchmark countries was amended as in Paprotny ( 2016 ). For future projections up to 2100, available demographic and economic projections were used, with other indicators extrapolated using growth rates for the benchmark countries as a whole (see “ Appendix 2 ” for details per indicator). For backwards projections to year 1800, it was assumed that the values of an indicator for a country with missing data changed by the same rate as in a geographically proximate country, for which data are available. For example, change in life expectancy in Sweden during 1800–1846 is used to extrapolate values of this indicator for Norway, where available data series start in 1846. However, due to the large number of developing countries, the method is not practical and further doesn’t provide information on the uncertainty of the extrapolation. Consequently, a different, probabilistic method was applied.

Extrapolation of the data for developing countries utilizes a similar approach to a series of research on probabilistic projections of demographic indicators (Alkema et al. 2011 ; Raftery et al. 2014 ; Azose and Raftery 2019 ). It relies on predicting future changes in the values of an indicator based on the observed changes between values at timesteps \(t\) and \(t - 1\) . By modelling the bivariate distributions of an indicator at those two timesteps it is possible to predict, with uncertainty bounds, the change of the indicator from any given timestep to the next one. The bivariate dependency is modelled here through copulas, which are, loosely, joint distributions on the unit hypercube with uniform [0, 1] margins. They are applicable to any continuous joint distribution (Morales-Nápoles et al. 2017 ). Firstly, random variables \(X_{t}\) , \(X_{t - 1}\) and \(X_{t + 1}\) are derived from the nine indicators involved, using a dataset combining the data for the benchmark and developing countries, the latter without interpolations. Then, they are transformed to [0, 1] margins and correlated (through Spearman’s rank correlation) in two pairs: \(X_{t}\) with \(X_{t + 1}\) and \(X_{t}\) with \(X_{t - 1}\) . The first pair is used to extrapolate values after the last year of data for a given country forward, and the other for the same purpose, but in the opposite direction (backwards projection).

The pairs of transformed margins were fitted to four one-parameter copula types (Gaussian, Gumbel, Clayton, Frank), representing various dependency structures (Joe 2014 ). For each pair and indicator, an optimal copula type was chosen utilizing a goodness-of-fit test statistic. It is based on the Cramèr–von Mises statistic \(M\) , described by Genest et al. ( 2009 ), which is the sum of squared differences between the empirical and the parametric copulas:

where \(B\left( \varvec{u} \right) = \frac{1}{n}\sum 1\left( {U_{i} \le \varvec{u}} \right)\) is the empirical copula, \(C_{{\hat{\theta }_{n} }} \left( \varvec{u} \right)\) is a parametric copula with parameter \(\hat{\theta }_{n}\) estimated from the sample of length \(n\) . In most cases, Frank copula was the best dependency model (11 out of 18), followed by Clayton (5) and Gumbel (2), with no instances of the Gaussian copula. The equations of the Frank, Clayton and Gumbel copulas are as follows:

where \(u,v \in \left[ {0,1} \right]\) are the copula margins, while \(\theta\) , \(\alpha\) and \(\delta\) are the Frank, Clayton and Gumbel copula-specific parameters, fitted in the modelling process. Once the copula models and their margins (priors) are defined, they can be sampled to obtain a posterior distribution of \(v\) given \(u\) . In order to calculate a time series of projected values, a Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation is carried out. This means that at each timestep a single sample is drawn from the posterior distribution of \(v\) given \(u\) , and that sample becomes the conditionalizing value of \(u\) margin. The process is repeated until the desired timestep is reached. The process is repeated 1000 times to obtain 1000 random trajectories of a given indicator in a given country. The median value and uncertainty bounds (e.g. 95% confidence interval) could be obtained. Figure  2 presents the final indicator values aggregated for benchmark and developing countries.

Raw values of development indicators. Population-weighted averages for benchmark countries (1800–2100) and developing countries (1920–2020). 95% confidence interval for developing countries indicates the uncertainty in extrapolation of indicators for some countries

It should be noted that data for the CO 2 emissions index had to be handled slightly differently. First, the median predictions of GDP per capita using the method highlighted above were used to fill gaps in economic data when computing emissions per unit of GDP. Then, the extrapolation was done on the dataset of emissions per GDP unit directly, rather than on the converted index. For each of the 1000 Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulations the index was computed separately, so that the uncertainty related to the year of the peak emissions is included in the overall uncertainty of the emissions index.

Validation of the extrapolation method was carried out by abbreviating the dataset to year 1990 and analyzing the accuracy of predictions up to year 2020. Out of 161 countries (including 9 aggregate countries) for which data are available, GDP per capita in year 2017 was within the 80% confidence interval in 77 cases (48%) and within the 95% confidence interval in 124 cases (77%). For infant mortality rate, the number of predicted values for 2017 within the 80% and 95% intervals were 138 (84%) and 157 (95%) out of 165, respectively.

3.1 Global Overview

Results for the developing world as a whole indicate moderate catch-up to the benchmark countries in the century since 1920 (Fig.  3 ). In 1920, the developing world was lagging 70 years or more in seven indicators (all but the adoption of much more novel inventions of cars and telephones), especially for GDP per capita, by 103 years. The lag was increasing until around year 1950 and then declining until the 1970s. The progress after the Second World War was driven mainly by countries in the present-day upper-middle income group (Fig.  4 ), e.g. in eastern Europe (postwar reconstruction) and Western Asia (beginning of large-scale oil production). Since 1980, those countries haven’t converged further with the benchmark, but it was rather lower-middle income countries (mostly in Southern Asia) that cut their time lag by almost half. This positive effect on the developing world was, however, countered by low-income (mostly African) countries, which diverged from benchmark countries without interruption during the whole century. All income groups except high income (no trend in time lag throughout) started at the same level in the 1920s, but the low-income group diverged from the upper-middle income in the 1930s, and from the lower-middle income in the 1970s (Fig.  4 ). The lack of economic catch-up of the developing world in recent decades despite very high growth in the most populous countries (China and India) can be explained by the fact that the current lag of 65 years to an average benchmark country corresponds to a time when the developed world was experiencing exceptionally high growth after the Second World War. Still, many developing countries have had lower economic growth than the Asian developed countries, hence the median time lag in GDP per capita for developing countries declined by only 23 years (97 to 74 years) compared to 38 years for the population-weighted score for developing world (Fig.  4 ).

Time lags (inverted scale) for the developing world per indicator with the 95% confidence intervals, with population-weighting of countries or the median value of developing countries

Time lags (inverted scale) for developing countries by World Bank income groups per indicator, population-weighted without uncertainty bounds

The time lag in non-agricultural employment share, an indicator of the modernity of the economy, declined in the developing world in the past century from 101 to 89 years, but increased for a median developing country, from 75 to 80 years (Fig.  3 ), though there is considerable uncertainty in the findings due to scarce pre-1950 evidence. From a low point around 1960, countries other than high-income diverged (Fig.  4 ). Upper-middle income countries made good progress after 1980, but almost entirely thanks to the Chinese economy, as a median country in this group actually increased its lag since 1980 after a decline between 1960 and 1980. The lower-middle income group has shown considerable catch-up since year 2000, also for a median country in the group. Low-income countries only managed to stop further increase of the lag in the late 2000s (Fig.  4 ).

Three health indicators included here largely follow a similar pattern, also when considered at the aggregation level of income groups. The developing world is currently behind almost 60 years in life expectancy and infant survival rate, with most progress made in female life expectancy (Fig.  3 ). Yet, almost all progress in catching-up with the developed world has been made before 1960, though with high uncertainty for the actual pre-1950 trajectory for male life expectancy and infant survival rate. Since the 1960s, the catch-up process has stalled in all income groups and indicators (Fig.  4 ). The findings are largely the same for population-weighted and median time lags.

Adoption of two important technologies, passenger cars and telephones followed quite different patterns especially in recent years. There has been almost constant increase in time lag since 1920 for cars, in all income groups (Fig.  4 ), so that car usage is presently lagging by more than 60 years (Fig.  3 ). High-income countries were actually slightly ahead of an average benchmark country around the year 1930, but have been increasingly falling behind, only reversing this trend in the most recent decade (Fig.  4 ). The time lag in telephone usage follows interesting patterns when split by income groups, as all of them recorded declines until a particular moment of reversal of the trends. For high-income countries, this happened around 1970, upper-middle income around 1980, lower-middle income around 1990 and lower income around 2000. Still, it was only with the advent of mobile telephony that all countries achieved very fast catch-up with the developed world. High-income developing countries have now even more telephones per 1000 persons than an average benchmark country (Fig.  4 ). Overall, the time lag for telephone usage in the developing world increased from 31 years in 1920 to a maximum of 57 years in 1983 and is projected to decline to 15 years in 2020 (Fig.  3 ).

Education attainment in the developing world was lagging by 89 years in 1920 and remained almost unchanged until 1960 (Fig.  3 ). Since then, significant catch-up was achieved, though mainly before year 1990. The convergence was heavily driven by China and, from 1980, India. Still, noticeable improvements have been made by low-income countries since 1980 (Fig.  4 ) and they continue until the most recent years, whereas progress in the middle-income countries has stalled. High-income countries were continuously not far behind the benchmark throughout the whole century.

The final indicator, CO 2 emissions index, represents the progress in transition from low-emission to high-emission economies and back. In general, the time lag of the developing world has declined by more than half, from 70 to 34 years (Fig.  3 ). However, convergence has largely stopped around 1990 in all income groups except the low-income countries (Fig.  4 ). The time lag for upper-middle income countries is lower than in the high-income group, which is the only such occurrence here. However, this is largely due to the fast-paced developments in China, which is slightly ahead of the benchmark. A median upper-middle income country is still further behind the developed world than a median high-income country. The time lag for a median developing country has fallen less than in the population-weighted score, from 64 to 39 years in the past century (Fig.  3 ).

Results aggregated to the three United Nations development categories (More, Less and Least developed) show very similar patterns as for income groups. More developed countries (Europe and former USSR) converged with the benchmark countries between 1920 and 1960 in most indicators, then have fallen behind, reversing the negative trend from around year 2000. Least developed countries have increasingly diverged in the economic indicators (GDP per capita and employment outside agriculture) not only from the benchmark group, but also from the less developed countries. However, the least developed group has seen progress in recent decades regarding telephone usage, educational attainment and CO 2 emissions. Land-Locked Developing Countries (LLDC) have very similar results to low-income or least developed countries, diverging from non-LLDC in economic indicators, but developing largely in parallel in other variables. Small Island Developing States (SIDS), another special UN grouping, has actually smaller lag in eight indicators (all except the CO 2 emissions index) in population-weighted terms than non-SIDS countries. Using the median lag, SIDS are ahead of non-SIDS also in eight indicators, with the exception of GDP per capita.

Finally, plotting time lags per country (Fig.  5 ) it is clear that the time lags are highly prevalent over time and few countries have radically improved or fallen behind. The indicator-averaged time lag in 2020 was found to be highly correlated with the lag both in 1970 (R 2  = 0.81) and 1920 (R 2  = 0.65). Though more countries reduced their lags than didn’t, the diversity within the developing world has increased.

Comparison of indicator-averaged time lags between different years (inverted scales)

3.2 Regional Perspectives

The regional findings are presented here split by eight regions based on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) regions with reference to UN subregions. Snapshots of average time lags per countries (at modern borders) are presented in Fig.  6 , while lags per indicator and SDG region are shown in Fig.  7 . Graphs for individual countries as well as various country groups can be downloaded from figshare ( https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.9436514 ).

Time lags per country, simple average of all indicators, 1920 ( a ), 1970 ( b ) and 2020 ( c ). Small countries represented as points. Country boundaries from EuroGeographics (Eurostat 2019 ), Robinson projection

Time lags (inverted scale) for developing countries by SDG region per indicator, population-weighted without uncertainty bounds

3.2.1 Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa, i.e. without the northernmost countries of the continent, has the highest time lag measured as a simple average of all indicators. Also, it has increased since 1920 from 75 to 83 years. It has particularly fallen behind in economic indicators and passenger car usage, though the lag in GDP per capita has been declining since reaching maximum value in 2001. The region has reduced its time lag in life expectancy to benchmark countries by a third until the AIDS epidemic reversed the trend around 1990, with the time lag in Southern Africa reaching highest ever value in the 2000s. Since 1920, the lag in infant survival increased except in Southern Africa, though the gains in that subregion where concentrated in the first half of the century. The region has the highest concentration of poorly-performing countries, with 9 out of 10 countries with the highest increases in indicator-averaged time lag located here. Somalia, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone have experienced the biggest increases. Only 5 out of 46 countries assessed in the region reduced their indicator-averaged time lag, with most progress made by Botswana, Mauritius, and Gabon.

3.2.2 Northern Africa and Western Asia

This region comprises many oil-producing countries; its discovery between the world wars enabled the reduction of the indicator-averaged time lag from 68 to 50 years, more than most of other parts of Africa and Asia. However, large gains in GDP per capita have been mostly erased after 1980, a year in which Western Asia even came slightly ahead of the average benchmark country. Considerable reduction of the lag in health indicators was achieved, though most of the gains were recorded before 1980. Since then, time lag was mostly cut in the field of education attainment. Countries of the region which do not rely on oil also made significant progress, with Israel and Cyprus projected to reduce their indicator-averaged time lags below zero in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Still, the strongest catch-up was recorded in the United Arab Emirates (fourth highest in the world), Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, with Sudan and particularly South Sudan on the other end of the scale with further increases to their time lags.

3.2.3 Southern Asia

Southern Asia consists mostly of large countries and is dominated by former British colonies and protectorates, mainly India. The region has achieved moderate reduction of the indicator-averaged time lag from 80 to 65 years, mainly thanks to very strong economic progress in the past 20 years. Since the 1970s, the time lag in education attainment was also cut by almost half. Yet, time lag reduction in health indicators stopped in the 1970s; it is currently increasing. As in the other aforementioned regions, passenger car usage is steadily falling behind the benchmark countries, while the consistent increase in the lag in telephone usage was only reversed by the introduction of mobile telephony. Maldives, Iran and Sri Lanka have reduced their lags more than other countries in the region, with no change in Pakistan and Nepal. Afghanistan is the only country in Southern Asia to noticeably increase its indicator-average time lag.

3.2.4 Eastern and South-Eastern Asia

The region has cut its time lag more than any other part of the developing world, from 74 to 38 years. Catch-up was recorded in all indicators except passenger car usage. At first, the lag in economic indicators was growing fast until around 1970, but was cut by two-thirds since then. The substantial decline in the lag in the CO 2 emissions index further highlights the fast-moving economic transition of the region. The lag in life expectancy was also reduced by two-thirds, with progress more evenly spread throughout the century, though progress in the infant survival rate was small. In general, very little reduction in the time lag in health indicators was achieved since the 1990s. Meanwhile, motorization has gained speed in the region, with the time lag unchanged since the late 2000s. Almost all countries in the region have reduced their indicator-averaged time lags, with only North Korea retaining the level of year 1920 (76 years). This contrasts heavily with South Korea, which achieved more reduction in the lag than any other country, by 71 years. More than 40 years was cut from the lags of Taiwan, China, Brunei and Singapore. Consequently, Eastern Asia recorded a catch-up of 42 years (to 33 years), while South-Eastern Asia made a comparatively less impressive 22-year reduction of the lag (to 47 years). Three countries of the region are currently ahead of an average benchmark country: Brunei (since 1979), Singapore (since 1987) and Hong Kong (since 1990).

3.2.5 Oceania

The smallest of SDG regions consists of only four independent states with populations above 250,000; Papua-New Guinea is by far the largest of them. All four countries are located in the subregion of Melanesia. In this region, increasing lags in economic and technology adoption indicators were compensated by modest catch-up in health and education domains. The indicator-averaged lag has changed little over the course of the century, as the lag amounted to 76 years in 1920, the same value in 1970 or 1980 and is projected to be 74 years in 2020. The small island states—Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu—have all slightly diverged from the benchmark countries in the timeframe of the study.

