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Business World

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The meaning of underdevelopment and development

There is a sharp contrast between development and underdevelopment, and this is based

on several issues. A common issue that relates to underdevelopment is when the resources are

not developed. Underdeveloped relates to the agency of imperialism; it is a setting where there is

a higher level of inequality in all aspects of the society. The is social, political, and economic

inequality. The underdevelopment also relates to the case of the poor nations depending on the

rich nations. Underdevelopment is also considered an active state process where there is no

growth in the economy.

On the contrary, development refers to the growth of the per capita income and the

minimization of poverty. Development relates to a society related to having an adequate lifestyle,

such as access to a healthy diet, clean water, medical care, and disease management and control.

The development also relates to having an economic situation that does not have an undie cost

among the people. Generally, development is linked to the economic growth of a nation.

Ways economic development is measured

Measuring economic development is essential, and there are different ways that it is

conducted. The basic issues evaluation when measuring economic development include social,

economic, and demographic. One of the measures that is commonly adopted includes the gross

domestic product (GDP). The GDP per capita refers is the sum total of the value of the goods

and services generated in a given nation and then divided by its population. In developed nations,

it is about $20,000, while among underdeveloped nations such as Africa is less than $1000.

Another measure of economic development is the attainment of education and literacy of the
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population. The level of economic development may be measured by the quality of education in

a country and the number of students attending school. The literacy rate entails the number of

people in the society that can read and write. The economic structure and the labor force are also

key in measuring economic development. This relates to the distribution of the jobs within the

nation. The health of the population is also fundamental in measuring economic development.

Some of the measures in relation to health include the kind of diet often measured in calories.

Other issues include the accessibility to the doctor’s healthcare services.

The consumer goods that are produced within the country also play an essential role in

measuring the economic level. Nations with easier accessibility to consumer goods imply that the

nation’s economic resources have supported in meeting basic human needs, including key issues

such as clothing, food, and shelter. The resources that are remaining help in supporting the

citizens in getting the union essential goods and services. The level of urbanization also helps in

the evaluation of the economy of a given nation. While in some cases, the developing world has

urbanized areas, they are less when compared to developed nations. In the developing world,

cities are growing at an alarming rate. However, the proportion of the citizens living in the

urbanized area is often different among developed and developing nations.

Characteristic problems of less developed countries

There are numerous similar characteristics among the less developed countries around

the world. One of the key issues is the rapid population growth. With the higher growth in the

population, it is characterized by several different challenges. Some of the common challenges

related to the rapid population growth include the challenges with food security, starvation, and

lack of stable food supplies. The higher population among the households also results to a

reduced ability of the households to save. Another major characteristic is the higher rate of
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unemployment and underemployment. Les developed nations face the challenges of

unemployment as the economy fails to generate enough jobs among all people. While

unemployment is the challenge of the people who wish to get employed but fail to get jobs,

underemployment indicates that working people work less than 8 hours per day. In this case they

do not like the situation as their skills and talent are not utilized properly. There is a lack of

science investment among these nations, thus increasing the rate of unemployment and

underemployment. There is also limited foreign direct investment, a key issue that helps in

creating jobs for the people.

There is also a major challenge of low labor productivity. In most cases, these nations of

their productivity is often on a small scale in all their sectors of production, including the

farming and production sectors, among other key areas. There are higher cases of the drain,

which is a major issue affecting these societies. There is also a lack of capital and investment.

Less developed nations often suffer from the failure to have the capital. This is in different ways,

such as machinery, public utilities and the right infrastructure, all of which impact production.

The less developed nations also suffer from inadequate and insufficient technologies. They also

face major challenges of having the right technologies to help in increasing their production and

thus amass technology. Other issues include unequal distribution of land, poor terms of trade,

corruption, and restrictive gender roles.

Development strategies, including how developed countries can help developing countries

The lees developed countries face a myriad of t challenges, and thus, the different ways

that the developed countries may help the less developed nations. One of the primary ways of

supporting the less developed nation is increasing trade with the less developed nation.

Expanding trade plays an essential role in improving the economy of the les development.
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Economic scholars have supported the move, indicating that increasing trade with the less

developed nations helps in improving their economic situation. Reducing the trade barriers and

eliminating the protection measures. In such cases, the developed nation often offers these less

developed nations wealthy markets, thus increasing their export volumes. Another way is

supporting the private capital flows to these underdeveloped nations. One of the ways to support

the capital inflow is through the adoption of investment among multinationals. Offering them

foreign aid is essential. In this case, it offers capital, which is essential to support and finance the

firms, improve the infrastructure, and retain the labor pool. Supporting industrialization in these

less developed nations is also a key issue.

Sustainable development and why it is important

Sustainability relates to the use of the current resources in the right manner. Generally,

sustainability helps in the harmonization of the earth’s resources, its carrying capacity, economic

growth, and supporting the environment. In this case sustainability relates to the use of different

resources responsibly. