The causes, conditions, and solutions of Underdevelopment: A case study of Brazil

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The causes, conditions, and solutions of Underdevelopment: A case study of Brazil

Alec Griswold

12/2/04

Professor Pape

 

One of the main issues in International Relations is the underdevelopment of third world countries and its effect on the world economy.    Brazil, one of the six largest countries in the world, is a classic example of the effects of underdevelopment (Inequalities and Economic Development in Brazil, 5).  The gap between rich and poor is the most extensive in the world, with the wealthiest one percent receiving more than the poorest fifty percent (Ibid, 12).  Brazil’s history seems to play a large part in its ineffective social and economic environment.  However, history is certainly not the only factor that is responsible for the underdevelopment and inequality of income of Brazil.  The possible roots of underdevelopment range from colonial forms of economical exploitation, economic dependency on metropolis countries, poor economic structure of an underdeveloped country, isolation, governmental policies, and foreign exploitation.  The debate of Underdevelopment centers on whether these countries are victims of imperialistic forces or rather victims of their own deficiencies.  Moreover does the economic world system exploit underdeveloped countries or do these underdeveloped countries exist in this condition due to their own faults of governance.  The state of underdevelopment in Brazil is a result of political instability, social inequality, and the emergence of foreign entities within its economy

  In order to understand the reasons and conditions of underdevelopment it is necessary to be aware of the history of Brazil’s economic development.  In South America, “the combination of mineral wealth, soils and climate suitable for sugar production, and imported slave labor, or conquered indigenous labor, helped produce two castes: large landowners and politically unarmed workers. (Birdsall, 309)” As a result this region has experienced the highest form of unequal land distribution, and its history and politics have produced economic and institutional arrangements that subsequently concentrate the wealth in the hands of the few.  

During most of the nineteenth century, Brazil failed to achieve a high rate of economic development.  The overall slow development of this period can be attributed to the conditions in the Northeast.  This region encompassed almost half of the country’s population, and as a result this large concentration of people suffered from the regions particularly poor economic experience.  Moreover, the main cause for this gloomy experience was the failure of its sugar and cotton exports.  The Northeast’s prime products were not the commodities which were favored for export under Brazilian comparative advantage (Leff, 146).  

        Another reason that hindered the economic development of Brazil was the lack of proper infrastructure.  Producers in the domestic agricultural sector could not fully benefit from the gains to market integration because of the absence of low-cost transportation within Brazil’s interior (Leff, 148).  Under these conditions, sustained development in Brazil had to await the provision of man-made infrastructure facilities such as roads and railways.  Those changes, in turn, were essential if Brazil was to have more generalized economic growth and more favorable intersectoral linkages (Leff, 149).  

        The theory of dualism provides one possible answer to the underdevelopment of the Brazilian economy.  Distinct regions emerged due to the uneven distribution of the country’s natural resources.  This gave rise to strong centrifugal forces which posed a real threat of territorial fragmentation.  “Since Brazil’s political elites maintained a unitary and highly centralized state for a large part of the century… the fiscal system did not encourage a large flow of resources for public improvements at the sub-national level. (Leff, 101)” As a result, many landowners did not know if their taxes were to be used for investment projects in which they would benefit, or if they would be used to benefit other sectors of the country.  Moreover as some landowners gained from their product income others were not as fortunate.  As a result the poor were unable to make any progress due to the unequal distribution of income and land.  

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        Population growth has had both negative and positive effects on the development of Brazil.  The fact is that Brazil’s high population growth has been the main factor in widening the gap between rich and poor.  Population size is seen as a crucial instrument in achieving the national goal of integration of Brazil’s vast territory, as well as establishing Brazil as a world power (Merrick, 188).  As in many developing countries, there is a robust harmful relationship between fertility rates and income in Brazil (ibid).  Since poor families are more likely to have many children they also must provide for them ...

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