3.2.6 Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean is characterized by moderate progress in all indicators except passenger car usage, with the average lag cut from 52 to 41 years. However, catch-up with the benchmark countries was largely achieved until around year 1970. Since then, the lag in GDP per capita has doubled, with no convergence for health indicators or the CO 2 emissions index. Some reduction in the time lag were observed for the education attainment and telephone usage. Progress has been stronger in Central America than in South America, with all countries of the subregion reducing their indicator-averaged time lag. The strongest catch-up was achieved by Costa Rica and Guatemala, while Colombia and Bolivia made most progress in South America. Some countries of the region were regarded as developed early in the century, but have consistently been falling behind the benchmark, especially Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Argentina had the smallest lag of all developing countries in 1920 (9 years on average), but it has increased by 22 years since then, which more than any country outside Africa. The Caribbean subregion has a whole made much less progress than the other two parts of the region, but it also has been very diverse. Strong catch-up by Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic is compensated by the increasing lags of Cuba and Haiti.

3.2.7 Former USSR

This region does not exist in the original SDG regions. It was created here because countries in three different SDG regions belonged to one political entity—the Soviet Union, or USSR—until 1991. Time lags for all indicators for this region ran largely in parallel, with two distinct phases. Firstly, economic, health and education indicators show significant catch-up until the early 1960s, with little change in the lags for technology adoption and CO 2 emissions index. Later, the lag is increasing with accelerating speed, peaking at the transition from socialist to market economy in the 1990s, with only education attainment still reducing the lag. Since around year 2000, there is very modest catch-up for most indicators. Still, the indicator-averaged lag in the region declined from 61 years in 1920 to 35 years at present. The Baltic States, which were independent also before 1940 and therefore separate statistics are available, largely converged with the benchmark countries, with Estonia even projected to reduce its lag below zero in 2019. The other successor states went various paths after 1990, with Georgia and Moldova making most reductions in their time lags (albeit from a high level) and countries like Uzbekistan and Russia falling further behind the benchmark countries.

3.2.8 Europe

This region consists of a relatively small selection of European countries, as a large part of the continent is either in the group of benchmark countries or included under Former USSR. The countries of Eastern and Southern Europe were comparatively better developed than most of the developing world, yet all managed to catch-up further with the benchmark countries. Indicator-average time lag was 38 years in 1920 and projected to be 19 years in 2020. Eastern Europe followed almost identical pattern as the Former USSR as all countries in the subregion had socialist economies between approximately 1945 and 1990. Still, the recovery after the transition to the market economy has been stronger than in the Former USSR. It is also the only subregion that has, mostly in recent years, converged with the benchmark countries in passenger car usage. Southern Europe is a diversified region, with good progress of Malta, Portugal and Greece. Malta had third best catch-up in the world and its time lag is below zero since 2007. On the other hand, many countries of the former Yugoslavia, especially the former Serbia and Montenegro have struggled to converge much in the past century given several setbacks such as the chaotic break-up of Yugoslavia.

3.3 Opportunities and Dangers in Future Development

Opportunities and dangers to future catch-up of developing countries could be further investigated by applying the time lags from a given indicator to draw corresponding values from other indicators. Hence, nine auxiliary indicators covering demography, economics and politics were collected for 2017 (the latest year available) and years 1800–2100 for benchmark countries (see “ Appendix 2 ”). The results show that least developing countries have higher natural growth and younger demographic structure than an average benchmark country at the time when it had the same level of GDP per capita as the least developed countries. Though birth rate and fertility are only slightly higher than the corresponding historical values for the developed countries, much lower death rate results in almost three times higher natural growth. The share of people in working age (15–64 years) is also lower, which could be a drag on economic growth. On the positive side, the government debt in the least developed group is more than a third lower than it used to be in the benchmark countries; it is also more democratic.

The results of the comparison between present-day developing countries split by SDG regions and the average for benchmark countries at the time when they were at equal level of economic development, is presented in Fig.  8 . Only two out of eight regions have higher fertility and birth rates than the historical values for benchmark countries (Sub-Saharan Africa, Northern Africa and Western Asia), while also only two have higher death rates (Europe, Former USSR). The same two groups are the only ones with higher share of old-age population, though they still have a higher share of working-age population, like all regions except Sub-Saharan Africa. Most regions are more indebted than the benchmark countries, except for the Former USSR, Oceania and, by a small margin, Sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, only two regions have more democratic governments than the benchmark group used to have: Oceania and Sub-Saharan Africa. Those findings suggest most of the developing countries have good growth perspectives thanks to larger share of working-age population than developed countries at this stage (Cervellati et al. 2019 ). Yet, the low fertility and population aging might soon become a problem, firstly in Europe and Eastern Asia, especially since they have a relatively high level of debt in a historical context.

2017 values of selected demographic, economic and political indicators for developing countries by SDG regions. The comparative value for benchmark countries is the population-weighted average of the values of the indicator in the year (per benchmark country) corresponding to the value of GDP per capita in the developing countries in 2017

4 Discussion

4.1 relevance of the findings.

Trends in time lags have shown narrow convergence, but with large variation between indicators, and in time and space. Still, some common patterns are visible. Most indicators have shown great stability in the values of time lags, except for brief periods of improvement, across the world, income groups and continents. This suggests that history is difficult to “escape”: changes in income, mortality or education in developing countries have mostly followed historical paths taken by developed countries. The only periods of convergence, considering the developing world together, could be connected with diffusion of important technological advancements. For instance, it was found that more than half of the improvement to life expectancy in England and Italy between 1871/1881 and 1951 was due to the control of infectious and respiratory diseases (Livi-Bacci 2012 ). The spread of vaccination and knowledge on disease prevention and treatment beyond developed countries could explain why convergence between developing and benchmark countries only occurred until the 1970s. That is because life expectancy in developing countries reached levels of developed countries at the time when communicable diseases had no longer a significant impact on mortality. Further reduction in mortality requires high health-care investments rather than easily available knowledge and technologies (Preston 2007 ).

Another example is the adoption of telephony, in which the developing world was slowly, but increasingly falling behind the developed world. However, advent of much cheaper mobile telephony quickly reduced much of the lag. The concept of universal primary education spread slowly in the developed world, but was implemented at a faster pace in the developing world. Since the 1990s, advances in education require more expensive forms of education (secondary, tertiary), which have proven as difficult to implement as in the developed countries in the past. Meanwhile, the lag in the CO 2 emissions index follows a similar trajectory as GDP per capita. This is an unsatisfactory result in context of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent catastrophic climate change, which threatens global convergence in well-being as well (Baarsch et al. 2020 ). On the other hand, the time lag is lower in general, hence the adoption of modern fuels and industry was quicker in developing countries at the beginning, so a quicker decarbonization might be possible too.

A few countries in east and south-east Asia managed to achieve significant convergence when most countries didn’t. They were broadly helped by globalization (Deaton 2014 ), but the time lag data also show that their economic success was preceded by a considerable reduction in lags in life expectancy and education. Those lags remained at a similar level since the convergence in income and non-agricultural labor share really started. Other countries follow historically-established development rates. A noticeable feature of Fig.  4 is that the time lag trajectories of different income groups are very similar, but shifted in time, with richer developing countries advancing first before the lower-income groups followed with the same pattern.

4.2 Uncertainties and Limitations

The results are subject to uncertainty related to the extrapolations made to fill missing data. Though the method used provides a quantification of the uncertainty, it might not capture trends that occurred in a particular country, especially if the lack of data was a result of major disruptions in a country, such as war or revolution. Also, the present study didn’t quantify the uncertainty of extrapolation for benchmark countries, while future changes of several indicators for those countries are assumptions rather than actual projections made by statistical agencies. Quantifying the uncertainty for the benchmark countries is a task for future research.

An uncertainty difficult to account for is the quality of underlying statistics. The United Nations Population Division adjusts the demographic indicators to improve their comparability, but such cases are estimates often based on scarce input information, therefore still having considerable uncertainty. Other indicators are usually unadjusted data from national agencies, which could include many inaccuracies, errors or methodological differences. The most known and highly contested examples involve GDP growth rates of the biggest developing economies, China and India, which might be grossly exaggerated (Subramanian 2019 ; Wu 2014 ). Another known instance is that of Argentina, which in 2013 became the first country to be sanctioned by the International Monetary Fund for misreporting economic data (“An Augean Stable” 2016 ). Problems of accuracy aside, it should be noted that the GDP per capita indicator depends on the choice of the time point to which the different countries are compared to. Here, 2011 purchasing power parities (PPPs) are used, which will yield different time lags than e.g. 1990 PPPs also used in historical economic research (Maddison 2001 ; Bolt et al. 2018 ). However, this would not affect the trends in the time lag for this indicator.

4.3 Future Outlook

The study can provide not only insights on the historical progress in the “catch-up” of developing countries to the developed ones, but also on the rate of future development necessary to continue the convergence process. This can also serve as a plausibility check against international or national development goals. For instance, SDG 8.1 calls for a 7% annual GDP per capita growth between 2015 and 2030 in the least developed countries (United Nations 2018a ). In 2015, the least developed countries lagged an average benchmark country by 178 years. If the goal is achieved, the lag in 2030 would be reduced to 103 years. In reality, the group is projected to achieve a growth of barely 1.3% per annum between 2015 and 2020. However, this is very close to the historical record of benchmark countries, which have grown, on average, 1.6% per annum in the 15 years after reaching the 2015 level of GDP per capita of the least developed countries. The 7% growth threshold was only surpassed by Japan in the postwar reconstruction years (7.8% on average between 1946 and 1961). Otherwise, the best results were achieved by Australia and New Zealand in the mid-nineteenth century (5% growth).

Another goal, SDG 9.2, has a target of doubling the industrial share of employment in the least developed countries between 2015 and 2030. If all new industrial employment was to come from the reduction of the agricultural share, the latter would need to decline from 65 to 52%, or by a fifth, based on industrial employment as of 2015 (World Bank 2019 ). This would still result only in the reduction of the time lag from 173 to around 160 years. In the period of 15 years after achieving comparable GDP per capita to the least developed countries, an average benchmark country has only reduced its agricultural employment share from 57 to 54%. Again, out of 20 benchmark countries (excluding Luxembourg for the lack of GDP data), only Japan managed an economic transition with a speed comparable to what is needed to achieve SDG 9.2.

The examples presented above highlight the daunting task to improve well-being in the least developed countries. It also suggests that the two SDGs are unrealistic and very unlikely to be achieved. The time lags method can’t help with the imprecision of the SDGs, as only 35 out of 169 goals are quantifiable and measurable on a country level (McArthur and Rasmussen 2019 ). However, it can help setting more realistic and measurable goals, as few countries are on track to reach more than a handful of SDGs (Sachs et al. 2019 ). Those quantifiable goals often call for an improvement by a given proportion of an indicator, e.g. reducing poverty by half (SDG 1.2), reducing mortality from non-communicable diseases by a third (SDG 3.4) and doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency (SDG 7.3). In practice, the difficulty of achieving each goal can depend on the starting level, as has been noticeable in this study with GDP per capita growth rates, which have been low for both the poorest countries (presently and in the past) and the richest ones too. Time lags allow to set a single goal (reducing the lag by a given number of years to the benchmark), which will require a different rate of progress for different countries, but will lead to convergence between the developing countries and the benchmark. Time lags would also allow setting a uniform goal in convergence across different indicators, helping to synchronize goal-setting across different SDGs, as synergy between the goals is highly desirable (Nilsson et al. 2016 ; Pradhan et al. 2017 ). The downside of this approach is that it requires a country or group of countries as a benchmark. The benchmark group couldn’t be assessed this way. On the other hand, a “standard” goal could be set for the benchmark countries, while for other countries the goal would be to reduce the time lag by the same number of years.

5 Conclusions

This paper examined the time lags of nine development indicators for most countries of the world compared with a set of 21 developed (benchmark) countries. The results provide insights which parts of the developing world have converged with the developed countries in social and economic aspects and which have fallen behind. In most general terms, the developing world has cut its distance to an average benchmark country by a quarter in the past century (Sect.  3.1 ). The same finding is true for a median developing country. Progress was made in GDP per capita, education attainment, life expectancy, infant survival rate, telephone usage and the CO 2 emissions index, with mixed record on employment outside agriculture and increasing lag only for passenger car usage. However, much of the catch-up has occurred between the 1950s and 1970s, with recent small reductions in the time lags driven mostly by the introduction of mobile phones, which cut most of the distance in telephone usage to the benchmark countries. Also, the global result in population-weighted terms is mostly influenced by progress in China, which can be estimated to be responsible for more than 90% of positive contribution to the reduction of the indicator-averaged time lag in the 1990s and almost 70% in both 2000s and 2010s.

The paper highlighted the diverse pathways of different regions of the world (Sect.  3.2 ). Most countries in Africa, already lagging far behind, are failing to catch-up. Countries that could have been classified as developed in 1920 have also sometimes fallen behind substantially, mainly in South America. Several countries, mostly in Eastern Asia and Eastern Europe have closed the gap despite less favorable starting conditions. Still, lags in 2020 are highly correlated with lags in 1920 or 1970, highlighting the difficulty to radically improve a country’s development level and catch-up with the benchmark.

The result section ends with a comparison of selected auxiliary indicators, mostly demographic, between present-day developing countries and their historical counterparts—benchmark countries at the time when they had corresponding GDP per capita levels. It is found that developing countries mostly have lower fertility and mortality, higher share of working-age population, higher public debt and less democratic governments than benchmark countries at the same stage of development. This creates both opportunities and risks to future convergence with the developed countries.

After briefly discussing the possible explanations of the results in Sect.  4.1 and the uncertainties in Sect.  4.2 , the paper explains the possible application of the method to setting development goals in Sect.  4.3 . Using the example of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8.1 and 9.2, it shows how unrealistic those targets might be, by putting them into a historical context. Using time lags, a realistic target that is comparable across indicators is possible.

Aldcroft, D. (1993). The European economy 1914–1990 . New York: Routledge.

Book   Google Scholar  

Alkema, L., Raftery, A. E., Gerland, P., Clark, S. J., Pelletier, F., Buettner, T., et al. (2011). Probabilistic projections of the total fertility rate for all countries. Demography, 48 (3), 815–839. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-011-0040-5 .

Article   Google Scholar  

Allen, R. C. (2000). Economic structure and agricultural productivity in Europe, 1300–1800. European Review of Economic History, 4 (1), 1–25.

An Augean Stable. (2016). The Economist. . https://www.economist.com/theamericas/2016/02/13/an-augean-stable .

Azose, J. J., & Raftery, A. E. (2019). Estimation of emigration, return migration, and transit migration between all pairs of countries. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116 (1), 116–122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1722334116 .

Baarsch, F., Granadillos, J. R., Hare, W., Knaus, M., Krapp, M., Schaeffer, M., et al. (2020). The impact of climate change on incomes and convergence in Africa. World Development, 126, 104699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104699 .

Barro, R., & Lee, J.-W. (2013). A new data set of educational attainment in the world, 1950–2010. Journal of Development Economics, 104, 184–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2012.10.001 .

Barro, R., & Sala-i-Martin, X. (1992). Convergence. Journal of Political Economy, 100 (2), 223–251. https://doi.org/10.1086/261816 .

Baumol, W. J. (1986). Productivity growth, convergence and welfare: What the long-run data show. American Economic Review, 76, 1072–1085.

Google Scholar  

Boden, T.A., G. Marland, & Andres, R. J. (2017). Global, regional, and national fossil-fuel CO 2 emissions, carbon dioxide information analysis center [data file]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3334/CDIAC/00001_V2017 . Retrieved July 31, 2019.

Bolt, J., Inklaar, R., de Jong, H., & van Zanden, J. L. (2018). Rebasing ‘Maddison’: new income comparisons and the shape of long-run economic development. GGDC Research Memorandum GD-174. Groningen: Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen.

Broadberry, S., Campbell, B. M. S., & van Leeuwen, B. (2013). When did Britain industrialise? The sectoral distribution of the labour force and labour productivity in Britain, 1381–1851. Explorations in Economic History, 50 (1), 16–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2012.08.004 .

Cervellati, M., Meyerheim, G., & Sunde, U. (2019). The timing of the demographic transition and economic growth. Economics Letters, 181, 43–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2019.04.022 .

Clio Infra. (2019). Reconstructing global inequality [Data file]. https://clio-infra.eu/ . Retrieved July 31, 2019.

