Is the World Bank’s income criterion a useful way of classifying these countries by their development levels? Why or why not? What are some other criteria one could use to more accurately classify these countries and how, if at all, would their relative rankings change? Explain.
According to the World Bank economic data, Brazil is classified together with other middle-income countries. The World Bank describes the country as a developing country due to the numerous socioeconomic changes that the country has undertaken in recent years. On the other hand, Rwanda is classified as a low developed country due to its low per capita income. The World Bank’s income criterion is not a useful way of classifying countries basing on their development.
It does not account for other ways of classifying these countries. Income generated in the country differs according to the population of a country. When a comparison is drawn between the populations of Brazil and Rwanda, the population of Brazil is far much greater than that of Rwanda. Furthermore, the dependency ratio also differs because the ratio is higher in Rwanda than in Brazil. Thus, per capita income between the two countries would be a better way to classify the development of these countries. The ranking would change because the per capita income is a measure of the national output divided by the population in the country.
Based on your understanding of sources of growth and development, what are the key characteristics or data of these two countries that you think explain why they find themselves at their current rankings/income levels?
Many factors determine the economic growth and development of a given country. This is in terms of how a country’s economy improves and the factors that contribute to this growth and improvement. For a country to be considered a developed one, many economic policies should be derived by the leaders to cause this growth. Good leadership is critical for growth because better resource allocation is crucial to help the country’s economy to grow.
The industry set up within a country influences the production output in the economy. The availability of capital is vital for citizens and corporate bodies to access credit to open businesses. This enhances employment opportunities for people. The availability of raw material dictates the establishment of industries and processing zones in the economy.
Suppose you are an economic minister of the poorer of these two countries. Based on everything we have learned about growth, clearly describe and justify 1 or 2 policies you think might help bring your country up to the ranking of the richer country.
The poor ranking can be attributed to bad leadership, which is not geared toward economic growth and development. Bad leadership is characterized by poor policy formulation. Policies are formulated to address the problems that the country is facing. Many African leaders do not care about the problems affecting the citizens like poverty and lack of better education and health facilities.
The reliance on agriculture in Rwanda is a major factor that causes the country to be ranked poorly on the global ranking of developed countries. The government should encourage citizens to invest in other economic activities like mining and the industrial market. Access to financial resources will greatly influence the economic activity of the country. Therefore, people will indulge in entrepreneurship and earn income through businesses. The government should also invest in the health and education sector to improve the living standards of the citizen.