Comin, D., & Hobijn, B. (2010). An exploration of technology diffusion. American Economic Review, 100 (5), 2031–2059. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.100.5.2031 .

Comin, D., Hobijn, B., & Rovito, E. (2008). Technology usage lags. Journal of Economic Growth, 13 (4), 237–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-008-9035-5 .

Deaton, A. (2014). The great escape: Health, wealth, and the origins of inequality . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Decancq, K., Decoster, A., & Schokkaert, E. (2009). Evolution of world inequality in well-being. World Development, 37, 11–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2007.12.006 .

European Automobile Manufacturers Association. (2019). Vehicles in use [Data file]. https://www.acea.be/statistics/tag/category/vehicles-in-use . Retrieved July 31, 2019.

Eurostat. (2010). Illustrated glossary for transport statistics (4th ed.). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2785/58454 .

Eurostat. (2013). European system of accounts ESA 2010 . Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2785/16644 .

Eurostat. (2019). Database [Data file]. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database . Retrieved July 30, 2019.

Ferraro, D. (2017). Volatility and slow technology diffusion. European Economic Review, 96, 18–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2017.04.005 .

French, D. (2014). International mortality modelling—An economic perspective. Economics Letters, 122 (2), 182–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2013.10.039 .

Genest, C., Remillard, B., & Beaudoin, D. (2009). Goodness-of-fit tests for copulas: A review and a power study. Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, 44, 199–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.insmatheco.2007.10.005 .

International Labor Organization. (2019). ILOSTAT Bulk download facility [Data file]. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/ . Retrieved July 30, 2019.

International Monetary Fund. (2019a). World economic outlook database [Data file]. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/index.aspx . Retrieved July 30, 2019.

International Monetary Fund. (2019b). Historical public debt database [Data file]. https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/datasets/DEBT/1 . Retrieved July 31, 2019.

International Monetary Fund. (2019c). Global debt database [Data file]. https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/datasets/GDD . Retrieved July 31, 2019.

International Organization for Standardization. (2019). Country codes—ISO 3166 . https://www.iso.org/iso-3166-country-codes.html . Retrieved July 26, 2019.

International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. (2017). Vehicles in use [Data file]. http://www.oica.net/category/vehicles-in-use/ . Retrieved July 31, 2019.

International Telecommunications Union. (2019). Statistics [Data file]. https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx . Retrieved July 31, 2019.

ISSC, IDS, & UNESCO. (2016). World social science report 2016: Challenging inequalities—Pathways to a just world . Paris: UNESCO Publishing.

Joe, H. (2014). Dependence modeling with Copulas . London: Chapman & Hall/CRC.

Jordá, V., & Niño-Zarazúa, M. (2017). Global inequality in length of life: 1950–2015 . WIDER working paper 2017/192, United Nations University, Helsinki, Finland. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3076786 .

Jordá, V., & Sarabia, J. M. (2015). International convergence in well-being indicators. Social Indicators Research, 120 (1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0588-8 .

Jovanovic, B. (2009). The technology cycle and inequality. Review of Economic Studies, 76 (2), 707–729. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-937X.2009.00532.x .

Kónya, L., & Guisan, M. C. (2008). What does the human development index tell us about convergence? Applied Econometrics and International Development, 8, 19–40.

Le Quéré, C., Andrew, R. M., Friedlingstein, P., Sitch, S., Hauck, J., Pongratz, J., et al. (2018). Global carbon budget 2018. Earth System Science Data, 10, 2141–2194. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-2141-2018 .

Lee, J.-W., & Lee, H. (2016). Human capital in the long run. Journal of Development Economics, 122, 147–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2016.05.006 .

Livi-Bacci, M. (2012). A concise history of world population . Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Maddison, A. (1997). Causal influences on productivity performance 1820–1992: A global perspective. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 8 (4), 325–359. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007763404305 .

Maddison, A. (2001). The world economy: A millennial perspective . Paris: OECD.

Maddison, A. (2008). Shares of the rich and the rest in the world economy: Income divergence between nations, 1820–2030. Asian Economic Policy Review, 3, 67–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-3131.2008.00090.x .

Maddison, A. (2010). Historical statistics of the world economy: 1–2008 AD [Data file]. www.ggdc.net/maddison/Historical_Statistics/horizontal-file_02-2010.xls . Retrieved July 30, 2019.

Marshall, M. G., Gurr, T. R., & Jaggers, K. (2018). Polity IV project—Political regime characteristics and transitions, 1800–2017, Dataset Users’ Manual. http://www.systemicpeace.org/inscrdata.html .

Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. (2018). Human fertility collection [Data file]. https://www.fertilitydata.org/cgi-bin/index.php . Retrieved July 31, 2019.

Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. (2019). Human life-table database [Data file]. http://www.lifetable.de . Retrieved July 31, 2019.

Mazumdar, K. (2003). Do standards of living converge? A cross-country study. Social Indicators Research, 64 (1), 29–50. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024736308509 .

McArthur, J. W., & Rasmussen, K. (2019). Classifying sustainable development goal trajectories: A country-level methodology for identifying which issues and people are getting left behind. World Development, 123, 104608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.06.031 .

McEvedy, C., & Jones, R. (1978). Atlas of World Population History . London: Penguin.

McGillivray, M., & Markova, N. (2010). Global inequality in well-being dimensions. The Journal of Development Studies, 46 (2), 371–378. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220380903033280 .

McGillivray, M., & Pillarisetti, J. R. (2004). International inequality in well-being. Journal of International Development, 16 (4), 563–574. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.1078 .

Milanovic, B. (2005). Worlds apart: Measuring international and global inequality . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Milanovic, B. (2012). Global income inequality by the numbers: In history and now . Policy research working paper 6259, World Bank. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/959251468176687085/pdf/wps6259.pdf .

Mitchell, B. R. (1993). International historical statistics: The Americas 1750–1988 . London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Mitchell, B. R. (1998a). International historical statistics: Africa Asia and Oceania 1750–1993 . London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Mitchell, B. R. (1998b). International historical statistics: Europe 1750–1993 . London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Monfort, P. (2008). Convergence of EU regions—Measures and evolution . Working paper 01/2008, Regional Policy, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium. http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/work/200801_convergence.pdf .

Morales-Nápoles, O., Paprotny, D., Worm, D., Abspoel-Bukman, L., & Courage, W. (2017). Characterization of precipitation through copulas and expert judgement for risk assessment of infrastructure. ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering, 3, 04017012. https://doi.org/10.1061/AJRUA6.0000914 .

Nilsson, M., Griggs, D., & Visbeck, M. (2016). Policy: Map the interactions between sustainable development goals. Nature, 534, 320–322. https://doi.org/10.1038/534320a .

Nixon, J. W. (1938). On the statistics available concerning the occupied population of the world and its distribution. Review of the International Statistical Institute, 6 (3), 377–393. https://doi.org/10.2307/1401192 .

Noorbakhsh, F. (2006). International convergence or higher inequality in human development? Evidence for 1975–2002. WIDER research paper no. 2006/15.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (2019). Transportation energy data book [Data file]. https://tedb.ornl.gov/data/ . Retrieved July 31, 2019.

OECD. (2018). GDP long-term forecast (indicator) [Data file]. https://doi.org/10.1787/d927bc18-en . Retrieved July 30, 2019.

OECD. (2019). OECD.Stat [Data file]. https://stats.oecd.org/ . Retrieved July 30, 2019.

Paprotny, D. (2014). Poziom rozwoju Polski w relacji do państw zachodnich. The Polish Statistician, 59 (3), 48–65.

Paprotny, D. (2016). Measuring Central and Eastern Europe’s socio-economic development using time lags. Social Indicators Research, 127 (3), 939–957. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-0991-9 .

Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the twenty-first century . Cambridge, MS: Harvard University Press.

Pradhan, P., Costa, L., Rybski, D., Lucht, W., & Kropp, J. P. (2017). A systematic study of sustainable development goal (SDG) interactions. Earth’s Future, 5, 1169–1179. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017EF000632 .

Preston, S. H. (2007). The changing relation between mortality and level of economic development. International Journal of Epidemiology, 36, 484–490.

Pritchett, L. (1997). Divergence, big time. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11 (3), 3–17.

Quah, D. (1993). Galton’s fallacy and tests of the convergence hypothesis. Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 95, 427–443.

Raftery, A. E., Lalic, N., & Gerland, P. (2014). Joint probabilistic projection of female and male life expectancy. Demographic Research, 30, 795–822. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2014.30.27 .

Rothenbacher, F. (2013). The Central and East European population since 1850 . London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Sachs, J., Schmidt-Traub, G., Kroll, C., Lafortune, G., & Fuller, G. (2019). Sustainable development report 2019 . New York: Bertelsmann Stiftung and Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Sala-i-Martin, X. (1996). The classical approach to convergence analysis. The Economic Journal, 106, 1019–1033.

Sala-i-Martin, X. (2006). The world distribution of income: Falling poverty and … convergence, Period. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 71 (2), 351–397.

Schön, L., & Krantz, O. (2015). Swedish historical national accounts 1300–2010 [Data file]. https://www.ekh.lu.se/en/research/economic-history-data/shna . Retrieved July 30, 2019.

Solow, R. M. (1956). A contribution to the theory of economic growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70, 65–94.

Statistics Iceland. (2019). Gross domestic product [Data file]. https://www.statice.is/statistics/economy/national-accounts/gross-domestic-product/ . Retrieved July 30, 2019.

Statistics Poland. (2006). Historia Polski w liczbach, tom II—Gospodarka . Warsaw: Statistics Poland.

Subramanian, A. (2019). India’s GDP mis-estimation: Likelihood, magnitudes, mechanisms, and implications . CID Faculty working paper no. 354, Harvard University. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/cid/publications/faculty-working-papers/india-gdp-overestimate .

UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. (2019). Child mortality estimates [Data file]. https://childmortality.org/ . Retrieved July 31, 2019.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2019). UIS Statistics [Data file]. http://data.uis.unesco.org/ . Retrieved July 31, 2019.

United Nations. (2018a). Sustainable development goals . https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ . Retrieved July 30, 2019.

United Nations. (2018b). National accounts: Analysis of main aggregates (AMA) [Data file]. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/snaama/ . Retrieved July 30, 2019.

United Nations. (2019). World population prospects 2019 . https://population.un.org/wpp/ . Retrieved July 26, 2019.

United Nations Development Programme. (2018). Human development data (1990–2017) [Data file]. http://hdr.undp.org/en/data . Retrieved July 29, 2019.

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (2019). UNECE Statistical Database [Data file]. Retrieved from https://w3.unece.org/PXWeb/en (accessed July 31, 2019).

University of California and Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. (2019). Human mortality database [Data file]. http://www.mortality.org . Retrieved July 31, 2019.

World Bank. (2019). World development indicators [Data file]. https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/dataset/world-development-indicators . Retrieved July 26, 2019.

Wu, H. X. (2014). China’s growth and productivity performance debate revisited—Accounting for China’s sources of growth with a new data set. Economics program working paper series , The Conference Board. https://www.conference-board.org/pdf_free/workingpapers/EPWP1401.pdf .

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Oswaldo Morales-Nápoles (Delft University of Technology) for his help with developing the Matlab code used for the copula-based simulation.

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

Dominik Paprotny

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dominik Paprotny .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest.

The author declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 700 kb)

Appendix 1: definitions of regions, 1.1 former countries.

The following “aggregate” countries, representing defunct states, where used when calculating time lags by means of averaging (median or population-weighted average) of countries comprising a given region of the world:

British India [Former]: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Pakistan.

Czechoslovakia [Former]: Czechia, Slovakia.

Ethiopia [Former]: Eritrea, Ethiopia.

Korea [Former]: North Korea, South Korea.

Sudan [Former]: South Sudan, Sudan.

USSR [Former]: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.

Yugoslavia [Former]: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia.

Additionally, for collection of historical statistics and creating the aggregates for British India and Yugoslavia, the following aggregates were used:

Pakistan [Former]: Bangladesh, Pakistan.

Serbia and Montenegro [Former]: Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia.

1.2 Regions of the World

The subdivisions of the world were obtained from United Nations ( 2019 ), with modifications. The two most important divisions analyzed here are presented in Figs.  9 and 10 , while a listing of all countries and their respective regions is provided in Supplementary Information 1.

Sustainable Development Goals regions, modified. Small countries represented as points. Country boundaries from EuroGeographics (Eurostat 2019 ), Robinson projection

World Bank income groups, modified. Small countries represented as points. Country boundaries from EuroGeographics (Eurostat 2019 ), Robinson projection

Appendix 2: Definitions of Indicators and Data Sources

2.1 gdp per capita.

Definition Gross domestic product (GDP) “is the final result of the production activity of resident producer units” (Eurostat 2013 ). Here, it is measured in constant prices and 2011 purchasing power parities (price levels of United States in 2011, in US dollars).

Data sources for benchmark countries: 1800–1979: Maddison Project Database (Bolt et al. 2018 ), Maddison ( 2010 ) and Statistics Iceland ( 2019 ); 1980–2024: estimates and projections from World Economic Outlook, April 2019 (International Monetary Fund 2019a ), Maddison Project Database and the National Accounts Main Aggregates Database (United Nations 2018b ); 2025–2060: extrapolated with GDP growth rates from the OECD long-term economic projection, July 2018 (OECD 2018 ); 2061–2100: extrapolated with GDP growth rate for 2060.

Data sources for developing countries: 1920–1979: Maddison Project Database, Maddison ( 2010 ), Statistics Poland ( 2006 ) and the National Accounts Main Aggregates Database; 1980–2020: World Economic Outlook, Maddison Project Database and the National Accounts Main Aggregates Database.

2.2 Employment Outside Agriculture

Definition: the share of employed or economically active population whose primary occupation is in the industrial or services sector. In practice, the indicator was calculated based on the employment share in the agricultural sector, i.e. agriculture, hunting, fishery and forestry (World Bank 2019 ). The exact coverage of the population of this indicator varies slightly between countries and time periods.

Data sources for benchmark countries: 1800–1954: United Nations Demographic Yearbook, various editions, League of Nations Statistical Yearbook, various editions, Allen ( 2000 ), Broadberry et al. ( 2013 ), Maddison ( 2001 ), Mitchell ( 1993 , 1998a , b ), Nixon ( 1938 ), Schön and Krantz ( 2015 ) and national statistical institutes; 1955–2018: Eurostat ( 2019 ) and OECD ( 2019 ); 2019–2100: extrapolated using average annual change in employment share in the group of benchmark countries (2008–2017).

Data sources for developing countries: 1920–1990: United Nations Demographic Yearbook, various editions, League of Nations Statistical Yearbook, various editions, ILOSTAT (International Labor Organization 2019 ), Aldcroft ( 1993 ), Mitchell ( 1993 , 1998a , b ), Nixon ( 1938 ) and national statistical institutes; 1991–2020: estimates and projections from ILOSTAT, except Argentina (from national statistical institute).

2.3 Life Expectancy (Men and Women)

Definition: life expectancy at birth “indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life” (World Bank 2019 ).

Data sources for benchmark countries: 1800–2018: United Nations Demographic Yearbook, League of Nations Statistical Yearbook, Human Life-Table Database (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research 2019 ), Human Mortality Database (University of California and Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research 2019 ), World Population Prospects: the 2019 revision (United Nations 2019 ), Eurostat ( 2019 ), OECD ( 2019 ), Raftery et al. ( 2014 ) and national statistical institutes; 2019–2100: projections from the World Population Prospects: the 2019 revision.

Data sources for developing countries: 1920–1949: United Nations Demographic Yearbook, League of Nations Statistical Yearbook, Human Life-Table Database, Human Mortality Database, Rothenbacher ( 2013 ) and national statistical institutes; 1950–2100: estimates and projections from the World Population Prospects: the 2019 revision.

2.4 Infant Survival Rate

Definition: Infant survival rate is calculated from the infant mortality rate, which is “the number of infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1000 live births in a given year” (World Bank 2019 ). The quality of this indicator varies significantly between countries and is usually underestimated outside developed countries. Data from 1950 for developing countries used here are adjusted estimates from United Nations, while pre-1950 data (mostly from the United Nations Demographic Yearbook) were adjusted, on per-country basis, by a constant factor comparing original 1950 data with adjusted UN estimates. Data for almost all European countries (except for Albania) did not need adjustment.

Data sources for benchmark countries: 1800–2018: United Nations Demographic Yearbook, League of Nations Statistical Yearbook, Human Life-Table Database, Human Mortality Database, World Population Prospects: the 2019 revision, Eurostat ( 2019 ), Mitchell ( 1998a , b ), Rothenbacher ( 2013 ), UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation ( 2019 ) and national statistical institutes; 2019–2100: projections from the World Population Prospects: the 2019 revision.

Data sources for developing countries: 1920–1949: United Nations Demographic Yearbook, League of Nations Statistical Yearbook, Human Life-Table Database, Rothenbacher ( 2013 ), UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation ( 2019 ) and national statistical institutes; 1950–2100: estimates and projections from the World Population Prospects: the 2019 revision.

2.5 Passenger Cars

Definition: the number of passenger cars per 1000 persons, with passenger car usually defined as a “road motor vehicle, other than a moped or a motor cycle, intended for the carriage of passengers and designed to seat no more than nine persons (including the driver)” (Eurostat 2010 ). In practice, the exact definition varies between countries. Adjustment were made to data for Japan and United States by aggregating multiple categories of vehicles to match the general definition of passenger cars.

Data sources for benchmark countries: 1895–2017: United Nations Statistical Yearbook, various editions, League of Nations Statistical Yearbook, Mitchell ( 1993 , 1998a , b ), Eurostat ( 2019 ) and national statistical institutes, divided by total population (see Sect. 7.9 ); 2018–2100: extrapolated using average annual change in passenger cars per 1000 persons in the group of benchmark countries (2008–2017).

Data sources for developing countries: 1920–2018: United Nations Statistical Yearbook, various editions, League of Nations Statistical Yearbook, Mitchell ( 1993 , 1998a , b ), Eurostat ( 2019 ), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe ( 2019 ), Oak Ridge National Laboratory ( 2019 ), European Automobile Manufacturers Association ( 2019 ), International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers ( 2017 ) and national statistical institutes, divided by total population (see Sect. 7.9 ).

2.6 Telephones

Definition: the number of active fixed-line and mobile cellular telephone subscriptions per 1000 persons (World Bank 2019 ). For some countries, historical data might vary in defining “active” subscription. In some cases, the data refer to the number of devices rather than subscriptions, which overestimates telephone adoption (multiple fixed-line telephone devices could be used at home per one subscription). Where possible, historical series using the number of devices (mostly from Mitchell) have been adjusted to match later series with the number of subscriptions (mostly from World Development Indicators).

Data sources for benchmark countries: 1876–2017: World Development Indicators (World Bank 2019 ), Mitchell ( 1993 , 1998a , b ), International Telecommunications Union ( 2019 ) and national statistical institutes, divided by total population (see Sect. 7.9 ); 2018–2100: extrapolated using average annual change in the number of telephones per 1000 persons in the group of benchmark countries (2008–2017).

Data sources for developing countries: 1920–2017: as for benchmark countries.

2.7 Education Attainment

Definition: the mean number of years that a person has spent in school (Barro and Lee 2013 ). Data from 1950 refer to all persons aged 25 and more, while 1870–1945 data refer to people aged 25–64 and pre-1870 data vary in age definition.

Data sources for benchmark countries: 1800–1869: Clio Infra ( 2019 ) and Maddison ( 1997 ); 1870–1949: Lee and Lee ( 2016 ); 1950–1969: Barro and Lee ( 2013 ), 1970–2017: Barro and Lee ( 2013 ), UNESCO Institute for Statistics ( 2019 ) and United Nations Development Programme ( 2018 ); 2018–2050: extrapolated assuming all countries reaching the expected years of schooling from 2017 (i.e. the mean years of schooling expected to be achieved at constant school enrollment rates of 2017) by 2050; 2051–2100: 2050 value used.

Data sources for developing countries: 1920–1949: Lee and Lee ( 2016 ); 1950–1970: Barro and Lee ( 2013 ), 1971–2017: Barro and Lee ( 2013 ), UNESCO Institute for Statistics ( 2019 ) and United Nations Development Programme ( 2018 ).

2.8 CO 2 Emissions Index

Definition A dimensionless index for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions per unit of GDP. Includes emissions from gas, liquid and solid fossil fuels, cement production, and gas flaring. The index was constructed by first identifying peak emissions using a 5-year moving average. This average emission value forms the basis of the index. Emissions after the year of the peak are divided by the baseline emission. Then, the baseline emission is divided by the emissions that have occurred before the year of the peak. The base value of the index is 100, with values above 100 indicating pre-peak emissions (capped at 10,000) and values below 100 indicating post-peak emissions. Total GDP was calculated by multiplying GDP per capita (see Sect. 7.1 ) and total population (see Sect. 7.9 ).

Data sources for benchmark countries: 1800–1989: Boden et al. ( 2017 ) divided by total GDP; 1990–2017: Le Quéré et al. ( 2018 ) divided by total GDP; 2018–2100: extrapolated using average annual change in CO 2 emissions in the group of benchmark countries (2008–2017) and divided by projected total GDP.

Data sources for developing countries: 1920–2014: Boden et al. ( 2017 ), with 1990–2014 data for some countries from Le Quéré et al. ( 2018 ) divided by total GDP; 2015–2017: Le Quéré et al. ( 2018 ) divided by total GDP.

2.9 Auxiliary Data

Calculating passenger car and telephone usage, total GDP for the CO 2 emissions index and finally population-weighting of data for regional aggregates required collecting population data for all countries.

Total population, benchmark countries: 1800–1949: Maddison ( 2010 ) and national statistical institutes; 1950–2019: World Prospects: the 2019 revision, except for United States, which is from the US Census Bureau; 2020–2100: projections from the World Population Prospects: the 2019 revision.

Total population, developing countries: 1920–1949: United Nations Demographic Yearbook, League of Nations Statistical Yearbook, Maddison ( 2010 ), McEvedy and Jones ( 1978 ) and national statistical institutes; 1950–2020: World Population Prospects: the 2019 revision, except Serbia, Kosovo, South Yemen and South Vietnam, which was taken from the United Nations Demographic Yearbook and the National Accounts Main Aggregates Database (United Nations 2018b ).

For the analysis in Sect.  4.2 , data on the population structure, live births and deaths, total fertility rate, gross general government debt (% of GDP) and political regime type were collected for all years for the benchmark countries, but only year 2017 for developing countries (latest year available for all datasets).

Demographic data, benchmark countries: 1800–2018: United Nations Demographic Yearbook, League of Nations Statistical Yearbook, World Population Prospects: the 2019 revision, Mitchell ( 1993 , 1998a , b ), Eurostat ( 2019 ), OECD ( 2019 ), Human Fertility Collection (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research 2018 ) and national statistical institutes; 2019–2100: projections from the World Population Prospects: the 2019 revision.

Demographic data, developing countries: 2017: World Population Prospects: the 2019 revision.

Gross general government debt, benchmark countries: 1800–2024: Historical Public Debt Database, Global Debt Database and World Economic Outlook, April 2019 (International Monetary Fund 2019a , b , c ); 2025–2100: assumed constant after 2024, as per OECD ( 2018 ) long-term forecasts.

Gross general government debt, developing countries: World Economic Outlook, April 2019. Data is not available for some countries, therefore they were excluded from regional aggregates.

Political regime type, benchmark countries : 1800–2017: Revised Combined Polity Score from Polity IV Project (Marshall et al. 2018 ); 2018–2100: 2017 value used. For Iceland, Denmark’s score was used. In cases where a given country didn’t exist in a particular year, the overlord’s Polity score was used.

Political regime type, developing countries : 2017: Combined Polity Score from Polity IV Project. Four cases of “interregnum” and “interruption” were recoded as full autocracy (–10).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Paprotny, D. Convergence Between Developed and Developing Countries: A Centennial Perspective. Soc Indic Res 153 , 193–225 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-020-02488-4

Download citation

Accepted : 06 September 2020

Published : 14 September 2020

Issue Date : January 2021

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-020-02488-4

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Global development
• Health indicators
• Economic indicators
• Environmental indicators
• Sustainable development goals
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

Final dates! Join the tutor2u subject teams in London for a day of exam technique and revision at the cinema. Learn more →

Reference Library

Collections

• See what's new
• All Resources
• Student Resources
• Assessment Resources
• Teaching Resources
• CPD Courses
• Livestreams

Study notes, videos, interactive activities and more!

Economics news, insights and enrichment

Currated collections of free resources

Browse resources by topic

• All Economics Resources

Resource Selections

Currated lists of resources

• Practice Exam Questions

Impact of Globalisation (Revision Essay Plan)

Last updated 11 Jan 2022

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share by Email

Here is a suggested answer to a question on the impact of globalisation on developed and developing countries.

Introductory Context

An estimated 9 percent of the global population still lives below the international poverty line of US$1.90 PPP a day.Success in reducing poverty in East Asia is clear with 7 percent of the population in the region living below the US$3.20 PPP line and 25 percent living below the US$5.50 PPP poverty line in 2018. However, almost 70 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population lives on less than US$3.20 per day. Progress in cutting extreme poverty has been halted by the pandemic. The World Bank estimated that the pandemic pushed between 119 and 124 million people into extreme poverty around the globe in 2020. Many developing countries have limited resilience to the impact of economic shocks and threats from climate change.”.

Source: Adapted from the World Bank Poverty Report, 2021

To what extent have the economic benefits of globalisation favoured developed over developing countries? (25 marks)

KAA Point 1

Globalisation involves deeper integration between countries through networks of trade, capital flows, ideas, technologies and movement of people. One argument that globalisation has favoured high-income countries lies in the growing dominance of TNCs from advanced nations. TNCs base their manufacturing, assembly, research and retail operations across several countries, and many have become synonymous with globalisation namely Nike, Apple, Amazon, Google (Alphabet) and Samsung. Some have annual revenues many times higher than the GDP of smaller low-income countries and there has been fierce criticism of numerous TNCs for following tax avoidance strategies such as transfer pricing. This has reduced tax revenues for governments in developing nations which then hampers their ability to use fiscal policy to fund public services such as education and basic health care. The effect is to limit progress in reducing extreme poverty and improving human development outcomes.

Evaluation Point 1

A counter argument is that globalisation is associated with a steady reduction in import tariffs around the world which has then improved access to high-income markets for businesses from emerging countries. Many nations in east Asia have achieved reductions in extreme poverty driven by export-led growth. The extract says that only 7 percent of this region’s population now live below the US$3.20 PPP poverty line and continued high growth – as economies recover from the effects of the pandemic - will lead to improvements in per capita incomes and living standards. Indeed, sixty percent of the value of world GDP now comes from emerging market and developing economies and several countries have their own TNCs operating on a global scale. The recent success of countries such as South Korea, India and Vietnam is testimony to the opportunities that globalisation has offered developing nations who have developed competitive advantage across a range of industries.

KAA Point 2

A second argument supporting the question is that nations succeeding in a globalizing world have diversified economies, a workforce with flexible skills and governments with fiscal resources to overcome external shocks such as the pandemic. In contrast, poorer low-income countries rely heavily on the production and export of primary commodities or incomes from tourism, both of which have been hit by the global recession in 2020-21. Many poorer nations also haveinadequate infrastructure which increases the costs of trade and their direct tax revenues as a share of GDP are low because of sizeable informal economies and persistently low per capita incomes. This means that national governments rely heavily on external debt, and many have low currency reserves. They are therefore more exposed to economic, financial and public health shocks. This is evidenced by the differences in vaccination rates between rich and low-income countries. As of January 2022, only 9% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose and per capita incomes may take years to reach pre-2020 levels.

Evaluation Point 2

In evaluation, the globalisation process has been a catalyst for economic reforms in low and middle-income countries. Consider the example of Vietnam which has transitioned to a socialist oriented market economy and successfully attracted inward FDI from companies such as LG and Samsung. FDIhas flowed in helped by low unit labour costs costs, improving infrastructure and human capital and a deregulated business environment whilst the Vietnamesegovernment has moved to a managed floating exchange rateto help reduce some of the risks from regional and global economic shocks. Vietnam is a good example of a country that has successfully progressed from a low income to a low-middle income nation over the last two decades. The valueof their external trade accounts for roughly 180% of national output, more than any other country at its level of per-person GDP. And their educational scores on standardized tests are on a par with Germany and Austria.

Final Reasoned Comment

Overall, it is hard to reach a firm view on this question because globalisation as a process is uneven and not inevitable. Before and during the pandemic, there was evidence of a switch towards “regionalisation” rather than full-throttled globalisation. For example, most sub-Saharan African countries have joined the African Continental Free Trade Area which seeks to boost intra-regional trade and investment and encourage economies of scale among African businesses so that they can better compete against the dominance of Western TNCs. Developing nations often struggle to compete with developed countries, therefore it is argued free trade benefits high-income economies more. Gains from globalisation will never be equitably distributed.And this sense of deepening inequality and opportunity risks a further shift to tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade and moves towards economic nationalism.

• Globalisation
• Deglobalisation
• Hyper-globalisation
• Transnational Businesses
• Developing countries

You might also like

Benefits and costs of globalisation.

Study Notes

Import Protectionism - Main Arguments Against

Trading blocs and regional trade agreements (rtas), explaining business objectives, international trade, sources of comparative advantage, import protectionism explained, our subjects.

• › Criminology
• › Economics
• › Geography
• › Health & Social Care
• › Psychology
• › Sociology
• › Teaching & learning resources
• › Student revision workshops
• › Online student courses
• › CPD for teachers
• › Livestreams
• › Teaching jobs

Boston House, 214 High Street, Boston Spa, West Yorkshire, LS23 6AD Tel: 01937 848885

• › Contact us
• › Terms of use
• › Privacy & cookies

© 2002-2024 Tutor2u Limited. Company Reg no: 04489574. VAT reg no 816865400.

Essay on the Economic Development of a Country

In this essay we will discuss about the Economic Development of a Country. After reading this essay you will learn about: 1. Economic Growth and Economic Development 2. Determinants of Economic Development 3. Obstacles or Constraints 4. Pre-Requisites or Need 5. Structural Changes.

• Essay on the Structural Changes During Economic Development

Essay # 1. Meaning of Economic Development:

Again Mrs. U.K. Hicks opined, “Economic Development deals with the problem of underdeveloped countries whereas ‘Economic Growth’ deals with the problem of developed countries. In underdeveloped countries the problems are that of initiating and accelerating development.”

According to Maddison, “the raising of income levels is generally called economic growth in rich countries and in poor ones, it is called economic development.”

ADVERTISEMENTS:

The processes of economic development should not only generate increased or enhanced means of production but it should also make room for equitable distribution of such resources. Thus by the term economic development we mean a process so as to raise the per capita output with a scope for equitable distribution.

Prof. Meier has rightly said, “We shall define economic development as the process whereby per capita income of a country increases over a long period of time.” Here the word “process” indicates long period changes related to changes in demand side as well as changes in factor supply.

Changes arising on the demand side are mostly related to consumers, tastes and preferences, distribution of income, size and composition of country’s population, and other organisational and institutional changes.

On the other hand, changes arising on the factor supply are also related to—capital accumulation, discovery of new resources, introduction of new and more efficient production techniques, increase in size of population and organisational changes. Cause and consequences of economic development are mostly determined by the time path and velocity of these aforesaid changes.

Economic development, being a dynamic concept refers to the continuous increase in production over the changing time path. Secondly, attainment of economic development indicates increase in real per capita income over time. Here the real per capita income of a country simply indicates total money income adjusted to price level changes over time, i.e.

r = y/p where r = real income; y = money income and p = price level.

Thirdly, by the term economic development we mean continuous increase in the level of real national income over longer time period, covering a period, not less than 25 to 30 years.

While explaining the distinction between economic development and economic growth, C.P Kindleberger observed, “Economic growth means more output and economic development implies both more output and changes in the technical and institutional arrangements, by which it is produced.”

As per this view, the term growth implies higher level of output as well as achievements in terms of increase in the volume of economic variables. Accordingly, Kindleberger further observed, “Growth involves focussing on height or weight, while development draws attention to the change in functional capacity.”

Although some economists have observed slight differences between economic development and economic growth but all these differences are imaginary and unreal and thus have little practical value. In this connection Prof. Arthur Lewis has rightly observed, “Most often we shall refer only to ‘Growth’ but occasionally, for the sake of variety to ‘Progress’ and ‘Development.’

Essay # 2. Determinants of Economic Development:

By economic development we mean attainment of higher level of productivity in almost all the sectors and a better level of living for the general masses. The path of economic development in an underdeveloped economy is full of hurdles or impediments.

Attaining higher level of economic development is a function of level of technology. Economic development is thus a process of raising the rate of capital formation, i.e. both physical capital and human capital.

Moreover, the task of economic development is influenced by a number of factors such as—economic, political, social, technological, natural, administrative etc. According to Prof. W.A. Lewis, there are three principal causes of economic development.

(i) Efforts to economise, either by reducing the cost of any product or by raising the yield from any given input or other resources,

(ii) Increase in knowledge and its appropriate application and

(iii) Amount of capital or other resources for land.

While analysing the determinants of economic growth, Prof. J.J. Spengler and W.W. Rostow have made sincere attempts in this regard. Prof. Spengler has listed about nineteen determinants but Rostow mentioned six propensities having much bearing on economic growth.

These propensities are:

(1) Propensity to develop fundamental services,

(2) Propensity to apply science to economic ends,

(3) Propensity to initiate technical innovations,

(4) Propensity to have material advance,

(5) Propensity to consume and

(6) Propensity to have children.

All these propensities are showing a clear-cut picture of determinants of economic growth neglecting the non-economic factors totally. Regarding the determinants of economic growth, Prof. Ragnar Nurkse observed that “Economic development has much to do with human endowments, social attitude, political conditions and historical accidents.”

Again Prof. P.T. Bauer also mentioned that, “The main determinants of economic development are aptitude, abilities, qualities, capacities and facilities.” Economic development of a country thus depends on both economic and non-economic factors.

Following are some of important economic and non-economic factors determining the pace of economic development in a country:

A. Economic Factors:

1. Population and Manpower Resources:

Population is considered as an important determinant of economic growth. In this respect population is working both as a stimulant as well as hurdles to economic growth. Firstly, population provides labour and entrepreneurship as an important factor service.

Natural resources of the country can be properly exploited with manpower resources. With proper human capital formation, increasing mobility and division of labour, manpower resources can provide useful support to economic development.

On the other hand, higher rate of growth of population increases demand for goods and services as a means of consumption leading to increasing consumption requirements, lesser balance for investment and export, lesser capital formation, adverse balance of trade, increasing demand for social and economic infrastructural facilities and higher unemployment problem.

Accordingly, higher rate of population growth can put serious hurdles on the path of economic development Moreover, growth of population at a higher rate usually eat up all the benefits of economic development leading to a slow growth of per capita income.

But it has also been argued by some modern economists that with the growing momentum of economic development, standard of living of the general masses increases which would ultimately create a better environment for the control of population growth. Moreover, Easterlin argued that population pressure may favourably affect individual motivation and this may again lead to changes in production techniques.

Thus whether growing population in a country practically retards economic growth or contributes to it that solely depends on the prevailing situation and balance of various other factors determining the growth in an economy.

2. Natural Resources and its Utilization:

Availability of natural resources and its proper utilization are considered as an important determinant of economic development. If the countries are rich in natural resources and adopted modern technology for its utilization, then they can attain higher level of development at a quicker pace. Mere possession of natural resources cannot work as a determinant of economic development.

Inspite of having huge variety of natural resources, countries of Asia and Africa could not attain a higher level of development due to lack of its proper utilization. But countries like Britain and France have modernised their agriculture in spite of shortage of land and the country like Japan has developed a solid industrial base despite its deficiency in natural resources.

Similarly, Britain has developed its industrial sector by importing some minerals and raw materials from abroad.

However, an economy having deficiency in natural resources is forced to depend on foreign country for the supply of minerals and other raw materials in order to run its industry. Thus in conclusion it can be observed that availability of natural resources and its proper utilization is still working as an important determinant of economic growth.

3. Capital Formation and Capital Accumulation:

Capital formation and capital accumulation are playing an important role in the process of economic development of the country. Here capital means the stock of physical reproducible factors required for production. The increase in the volume of capital formation leads to capital accumulation.

Thus it is quite important to raise the rate of capital formation so as to accumulate a large stock of machines, tools and equipment by the community for gearing up production.

Thus Prof. Ragnar Nurkse has rightly observed, “The meaning of capital formation is that society does not apply the whole of its current activity to the needs and desires of immediate consumption, but directs a part of it to the making of capital goods—tools and instruments, machines and transport facilities, plant and equipment.”

There are three stages in the process of capital formation, i.e.,

(a) Generation of saving,

(b) Mobilisation of savings and

(c) Raising the volume of investment.

Moreover, capital formation requires the suitable skill formation so as to utilise physical apparatus or equipment for raising the productivity level.

In an economy, capital accumulation can help to attain faster economic development in the following manner:

(a) Capital plays a diversified role in raising the volume of national output through changes in the scale or technology of production;

(b) Capital accumulation is quite essential to provide necessary tools and inputs for raising the volume of production and also to increase employment opportunities for the growing number of labour force;

(c) Increase in capital accumulation at a faster rate results increased supply of tools and machinery per worker.

Various developed countries like Japan have been able to attain higher rate of capital formation to trigger rapid economic growth. Normally, the rate of capital formation in underdeveloped countries is very poor. Therefore, they must take proper steps, viz., introduction of compulsory deposit schemes, curtailing the conspicuous consumption, putting curbs on imports of consumption goods, inflow of foreign capital etc.

In order to attain a rapid economic growth, the rate of domestic savings and investment must be raised to 20 per cent.

Naturally, in the initial period, it is not possible to step up the rate of capital formation at the required rate by domestic savings alone. Initially, to step up the rate of investment in the economy, inflow of foreign capital to some extent is important. But with the gradual growth of domestic savings in the subsequent years of development, the dependence on foreign capital must gradually be diminished.

Being a technologically backward country, India has decided to permit foreign direct investment in order to imbibe advanced technology for attaining international competitiveness under the present world trade and industrial scenario.

Rate of growth of GNP = (Savings ratio/ Capital output ratio)

4. Capital-Output Ratio:

Capital-output ratio is also considered as an important determinant of economic development in a country. By capital-output ratio we mean number of units of capital required to produce per unit of output. It also refers to productivity of capital of different sectors at a definite point of time.

But the capital output ratio in a country is also determined by stage of economic development reached and the judicial mix of investment pattern. Moreover, capital-output ratio along with national savings ratio can determine the rate of growth of national income.

This is a simplified version of Harrod-Domar Model. This equation shows that rate of growth of GNP is directly related to savings ratio and inversely related to capital-outlet ratio.

Thus to achieve a higher rate of growth of national income, the country will have to take the following two steps:

(a) to raise the rate of investment and

(b) to generate necessary forces for reducing capital-output ratio.

5. Favourable Investment Pattern:

Favourable investment pattern is an important determinant of economic development in a country. This requires proper selection of industries as per investment priorities and choice of production techniques so as to realise a low capital-output ratio and also for achieving maximum productivity.

Thus in order to attain economic development at a suitable rate, the Government of the country should make a choice of suitable investment criteria for the betterment of the economy. The suitable investment criteria should maximise the social marginal productivity and also make a balance between labour intensive and capital intensive techniques.

6. Occupational Structure:

Another determinant of economic development is the occupational structure of the working population of the country. Too much dependence on agricultural sector is not an encouraging situation for economic development.

Increasing pressure of working population on agriculture and other primary occupations must be shifted gradually to the secondary and tertiary or services sector through gradual development of these sectors.

In India, as per 1991 census, about 66.0 per cent of the total working population was absorbed in agriculture. As per World Development Report, 1983, whereas about 45 to 66 per cent of the work force of developed countries was employed in the tertiary sector but India could absorb only 18 per cent of the total work force in this sector.

The rate of economic development and the level of per capita income increase as more and more work force shift from primary sector to secondary and tertiary sector.

As A.G.B. Fisher writes, “We may say that in every progressive economy there has been a steady shift of employment and investment from the essential ‘Primary activities’,……………………..to secondary activities of all kinds and to a still greater extent into tertiary production.”

Thus to attain a high rate of economic development, inter-sectoral transfer of work force is very much necessary. The extent and pace of inter-sectoral transfer of work force depend very much on the rate of increase in productivity in the primary sector in relation to other sectors.

7. Extent of the Market:

Extent of the market is also considered as an important determinant of economic development. Expansion of the scale of production and its diversification depend very much on the size of the market prevailing in the country.

Moreover, market created in the foreign country is also working as a useful stimulant for the expansion of both primary, secondary and tertiary sector of the country leading to its economic development. Japan and England are among those countries which have successfully extended market for its product to different foreign countries.

Moreover, removal of market imperfections is also an important determinant of economic development of underdeveloped countries. Accordingly, market in those countries must be free from all sorts of imperfections retarding the economic development of the country.

Removal of market imperfections will make provision for flow of resources from less productive to more productive occupations which is very much important for the development of an underdeveloped economy.

8. Technological Advancement:

Technological advancement is considered as an important determinant of economic growth. By technological advancement we mean improved technical know-how and its broad- based applications.

It includes:

(a) Use of technological progress far economic gains,

(b) Application of applied sciences resulting in innovations and inventions and

(c) Utilisation of innovations on a large scale.

With the advancement of technology, capital goods became more productive. Accordingly, Prof. Samuelson rightly observed that “High Invention Nation” normally attains growth at a quicker pace than “High Investment Nation”.

There may be three forms of technological advancement, i.e.:

(a) Capital saving

(b) Labour saving  and

(c) Neutral.

The following conditions must be satisfied for attaining technological advancement in a country:

(a) making provision for large investments in research,

(b) ability to realise the possibilities of using scientific inventions and innovations for commercial purposes and expansion and diversification of the market for its product.

As underdeveloped countries have failed to fulfill these conditions thus their development process is neither self-sustaining nor cumulative. Thus in order to attain a higher rate of development, the underdeveloped countries should adapt only that type of technology which can suit their requirements.

Developing countries like Mexico, Brazil and India have been applying technologies developed by advanced countries as per their own conditions and requirements. Thus to attain a high level of economic development, the under-developed countries should try to achieve technological progress at a quicker pace.

9. Development Planning:

In recent years, economic planning has been playing an important role in accelerating the pace of economic development in different countries. Economic development is considered as an important strategy for building various social and economic overhead infrastructural facilities along with the development of both agricultural, industrial and services sectors in a balanced manner.

Planning is also essential for mobilisation of resources, capital formation and also to raise the volume of investment required for accelerating the pace of development. Countries like former U.S.S.R. and even U.S.A. and West Germany have achieved a rapid development through the adoption of economic planning.

10. External Factors:

The present situation in the world economy necessitates active support of external factors for sustaining a satisfactory rate of economic growth in underdeveloped economies. Moreover, domestic resources alone cannot meet the entire requirement of resources necessary for economic development.

Therefore, at certain levels, availability of foreign resources broadly determines the level of economic development in a country.

The external factors which are playing important role in sustaining the economic development include:

(a) Growing export earnings for financing increasing import bills required for development,

(b) Increasing flow of foreign capital in the form of direct foreign investment and participation in equity capital and

(c) international economic co-operation in the form of increasing flow of foreign aid from advanced countries like U.S.A., Japan etc. and also increased volume of concessional aid from international institutions like I.M.F., I.B.R.D. (World Bank) and other regional bodies on economic co-operation like ASEAN, OPEC, E.E.C. etc.

B. Non-Economic Factors:

Economic factors alone are not sufficient for determining the process of economic development in a country. In order to attain economic development proper social and political climate must be provided.

In this connection, united Nation Experts observed, “Economic Progress will not occur unless the atmosphere is favourable to it. The people of a country must desire progress and their social, economic, legal and political situations must be favourable to it.”

Emphasising the role of non-economic factors, Prof. Cairncross observed, “Development is not governed in any country by economic forces alone and the more backward the country is, the more this is true. The key to development lies in men’s minds, in the institution in which their thinking finds expression and in the play of opportunity on ideas and institution.”

Again Prof. Macord Wright writes, “The fundamental factors making economic growth are non-economic and non-materialistic in character. It is spirit itself that builds the body.” Prof. Ragnar Nurkse has further observed, “Economic development has much to do with human endowments, social attitudes, political conditions and historical accidents.”

Underdevelopment countries are facing various socio-political hurdles in the path of economic development. Thus in order to attain economic growth, raising the level of investment alone is not sufficient rather it is also equally important to gradually transform outdated social, religious and political institution which put hindrances in the path of economic progress.

Thus following are some of the important non-economic factors determining the pace of economic development in a country:

a. Urge for Development: 

It is the mental urge for development of the people in general that is playing an important determinant for initiating and accelerating the process of economic development. In order to attain economic progress, people must be ready to bear both the sufferings and convenience. Experimental outlook, necessary for economic development must grow with the spread of education.

b. Spread of Education:

Economic progress is very much associated with the spread of education. Prof. Krause has observed that, “Education brings revolutions in ideas for economic progress.” Education provides stimulus to economic growth as it teaches honesty, patriotism and adventure. Thus education is working as an engine for economic development.

In this connection, Prof. H.W. Singer has rightly observed, “Investment in education is not only highly productive but also yields increasing returns. So, education plays pioneer role for the creation of human capital and social progress which in turn determines the progress of the country.”

c. Changes in Social and Institutional Factors:

Conservative and rigid social and institutional set up like joint family system, caste system, traditional values of life, irrational behaviour etc. put severe obstacle on the path of economic development and also retards its pace.

Thus to bring social and institutional change as per changing environment and to realise the modern values of life are very much important for accelerating the pace of economic development in a country.

Prof. Meier and Baldwin have observed that, “Not only must economic organisation be transformed but social organisation must also be modified so that basic complex of values and motivation may be more favourable for economic change and cultural change.”

d. Proper Maintenance of Law and Order:

Maintenance of law and order in a proper manner also helps the country to attain economic development at a quicker pace. Stability, peace, protection from external aggression and legal protection generally raises morality, initiative and entrepreneurship.

Formulation of proper monetary and fiscal policy by an efficient government can provide necessary climate for increased investment and also can stimulate capital formation in the country.

Thus in order to accelerate the pace of economic development the government must make necessary arrangement for the maintenance of law and order, defence, justice, security in enjoyment in property, testamentary rights, assurance to continue business covenants and contracts, provision for standard weights and measures, currency and formulation of appropriate monetary and fiscal policies of the country.

But the economy of underdeveloped countries is now facing serious threat from large scale disorder, terrorism, disturbances in the international border etc. All these have led to diversion of resources and initiatives from developmental to non-developmental ends.

Moreover, under such a chaotic situation, capital formation process, business initiatives and enterprise of private firms are seriously suffered and distorted leading to a stagnation of economy in these countries.

In this connection, Prof. Arthur Lewis has rightly stated, “No country has made progress without positive stimulus from intelligent government.” Thus to attain economic development at a quicker pace, proper maintenance of law and order and stability are very important.

e. Administrative Efficiency:

Economic development of a country also demands existence of a strong, honest, efficient and competent administrative machinery for the successful implementation of government policies and programmes for development. The existence of a weak corrupt and inefficient administrative machinery leads the country into chaos and disorder.

Prof. Lewis has rightly observed, “The behaviour of the government plays an important role in stimulating or discouraging economic activity.” Therefore, maintenance of proper administrative set up is a determinant of economic development of a country.

Essay # 3. Obstacles or Constraints on Economic Development:

The development process of an underdeveloped or developing economy is not an easy task rather it is a complicated one as these countries are not having any common characteristics. Thus the underdeveloped or developing countries are facing several constraints or obstacles to its path n economic development.

These Constraints on the path of economic development are of two types:

(a) Short-term constraints and

(b) long-term constraints.

These short-term constraints are related to over concentration and stagnation in agricultural sector, unemployment and under-employment, low productivity of capital, the growing deficit in its balance of payment position etc. Again, the long-term constraints include infrastructural bottlenecks, financial constraints etc.

The following are some of the important obstacles or constraints on the path of economic development of underdeveloped countries:

(i) Colonial Exploitation:

In the initial part of their development process, most of the underdeveloped countries were under foreign domination which had led to the huge colonial exploitation by the foreign rulers.

Foreign rulers converted these economies as primary producing countries engaged in the production of raw materials only to be supplied to the ruler country at cheaper prices and also a potent market for the sale of the manufacturing products produced by the ruler country.

Foreign capitalists mostly invested their capital on mining, oil drilling and plantation industries where they exploited the domestic workers to the maximum extent and remitted their profit to their parent country.

They have also destroyed the cottage and small industries by adopting unfair competition which has put a huge pressure on agriculture, disguised unemployment and poverty. After independence, these underdeveloped countries like India had to face serious obstacles to break this deep rooted impasse of low level equilibrium traps.

(ii) Market Imperfections:

Market imperfections in the form of immobility of factors, price rigidity, ignorance of market conditions, rigid social structure etc. have resulted serious obstacles in the path of economic development of underdeveloped countries. All these imperfections have resulted low level of output and low rate of productivity per worker.

Due to these market imperfections, resources of these countries mostly remain either unutilised or under­utilised leading to factor disequilibrium. This has forced the gross output of these countries for less than the potential output. Fig. 1.1 will clarify the situation.

Suppose the country is producing only two commodities A and B. The production possibility curve AB represents the production frontier which shows the various combinations of commodity A and B that may be produced by the country to its maximum extent through its fuller and best possible allocation of resources.

Thus AB represents the potential production curve. But the actual production curve of the underdeveloped country denoted by AB lies much below the potential production curve AB due to market imperfections resulting in misallocation and under-utilisation of resources in the country.

Thus due to market imperfections, the underdeveloped countries fail to reach the optimum production function due to lack of optimum allocation of resources.

(iii) Poor Rate of Savings and Investment:

Another important obstacle or constraint faced by the underdeveloped countries in their path of economic development is its poor rate of savings and investment. Inspite of their best attempt, the rate of savings of these underdeveloped countries remained very low, varying between 5 to 9 per cent only of their national income as compared to that of 15 to 22 per cent in the developed countries.

Under such a situation, the rate of investment in these countries is very low leading to low level of capital formation and low level of income.

(iv) Vicious Circle of Poverty:

Vicious circle of poverty is considered as one of the major constraints or obstacles to the path of economic development of the underdeveloped countries. Vicious circle in the underdeveloped countries represented by low productivity is resulted from capital deficiency, market imperfections, economic backwardness and poor development.

This vicious circle operates not only on demand side but also on supply side.

Low productivity results in low level of income and low rate of savings leading to low rate of investment, which is again responsible for low rate of productivity. Thus the vicious circle of poverty is resulted from various vicious circles related to demand side and supply side of capital. These vicious circles of poverty are mutually aggravating and it is really difficult to break such circles.

(v) Demonstration Effect:

Demonstration effect on consumption level works as another major obstacles or constraints on the path of economic development of underdeveloped countries as it increases propensity to consume and thereby reduces the rate of savings and investment.

Here the consumption level of individual is very much influenced by the standard of living or consumption habits of his neighbours, friends and relatives but not by its income alone.

Ragnar Nurkse has termed it ‘International Demonstration Effect’. He observed, “When people come into contact with superior goods or superior patterns of consumption, with new articles or new ways of meeting old wants, they are apt to feel after a while certain restlessness and dissatisfaction. Their knowledge is extended, their imagination is stimulated, new desires are aroused, the propensity to consume is shifted upward.”

Thus this international demonstration effect reduces the savings potential of the underdeveloped countries and thereby creates severe constraints on the path of their growth process.

(vi) Unsuitability in Adopting Modern Technology:

Underdeveloped countries are facing peculiar problem in respect of adopting modern and latest technology. Due to abundant labour supply and scarcity of capital, such technologies become unsuitable for these countries.

At the same time the existing poor technology of these underdeveloped countries fails to raise the rate of productivity and also to bring them out of the vicious circle of poverty and thereby makes it uncompetitive.

(vii) Rapidly Growing Population:

Most of the underdeveloped countries are facing the problem of rapidly growing population which hinders its path of economic development. In most of the over-populated countries of Asia and Africa, the rate of growth of population varies between 2 to 3 per cent which adversely affects their rate of economic growth and it is considered as the greatest obstacles to their path of economic development.

Jacob Viner has rightly observed, “Population increase hovers like a menacing cloud over all poor countries.”

Rapidly growing population slows down the rate and process of capital formation. Growing population increases the volume of consumption expenditure and thereby fails to increase the rate of savings and investment, so important for attaining higher level of economic growth.

Jacob Viner stated in this connection, “Population growth in a backward country does not induce capital widening investment or innovation. Instead it diminishes the rate of accumulation, raises costs in extractive industries, increases the amount of disguised unemployment and in large parts simply diverts capital to maintaining children who die before reaching a productive age. In short, resources go to the formation of population not capital.”

Moreover, rapidly rising population necessitates a higher rate of investment to maintain old standard of living and per capita income. Growing population also results food problem, unemployment problem which forced the country to divert its scarce resources to meet such crisis.

Thus, over-population results poverty, inefficiency, poor quality of population, lower productivity, low per capita income, unemployment and under-employment and finally leads the country toward under development.

(viii) Inefficient Agricultural Sector:

Another important obstacles or constraints to the path of development of underdeveloped countries are its inefficient agricultural structure. Agriculture dominates the economy of most of the underdeveloped countries like India as it is contributing the major share of their GDP.

Agricultural sector in these countries are suffering from primitive agricultural practices, lack of adequate inputs like fertilisers, HYV seeds and irrigation facilities, uneconomic holdings, defective land tenure and excessive dependence on agriculture.

Under such a poor structure, the agricultural productivity in these countries is very poor. Thus this poor performance of agricultural sector is another major obstacle in the path of economic development of these underdeveloped countries.

(ix) Inefficient Human Resources:

Inefficient and underdeveloped human resources are also considered another major obstacle towards economic development of underdeveloped countries. These countries suffer from surplus labour force but shortage of critical skills. Due to lack of adequate number of trained and skilled personnel, the production system remains thoroughly backward.

Thus this dearth of critical skills and knowledge in these countries has resulted under-utilisation and mis-utilisation of physical capital leading to lower productivity and higher cost structure of the production system. Due to lack of adoption of modern technique in agriculture, industry and trade, these underdeveloped countries fail to stand in the competition with developed countries.

(x) Shortage of Entrepreneurial Ability, Modern Enterprise and Innovation:

Underdeveloped countries are also suffering from lack of adequate number of entrepreneurial ability. Naturally there is absence of modern enterprise and proper managerial talent, Due to poor socio-cultural climate and weak environment, the managerial talent in these countries fails to reach its desirable level.

Moreover, due to the lack of spirit of experimentation and proper Research and Development (R&D) facilities, these underdeveloped countries fail to transform their production system to the desired level.

(xi) Inadequate Infrastructural Facilities:

Underdeveloped countries like India are facing serious obstacles due to inadequate infrastructural facilities. Thus the underdeveloped countries are suffering from lack of adequate transportation and communication facilities, shortage of power supply, inadequate banking and financial facilities and other social overheads which are considered very important for attaining economic development.

(xii) Adverse International Forces:

Certain adverse international forces are operating against the under­developed countries which are always going against the interest of the underdeveloped countries. International trade has forced the underdeveloped countries to become primary producing countries where the terms of trade as well as the gains from trade have always gone against these underdeveloped countries.

Prof. Raul Prebisch, Singer, Myrdal have formulated it “Theory of exploitation of poor countries”.

In this connection they observed, “During the last 150 years or so, the working of international forces through the media of trade and capital movement.” produced backwash effects on underdeveloped economies. There were certain disequalising forces operating in the world economy which made the gains from trade go mainly to developed countries.

(xiii) Political Instability:

Most of the underdeveloped countries are facing the problem of political instability resulting from frequent change of government, threats of external aggression and disturbed internal law and order conditions. This type of political instability creates uncertainty about its future steps and adversely affects the economic decisions of these underdeveloped countries relating to its investment.

Due to such uncertainty, flight of capital in considerable proportion takes place from these countries to advanced countries and also retards the chances of flow of foreign capital to these countries through foreign direct investment.

Moreover, weak and corrupt public administration in these countries has been resulting a huge leakage of public fund meant for investment in developmental activities.

(xiv) Inappropriate Social Structure:

Underdeveloped countries are suffering from backward social factors. Inappropriate social forces impeding the economic development of underdeveloped countries like India include prevalence of caste system, creating divergence between aptitudes, joint family system, peculiar law of inheritance, outdated religious beliefs, irrational attitudes towards number of children in a family etc.

All these social forces are obstructing the path of development of these underdeveloped countries.

Thus all these economic, political and social factors are equally responsible for the poor socio-economic set up of these underdeveloped countries and put serious obstacles for the path of economic development of these countries.

Essay # 4. Pre-Requisites or Need for Economic Development:

underdeveloped countries are very much concerned about their attainment of economic development. Attainment of economic development necessities a suitable environment for initiating, maintaining and accelerating the pace of economic development.

Prof. Lewis, in this connection, rightly observed, “The proximate causes of economic growth are: the effort to economise, the increase of knowledge or its application in production and increasing the amount of capital or other resources per head. these three causes, through clearly distinguishable conceptually are usually found together.”

Attainment of economic development in a country is very much related to social attitudes, political conditions, human resources, and also very much depending on psychological, social culture and political requirements of the country itself.

Prof. A.K. Cairncross has rightly observed that economic development “ is not just a matter of having plenty of money nor is it purely an economic phenomenon. It embraces all aspects of social behaviour, the establishment of law and order, scrupulousness in business dealing, including dealings with the revenue authorities, relationship between the family literacy, familiarity with mechanical gadgets and so on.”

Economic development of a country does not simply require removal of some of its basic obstacles like market imperfections, capital shortage, various circle of poverty etc. but it also requires a special attempt to identify some basic  forces related to economic development. Following are some of the important pre-requisites for economic development of underdeveloped countries.

(i) Peoples’ Desire for Economic Progress:

Peoples’ desire for the attainment of economic progress is the most important requirement of economic development. In order to attain a self-generating growth of the economy, the people of the country must have a strong and positive willingness to attain such development. In order to arouse such peoples’ desire, people of the country must be certain and well assured about the achievement of economic development:

(ii) Economic Organisation:

If the development strategy of the country is to be efficacious then it should be preceded by a proper economic organisation promoting such development and not hindering it any way. The economic organisation of the country should be of that type which can respond well to the requirements of planning for economic development.

A proper balance between the private and public sector initiatives is considered very important for evolving such an effective economic organisation. Thus in order to achieve fast economic progress, an underdeveloped country must attempt to introduce a rational reorganisation of its entire economy.

(iii) Removing Market Imperfections:

Removal of market imperfections is considered a very important pre-requisities for economic development as such imperfections create a lot of obstacles in the path of economic development of underdeveloped countries.

Market imperfection is largely responsible for wide spread poverty in such economies. Moreover, market imperfections results factor immobility, under-utilisation of resources and thereby abstract sectoral expansion and the process of development.

Removal of market imperfections can accelerate the pace of capital formation and can also widen the scope of capital and money market in these countries. The country should arrange cheap and larger volume of credit facilities readily available for its industrialists, cultivators, businessmen, small traders and new entrepreneurs.

Knowledge of these investors about market opportunities and new techniques of production should also be enhanced to the reasonable level. A whole hearted effort should be made to utilise its available limited resources in a most efficient and dynamic manner to its maximum extent.

In this connection, Prof. Schultz has rightly observed, “To achieve economic growth of major importance in such countries, it is necessary to allocate effort and capital to do three things: increase the quantity of reproducible goods, improve the quality of the people as productive agents and raise the level of productive arts.”

Thus the removal of market imperfections leads to an efficient allocation of resources which finally leads to advancement of industrial and agricultural production and also to expansion of foreign trade resulting an successful effort to break the vicious circle of poverty.

(iv) Reasonable Equality of Income:

Another pre-requisite for economic development of an under­developed country is the attainment of reasonable equality of income. Because this will generate adequate enthusiasm among, the general masses toward economic development of the country as well as for the successful working of the economic plan.

Growing concentration of income and wealth in the hands of few and political influence generally protects the richer section from higher rates of taxation and thereby the tax burden ultimately falls much on the middle class and poorer sections of the society.

Underdeveloped countries like India usually face this type of problem. Therefore, it is quite necessary mat proper steps be taken to check such concentration of wealth and they should attain reasonable equality in the distribution of income and wealth.

(v) Attaining Administrative Efficiency:

Existence of a stable strong, efficient and honest government machinery is considered another pre-requisite for economic development. In order to formulate and implement economic planning along with a specific policy for economic growth, the government must be strong and efficient one, capable of maintaining internal law and order and defending the country against any external aggression.

(vi) Indigenous Base:

The development process of underdeveloped countries must have a domestic or indigenous base and it is considered another major prerequisite for economic development. Whatever initiative is to be taken for the economic development, that should come from within the economy of these under­developed countries but not from outside.

Plan for economic progress and social betterment cannot be initiated from outside of a country. Some developmental projects may be developed out of foreign aid but it should be maintained, with indigenous motivation.

But too much dependence on external capital and external forces may dampen the spirit and initiative for development and paves the way for exploitation of natural resources of the underdeveloped countries by foreign investors. Thus to attain indigenous base in developmental framework is considered as an important pre-requisite for economic development.

(vii) Capital Formation:

In order to attain economic development in an underdeveloped economy, capital formation is considered as an important pre-requisite for development. In these countries, the rate of savings is low due to low per capita income and higher marginal propensity to consume. Thus immediate steps be taken to raise the rate of capital formation of the country.

These require:

(a) An increase in the volume of real savings,

(b) Establishment of proper credit and financial institutions for mobilising and channelising these savings into investible fund and

(c) Utilisation of these savings for the purpose of investment in capital goods.

Prof. Lewis has rightly observed, “No nation is so poor that it could not save 12 per cent of its national income if it wanted to, poverty has never prevented nations from launching upon wars or from wasting their substance in other ways.”

(viii) Determining suitable Investment Criterion:

To determine suitable investment criteria is also another major pre-requisite for economic development of underdeveloped countries. Here the idea is not only to determine the rate of investment but also the composition of investment. In order to determine an optimum investment pattern, it is essential to consider various fruitful avenues of investment available in these countries.

As social marginal productivity of investment differs thus investment should be made in those directions where its social marginal productivity is the highest.

The attainment of such higher social marginal productivity of investment requires—minimising the capital-output ratio, promoting greater external economies, investment in labour-intensive projects, use of domestic raw materials, reducing pressure on balance of payments and improving the pattern of distribution of income and wealth so as to reduce the gap between the rich and poor.

Moreover, investment in these countries should be channelised to build adequate social and economic overheads. Again the investment should be made to attain a balanced growth of different sectors of the economy. Finally, considering the structural environment in the country, proper choice of techniques be made for various investment projects of the country.

(ix) Absorption of Capital:

Another pre-requisite for economic development is to raise the capital absorption capacity of underdeveloped countries as they mostly suffer from lack of such capacity due to non-availability of co-operant factors. Such problems of low capital absorption capacity arise due to lack of technology, shortage of skilled personnel and poor geographical mobility of labour.

Thus with the increase in capital accumulation in such countries, the supply of other co-operant factors should be increased so as to enhance the capital absorption capacity of such countries.

(x) Maintaining Stability:

Underdeveloped countries are facing a peculiar problem of instability arising due to inflationary rise in price level. Inflation in these countries is influenced by the factors like monetary expansion, deficit financing, misdirection of savings in unproductive speculative activities, market imperfection: etc.

Therefore, another requirement of economic development is to maintain stability by avoiding inflationary rise in the price level so as to check mis-allocation of resources along with its other evils.

(xi) People’s Participation and Co-Operation:

Finally, people’s participation and public co-operation in all developmental projects are considered as an important pre-requisite and a principal force behind all planned developmental schemes of the under-developed countries. In the absence of public co-operation and participation, this development strategy cannot function properly.

Prof. W.A. Lewis observed, “Popular enthusiasm is both the lubricating oil of planning and the petrol of economic development—a dynamic force that makes all things possible.”

Therefore, planners should make an endeavour to enlist public co-operation and to arouse popular enthusiasm for implementing their plan for development. Moreover, in order to implement any developmental projects to the fullest extent and also to restrict the leakages involved in it, peoples’ participation and public co-operation are considered very important, especially in these under-developed countries.

Essay # 5. Structural Changes during Economic Development:

Attaining structural changes in the economy is considered as one of the pre-conditions for economic development.in most of the developed countries, economic growth is characterised by structural transformations of the economy.

The process of growth is connected with both fuller use of existing resources and expanding resources. Here the problem has to be tackled in two ways. Firstly, the productive opportunities available within the existing resouirce and necessary known-how have to be utilised to the maximum extent through optimum allocation of the resources of the country.

Secondly, the production frontier, i.e., the various productive sectors, has to be widened through sizable changes to the maximum extent.

Again the Chances of achieving higher rate of development through better allocation of existing resources is very much limited. T.W. Schultz has aptly observed, “in most poor countries there is not much economic growth to be had by merely taking up whatever slack may exist in the way of the available resources being utilised.” Therefore, in order to provide all outward push to the production frontier, the productive has to be expanded.

Moreover, the structural transformation of the economy indicates a shift away from agriculture to non-agriculture activities and from industry to services along with a change in the scale of productive units, and necessary shift from personal enterprises to impersonal organization of economic firms along with a change in the occupational status of labour. 

Following are some of the important structural changes arising out of economic development:

(i) Shift in Economic Activities:

In most of the underdeveloped agricultural countries, the structural change may be initiated through reduction in proportion of population engaged in agriculture and thereby increase in the number of persons engaged in non-agricultural occupations.

H.W. Singer observed that, “The speed or rate of economic development may then be described by the rate of which 70 : 30 ratio in economic structure is approximated to the 20 : 80 ratio which represents ultimate equilibrium at a high level of development.”

Therefore, the transfer of population from agricultural sector to non-agricultural sector must be supported by an increase in agricultural production so as to provide necessary food and raw materials to the non-agricultural sector as well as to meet the requirement of increasing population in both of these sectors.

In order to meet such requirement, there should be sufficient transformation in the agricultural sector in the form of introduction of land reform measures, raising the supply of productive inputs or factors in agriculture, promoting new credit institutions, introducing dynamic market structure, providing additional incentives, arranging changes in socio-economic relationships, introducing intensive cultivation process.

The development experience in various countries shows that the share of agricultural sector in GDP of all developing countries has declined excepting Australia. In respect of changes in the contribution of services sector, the result is not so marked or consistent among the various countries.

(ii) Changes in Sectoral Distribution of Labour Force:

Movements in structural transformations in economic growth can also be analysed in the form of changes in the distribution of labour force among three major sectors. The share of total labour force engaged in industrial sector varied between 40 to 58 per cent for almost all the countries excepting erstwhile USSR and Japan, as these countries entered lately in the field of industrialisation.

On the other hand, the share of total labour force engaged in the services sector remained almost constant and relatively poor in the countries like Australia, Great Britain, Sweden and Belgium. But the same share recorded an absolute and relative increase in the countries like USA, Canada, Italy, Japan, Switzerland and erstwhile USSR.

(iii) Changes in Sectoral Share in GDP:

Prof. Simon Kuznets has rightly observed that during the period of modern economic growth, the share of agriculture and agro-based industries in aggregate output (GDP) has recorded a sharp decline, while the shares of manufacturing industries, public utilities and certain service groups like professional, government etc. have recorded a manifold increase.

Such changes have resulted corresponding shifts in the sectoral allocation of labour force of the country. Moreover, the rapid change in the size and form of business organisations has also resulted a major structural change in the economy. Modern economic growth has resulted a fall in the domination of sole trading small farms.

Moreover, the shift away from agriculture to non-agricultural activities has also resulted a significant fall in the share of small business units. Again, the modern economic growth has also paved the way for the emergence of joint stock companies and giant corporations in modern industrial set-up.

(iv) Changes in Social Structure:

Finally, social system has much impact on the economic phenomenon of the country. Social institutions, habits and attitudes are influencing the productive activities and expenditure patterns substantially, especially in the underdeveloped countries. Savings and investment patterns are considerably influenced by cultural and social considerations.

Therefore, in order to attain structural change in the economy, there is the necessity of change in the social structure of its society. Setting a dynamic economy in a static social set up is almost impossible as they cannot pull together.

In this connection, Meir and Baldwin aptly observed, “New wants, new motivations, new ways of production, new institutions are to be created if national income is to rise more rapidly. Where there are religious obstacles to modern economic progress, the religion may have to be taken less seriously or its character altered.”

Thus necessary change in the social structure is very important for attaining economic development in a country. Prof. Gadgil also observed,

“All attitudes, habits of mind, patterns of behaviour, are born out of chiefly historical institutional modes of living. These modes of living in most under-developed countries have had in the past little direct connection with economic development. If now rapid economic development is to become the main objective of these societies, their attitudes and habits of mind must change correspondingly.”

Related Articles:

• Economic Development and Population
• Difference between Economic Growth and Economic Development
• Role of Government in Economic Development of a Country
• Essay on the Role of Banks in Economic Development

• Key Differences

Know the Differences & Comparisons

Difference Between Developed Countries and Developing Countries

The countries with low industrialization and low human development index are termed as developing countries .

After a thorough research on the two, we have compiled the difference between developed countries and developing countries considering various parameters, in tabular form.

Content: Developed Countries Vs Developing Countries

Comparison chart, definition of developed countries.

Developed Countries are the countries which are developed in terms of economy and industrialization. The Developed countries are also known as Advanced countries or the first world countries, as they are self-sufficient nations.

Human Development Index (HDI) statistics rank the countries on the basis of their development. The country which is having a high standard of living, high GDP, high child welfare, health care, excellent medical, transportation, communication and educational facilities, better housing and living conditions, industrial, infrastructural and technological advancement, higher per capita income, increase in life expectancy etc. are known as Developed Country. These countries generate more revenue from the industrial sector as compared to service sector as they are having a post-industrial economy.

The following are the names of some developed countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United States.

Definition of Developing Countries

The countries which are going through the initial levels of industrial development along with low per capita income are known as Developing Countries. These countries come under the category of third world countries. They are also known as lower developed countries.

Developing Countries depend upon the Developed Countries, to support them in establishing industries across the country. The country has a low Human Development Index (HDI) i.e. the country have low Gross Domestic Product, high illiteracy rate, educational, transportation, communication and medical facilities are not very good, unsustainable government debt, unequal distribution of income, high death rate and birth rate, malnutrition both to mother and infant which case high infant mortality rate, high level of unemployment and poverty.

The following are the names of some developing countries: Colombia, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey.

Key Differences Between Developed and Developing Countries

The following are the major differences between developed countries and developing countries

• The countries which are independent and prosperous are known as Developed Countries. The countries which are facing the beginning of industrialization are called Developing Countries.
• Developed Countries have a high per capita income and GDP as compared to Developing Countries.
• In Developed Countries the literacy rate is high, but in Developing Countries illiteracy rate is high.
• Developed Countries have good infrastructure and a better environment in terms of health and safety, which are absent in Developing Countries.
• Developed Countries generate revenue from the industrial sector. Conversely, Developing Countries generate revenue from the service sector.
• In developed countries, the standard of living of people is high, which is moderate in developing countries.
• Resources are effectively and efficiently utilized in developed countries. On the other hand, proper utilization of resources is not done in developing countries.
• In developed countries, the birth rate and death rate are low, whereas in developing countries both the rates are high.

There is a big difference between Developed Countries and Developing Countries as the developed countries are self-contained flourished while the developing countries are emerging as a developed country. Developing Countries are the one which experience the phase of development for the first time. If we talk about developed countries, they are post-industrial economies and due to this reason, the maximum part of their revenue comes from the service sector.

Developed Countries have a high Human Development Index as compared to Developing Countries. The former has established itself in all fronts and made itself sovereign by its efforts while the latter is still struggling to achieve the same.

You Might Also Like:

July 8, 2015 at 12:47 am

Although still correctly called a developing country, suprisingly, China has a High HDI.

NABIEU FAYIA says

February 28, 2023 at 7:11 am

I’m very happy to see this great opportunity thanks very much

anonymous says

December 17, 2015 at 4:00 pm

Even though China seems very developed, it is still considered a developing country. This is because there are still high rates of poverty and unemployment and people die at a young age.

kandeepan says

April 24, 2016 at 3:55 pm

you should change the third points that says both developed and developing countries literacy rate is high. it can not be same the literacy rate of both countries. developing literacy relate in most countries are very poor. we can get many good examples from African countries.

Surbhi S says

April 25, 2016 at 4:14 am

You should read the third point carefully, because it has been written there that the illiteracy rate is high in developing countries.

SISAY GEZAHEGN says

August 18, 2019 at 7:36 pm

Good correction

Lekhraj Prasad says

August 13, 2016 at 3:07 pm

It helped me a lot.

Urooj karim says

September 19, 2016 at 5:25 pm

This was very helpful.

Kabir MUghal says

September 20, 2016 at 8:26 pm

Noah Kim says

September 21, 2016 at 6:08 am

This article helped me, thanks

Arevik says

November 27, 2016 at 5:32 pm

Great !!!! ??

January 22, 2017 at 8:02 pm

Interesting

January 25, 2017 at 10:59 pm

Those are some very good points Well noted.

Chemica Griffin says

February 13, 2017 at 3:39 am

THIS HELPED A LOT!!! THANK YOU!

Antalya says

April 6, 2017 at 1:27 pm

This was very helpful as I am using this information for an internal. Thanks a lot, we need more of these websites 🙂

triyono saitama says

April 18, 2017 at 8:41 am

Thank you very much. its very helpful for me to accomplish task

Jim Kerry says

June 6, 2017 at 12:33 pm

Very helpful always tell my students about this website

Kylie Jenner says

June 6, 2017 at 12:34 pm

I love it !!!!!!

October 11, 2017 at 9:20 pm

This helped me out a lot with my CSPE homework

October 12, 2017 at 9:41 am

Thank you all the readers, for sharing your views with us, keep reading 🙂

Jolie saida says

November 27, 2017 at 9:25 pm

Thanks it was helpful

December 5, 2017 at 10:12 pm

this was very helpful to me

HAMID ABDULLAH ALBASHIR says

December 12, 2017 at 1:35 pm

Thanks a lot for the useful information

Kate Namwinga says

December 27, 2017 at 12:32 pm

The information was helpful. we need more of these sites or rather information.

zainab says

January 21, 2018 at 5:00 pm

Awesome and very well quotes with an excellent details!!!😊

Rajesh says

April 6, 2018 at 10:25 pm

Thanks a lot it was of great help to me

Gursimran singh says

July 1, 2018 at 8:25 pm

This information is helpful for me

July 5, 2018 at 4:29 pm

Thanks a bunch!!! This helps a lot for my project.

jessica says

December 18, 2018 at 10:10 pm

This was kinda helpful.

Christine says

January 9, 2019 at 4:03 pm

Very useful for my work. Thanks.

Dio modest says

December 3, 2020 at 9:30 am

So good in the progress of academic issues

Dimpy Panfitani says

March 8, 2019 at 3:36 pm

Very nice superbb work

April 26, 2019 at 4:16 am

Interesting article.

Clayton Jackson says

September 16, 2019 at 7:11 am

October 2, 2019 at 6:50 pm

This was really helpful.thank you

December 16, 2019 at 9:47 pm

it is good stuff

May 4, 2020 at 2:40 am

wonderful, it was very useful.

December 15, 2020 at 10:19 pm

The article was very well written.

Salome Joel says

January 21, 2021 at 6:58 am

You guys awesome! You’re data is helpful to cover up my research.

August 31, 2022 at 8:53 pm

It help me a lot.Thank you 👍

kalopsia says

February 5, 2021 at 11:32 am

THANK YOU SO MUCH I HAD TO DO THIS FOR SCHOOL AND IT HELPED SO MUCH,

calvin ondieki says

April 6, 2021 at 5:30 pm

to be honest, this website has really helped me greatly to revise and do my assignments, but the only problem experienced is that the documents are brief

April 6, 2021 at 6:41 pm

I hate school but this made, it easier thanks 😄🖐

Wasid Mehmood says

May 1, 2021 at 12:50 pm

Every content is very nice

anup kr paul says

June 28, 2021 at 7:36 pm

A. A. Dabo says

July 1, 2021 at 5:34 pm

Patrick Langat says

July 27, 2021 at 7:25 pm

It really accounted for my research. Thank you!!

sani aliyu wudil kano state says

August 15, 2021 at 11:56 am

thanks very good

Inemesit says

October 3, 2021 at 9:50 am

Thank you so much…

Circus Baby says

November 3, 2021 at 11:31 pm

This is Super cool and interesting

November 3, 2021 at 11:32 pm

This is amazing, good work

Derick says

January 11, 2022 at 9:17 pm

Very useful

Alexandre says

February 15, 2022 at 4:26 pm

Thank you for your help very well written text I loved the post I read everything, congratulations on the post. Congratulations on the site

Bobguide says

June 21, 2022 at 11:08 pm

Your post is wonderful and I really want to thank you for sharing it as it contains a lot of information and it has been very helpful.

Abdullahi Tasiu says

September 1, 2022 at 12:30 am

This is very helpful 👍👍👍 Thanks you so much. Especially to we students. We are thanking you so much.

EFYARCK says

October 12, 2022 at 10:27 pm

Really insightful, thanks very much

Khumalo Anicy C.N says

April 14, 2023 at 2:22 am

Very helpful… a topic I covered today and now I understood after reading this .

P Chandra Sekhar Rao says

April 19, 2023 at 11:49 am

The article on the ‘Difference Between Developed Countries and Developing Countries’ is an excellent resource for understanding the distinctions between these two categories of nations. The author has done a great job in presenting the information in a clear and concise manner, making it easy to comprehend even for those who are not well-versed in economics.

The article provides a comprehensive comparison chart that covers various parameters like unemployment rates, poverty rates, living conditions, revenue generation, growth, and standard of living. The author has highlighted the differences between developed and developing countries with precision and backed up the points with relevant examples.

The author’s use of simple language and easy-to-understand examples makes the article an excellent resource for students, researchers, and policymakers.

May 5, 2023 at 9:38 pm

Thanks this helped a lot 😁👋👍

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Essay Example on Developing Countries

• December 4, 2022

Global Trade Liberalization and The Developing Countries

Essay on Developing Countries Introduction

In today’s world, with the emergence of the internet and computer technologies, companies and countries have global market access in terms of brand recognition, customer segments, and bilateral trade relations (Gnangnon, 2018). More specifically, a company or country can reach billions of customers across the world, and trade has never been easier. Technological developments, improvements in infrastructure and logistics, and the collective and constructive approach to liberalization, especially after the 2nd World War, created a suitable environment of global prosperity, wealth, and multilateral benefits (Haas & Hird, 2017; Gnangnon, 2018). Arguably, in this direction, the world has become rapidly global and liberal within the last decade. In other words, under-developed, developing, and developed countries started to work together in a collective and competitive manner, and world trade has overcome traditional barriers and prejudices. In this assignment, global trade liberalization and developing countries have been meticulously examined. The paper presents insights, information, and comments into the integration into the world economy, resulting in integration with the world economy, the progress of integration, results of the integration, policies on trade liberalization, evidence, potential gains and benefits, and further liberalization recommendations for reaping the benefits. After all, one can highlight that although developing countries have benefited from liberalization and open economy, there are still certain barriers by the EU and the U.S., especially in the textile and agricultural industries.

International Trade and the World Economy

Economic growth, poverty reduction, and development have long been boosted by integration into the World Economy within the last decades (Haas & Hird, 2017). That is, the growth of world trade increased 6 percent per year, two times more than the average of the world output (IMF Staff, 2001). Nevertheless, one can readily infer that trade was already considered a predominant factor for obtaining growth (Haas & Hird, 2017; Gnangnon, 2018). Since the end of the 2nd World War, the global trading system made use of “eight rounds of multilateral trade liberalization, as well as from unilateral and regional liberalization” (IMF Staff, 2001). In this direction, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was approved by many countries, and the world of trade was enabled on a large scale. Moreover, the last one of these rounds, called “Uruguay Round,” which was completed in 1994, resulted in the foundation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) (IMF Staff, 2001). The organization provides a suitable and meticulous environment for organizing and arranging the increasing and gradual bodies of multilateral trade regulations and agreements.

Integration into the world economy refers to secure access to global open markets. This approach can be boosted by related regulations and policies that enable developing and emerging countries to take part in developed markets, or vice versa (Gnangnon, 2018). For instance, Turkey is a strong engine semi-parts manufacturer. That is, rather than wholly manufacturing a full functioning engine, the country is concentrated on manufacturing parts to support developed factories in industrial countries (Altuntaş et al., 2009). This collective approach benefits both developed countries and developing Turkey and creates a win-win trade environment. In this sense, Turkey is supported by some regulations, including customs agreements between the EU and Turkey.

The living standards across the world have been boosted as a result of the integration of the world. Most of the developing countries could improve in many fields, thanks to the global aspects of international trade. That is, they have had a suitable environment and tariffs for exporting and importing goods with many other developed and developing countries; and subsequently, the incomes of such countries have dramatically risen and brought prosperity to developing nations across the globe (Gnangnon, 2018). More specifically, while developing countries used to account for one-fourth of the overall world trade during the 60s and 70s, they now account for one-third of the world economy (IMF Staff, 2001). In this direction, many developing countries have drastically developed their infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities as a result of free access to global markets.

Similarly, the relations and trade between developing and developed countries increased in a rapid manner (Cornia, 2020; Gnangnon, 2018). In other words, 80 percent of the overall exports of developed countries are now going to developing countries (IMF Staff, 2001). In this sense, one can readily infer that the integration of the world economy has both benefited developing and developed countries in terms of trade access, income, manufacturing, and infrastructure, as well as international relations and politics implicitly.

Although the integration has long been considered as hugely beneficial to many countries across the globe, the developments in recent decades have shown us that the progress was sometimes uneven. While some Asian countries, including China and Japan, benefited a lot, Latin American countries, unfortunately, could not satisfyingly make use of the integration. The reasons behind the success of Asian countries stem from the fact that these countries were successful at implementing required internal regulations in order to take part in international trade by attracting foreign trade investments (FDI) to their countries. Especially India and China “embraced trade liberalization and other market-oriented reforms, and also of higher-income countries in Asia—like Korea and Singapore—that were themselves poor up to the 1970s” (IMF Staff, 2001). In this sense, one can conclude that the progress of integration has highly been dependent on the internal regulations and the pace of adaptation of developing countries. That is, although Asian countries were willing and successful in implementing and embracing new global regulations, especially Latin America and North African countries could not successfully adapt themselves, resulting in comparably fewer benefits in terms of income and wealth.

As mentioned earlier, although willing countries have benefited a lot from the integration, Latin America, Middle East, and African countries could not keep up with the new developments in world trade. That is, “the poorest countries have seen their share of world trade declined substantially, and without lowering their own barriers to trade, they risk further marginalization” (IMF Staff, 2001). Unlike successful countries, these countries faced structural problems with their economies, weak policies and regulations, and over-protection of trade in many aspects.

After all, although some countries failed to integrate into the world economy, many developing countries such as Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, and India could make use of such an advantage. Between 2002 and 2010, after an almost whole integration into the European and American markets, the Turkish economy showed a sustainable growth rate, and they managed to get rid of extra zero in the national currency. The development was so rapid and beneficial that in 2008, 1 Turkish lira was worth 0.82 $US, and that rate was recorded in Turkish history (Altunbaş et al., 2009). As a developing country, Turkey integrated its internal and external assets into the world economy by freeing and opening its markets and took a great deal of FDI. Thus, international organizations could invest in Turkey because of its literate population and benefited both sides. As a result, while there are contrary examples, countries that managed to comply with the requirements of liberalization and free economy have long benefited from the globalization.

The Benefits of Trade Liberalization

Sustainable economic growth requires strong and decent policies aimed at international liberalization and trade. No need for evidence, this condition is clear. That is, not a single country was successful at improving their income, trade, and living standards without making their economy and country to open to other economies and international trade environment. For instance, the success of Asian economies are clear examples; they lowered their trade tariffs from %30 to %10 within the last decades. In this direction, one can highlight those nations should implement accessible and comprehensible regulations and policies that ease the process of international trade and globalization.

In the manufacturing of certain products, opening up economies creates many advantages to the global economy in order to boost the competitive advantage of nations. South Korea and North Korea can be given as explicit examples. While South Korea has been open to the world economy for many decades now, North Korea was extremely close to other nations, not only in terms of economy but culture as well. When considered the overall wealth of both countries, the advantages of the open economy are clear. Open economy enables a multinational, cultural, and bilateral advantage for many countries, and these eventually attract foreign direct investments, which bring wealth to the nation.

There are substantial evidence and statistics regarding oriented countries in terms of integration to world economies. “Countries that have opened their economies in recent years, including India, Uganda, and Vietnam, have experienced faster growth and more poverty reduction” (IMF Staff, 2001). In other words, those countries decreased their tariff rate during the 80s and experienced substantial economic growth in the following years.

Getting rid of trade barriers and integrating into the world economy creates many advantages. “Estimates of the gains from eliminating all barriers to merchandise trade range from US$250 billion to US$680 billion per year” (IMF Staff, 2001). Also, almost 70% percent of this income benefited developing countries directly or implicitly. Moreover, developed countries have more protective measures against trade, and one can highlight that developing countries tend to benefit more from an international open market.

Further Liberalization of International Trade

The information is given above clearly supports the idea of further liberalization. That is, the state of open market and protection are significant for both developing and developed countries because each nation may have a comparative advantage on a single product, while there still exists a need for other types of goods, and the concept of free trade and liberalization creates a mutual and bilateral advantage for both group of countries. In general, industrial (developed) countries tend to implement high protection and tariffs for agricultural products. In other words, according to the statistics, the average tariff in agriculture is almost nine times more than the manufacturing industry (IMF Staff, 2001). Moreover, agricultural manufacturing and subsidies in developing countries lead to pre-empting markets and a depressive market by undermining developing countries. As an example, “European Commission is spending 2.7 billion euro per year making sugar profitable for European farmers at the same time that it is shutting out low-cost imports of tropical sugar” (IMF Staff, 2001). In this direction, one can claim that protection over agricultural product and imports in developed countries result in a depressive agricultural sector for developing countries that aim to sell agricultural products for their GDP and economy.

The protection of manufacturing is not quite strict in developed countries. However, many labor-intensive products tend to be protected. For instance, “the U.S., which has an average import tariff of only 5 percent, has tariff peaks on almost 300 individual products, which are largely on textiles and clothing, which account for 90 percent of the $1 billion annually in U.S. imports from the poorest countries” (IMF Staff, 2001). Similarly, other types of labor-intensive products are subjected to tariff escalation and peaks. In this direction, developing and emerging countries find it hard to manufacture labor-intensive value-added products because of tariff peaks in those (developed) countries. Nevertheless, developing countries also implement high tariffs. Generally, their tariff on manufactured industrial products tend to be four times more than of developed countries, and they tend to show the same characteristics with industrial countries in terms of tariff policies on value-added products.

Because of tariff peaks and barriers, nontraditional measures have become common in global trade. That is, both developing and developed countries implement anti-dumping measures. Also, sanitary and technical standards of import can sometimes become overwhelmed. Moreover, there may be extra charges for exporters, especially to the European Union. For instance, “EU regulations on aflatoxins are costing Africa $1.3 billion in exports of cereals, dried fruits, and nuts per European life saved” (IMF Staff, 2001). In this sense, one can readily question the balance of costs and benefits in terms of exporter and customers with such regulations.

As global trade is proven to boost economic growth and wealth for both sides, further liberalization by developing and developed countries should be improved. More specifically, international communities and especially developed countries should realize the barriers to developing and poorer countries and come up with constructive policies to attract production and manufacturing across the globe. That is, especially for textile and agriculture, regulations in the EU and the U.S. should be reviewed because they are extremely strict and create disadvantages and comparative inferiority for poor countries. Similar to this, decreases on tariff escalation and peaks should be implemented to boost world trade. After all, enhanced market access for poor and developing countries will eventually result in a better income and decrease in poverty across the world.

Reaping the Benefits

Although the steps taken after the 2nd World War created a liberal trade environment, failures such as the WTO Conference in 1999 led to drawbacks and challenges for the international trade environment (Haas & Hird, 2017). These kind of agreements and multilateral initiatives are extremely significant because they provide many countries with visible benefits that eventually lead to economic growth, increased GDP, and enhance available markets across the world. In this sense, potential failures may include ineffective agreements and negotiations that merely benefit one group of countries. In other words, trade is a collective win-win outcome, and benefiting only one group will eventually result in failure.

In conclusion, in this assignment, global trade liberalization and developing countries have been meticulously examined. The paper presents insights, information, and comments into the integration into the world economy, resulting in integration with the world economy, the progress of integration, results of the integration, policies on trade liberalization, evidence, potential gains and benefits, and further liberalization recommendations for reaping the benefits. Economic growth, poverty reduction, and development have long been boosted by integration into the World Economy within the last decades. Integration into the world economy refers to easy access to global open markets. This approach can be boosted by related regulations and policies that enable developing and poor countries to take part in developed markets, or vice versa. Although the integration has long been considered as hugely beneficial to many countries across the globe, the developments in recent decades have shown us that the progress was sometimes uneven. While some Asian countries, including China and Japan, benefited a lot, Latin American countries, unfortunately, could not satisfyingly make use of the integration. International communities and especially developed countries should realize the barriers to developing and poorer countries and come up with constructive policies to attract production and manufacturing across the globe. After all, one can highlight that although developing countries have benefited from liberalization and open economy, there are still certain barriers by the EU and the U.S., especially in the textile and agricultural industries.

Altunbaş, Y., Kara, A., & Olgu, Ö. (2009). Overview of the Turkish economy. Turkish Banking, 7-39.

Cornia, G. A. (2020). Macroeconomic stabilization in developing countries. The Macroeconomics of Developing Countries, 309-327.

Gnangnon, S. K. (2018). Effect of multilateral trade liberalization on foreign direct investment outflows amid structural economic vulnerability in developing countries. Research in International Business and Finance, 45, 15-29.

Haas, P., & Hird, J. A. (2017). Trade liberalization and economic growth: Does trade liberalization contribute to economic prosperity? Controversies in Globalization: Contending Approaches to International Relations, 1-39.

IMF Staff. (2001). Global trade liberalization and the developing countries -- An IMF issues brief.

Recently on Tamara Blog

Essay on Animal Farm by Orwell – Free Essay Samples

“Animal Farm” by George Orwell is a literary masterpiece that tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer and establish a socialist community based on the principles of equality and mutual respect (Orwell, 1945). However, over time, the pigs who lead the revolution gradually become corrupted by power and begin to oppress and exploit the other animals, ultimately turning the farm into a totalitarian state.

Essay on Cyberbullying – Free Essay Samples

Bullying is an aggressive behavior that is intentional and repeated, aimed at causing harm or discomfort to a person, and often takes place in social environments such as schools, workplaces, and online platforms. Cyberbullying is a relatively new form of bullying that has emerged with the widespread use of technology and the internet. Cyberbullying refers to bullying behaviors that occur online or through electronic means, such as social media, text messages, and emails.

Essay on Nature vs. Nurture – Free Essay Samples

The debate over nature versus nurture has been a longstanding topic of interest among psychologists and other scholars. The two concepts, nature and nurture, are frequently used to explain human development and behavior.

Lord of the Flies Essay – Free Essay Samples

Veterans have played a critical role in the history of the United States, serving their country in times of war and peace. Despite their sacrifices, many veterans face significant challenges, including physical and mental health issues, homelessness, and unemployment.

Why Veterans Are Important – Free Essay Samples

American dream essay – free essay samples.

The American Dream has been a central concept in American culture for decades, representing the idea that anyone, regardless of their background, can achieve success and prosperity through hard work and determination. The concept of the American Dream is rooted in the country’s history and has been promoted in various ways, from the founding fathers’ beliefs to the post-World War II era.

Essay on India is a Developing Country

Students are often asked to write an essay on India is a Developing Country in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on India is a Developing Country

Introduction.

India, located in South Asia, is often referred to as a developing country. This means it’s in a phase of economic and social transformation.

Economic Growth

India’s economy is growing rapidly. It’s a hub for information technology and has a booming service sector. However, agriculture still employs many people.

Social Development

India is making strides in education and healthcare. Yet, challenges like poverty and illiteracy persist, indicating a need for further development.

Despite challenges, India’s progress is commendable. With continued efforts, it’s poised to achieve more growth and development.

250 Words Essay on India is a Developing Country

India, officially known as the Republic of India, is often categorized as a developing nation. Despite being the world’s largest democracy and the seventh-largest country by land area, its economic, social, and political aspects are still in a state of evolution.

Economic Perspective

From an economic viewpoint, India is a mixed bag. It is the world’s fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP, thanks to its robust sectors like IT, telecommunications, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, steel, and aviation. However, it still grapples with issues like poverty, unemployment, and a significant informal economy.

Social Aspect

India’s social fabric is a rich tapestry of diverse cultures, languages, religions, and traditions. However, the country faces challenges such as illiteracy, gender inequality, and social discrimination. These issues, coupled with a high population density, make social development a complex task.

Political Landscape

India’s political structure is a federal parliamentary democratic republic, where the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government. While the political system has been stable, corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency remain significant hurdles.

In conclusion, India is indeed a developing country, with a vast potential for growth and improvement. Its journey towards development is marked by both achievements and challenges. The nation’s future hinges on how effectively it can address its issues and capitalize on its strengths.

500 Words Essay on India is a Developing Country

India, a country rich in history, culture, and diversity, is classified as a developing nation by various global economic indicators. Despite being the world’s fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP, India is still grappling with numerous challenges that hinder its progress towards becoming a developed nation.

India’s Economic Landscape

India’s economy is a mixed bag of traditional agriculture, modern industries, and a multitude of services. The agricultural sector, although decreasing in its contribution to the GDP, still employs a significant portion of the population. The services sector, on the other hand, has seen a steady rise, contributing to over half of India’s GDP. The industrial sector, though growing, has yet to reach its potential due to issues like inadequate infrastructure and regulatory bottlenecks.

Challenges to Development

Despite impressive economic growth, India faces several critical challenges. Poverty and income inequality remain significant issues, with a large segment of the population living under the poverty line. Lack of access to quality education and healthcare, particularly in rural areas, further exacerbates these disparities.

Infrastructure development is another major challenge. Issues like inadequate transport facilities, inconsistent electricity supply, and lack of clean drinking water are prevalent, particularly in rural and underdeveloped regions.

The Demographic Dividend

India’s demographic profile presents both opportunities and challenges. With over 65% of its population under the age of 35, India has a vast pool of young, working-age individuals. This demographic dividend can propel economic growth if harnessed effectively. However, the lack of skills and opportunities, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas, could turn this potential asset into a liability.

Steps Towards Development

India is taking steps to address these challenges. The government has initiated several programs aimed at poverty alleviation, improving healthcare and education, and developing infrastructure. The ‘Make in India’ initiative is aimed at boosting the manufacturing sector and creating jobs. Similarly, the ‘Digital India’ initiative seeks to leverage technology to enhance governance and public services.

India’s journey from a developing to a developed nation is a complex process, requiring concerted efforts to address the numerous challenges it faces. However, with its vast resources, youthful population, and strategic initiatives, India has immense potential to transform its status from a developing to a developed nation. The journey may be long and arduous, but with consistent efforts and strategic planning, India can indeed realize its vision of becoming a global economic powerhouse.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on Illiteracy in India
• Essay on Indian Festival
• Essay on Human Rights in India

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.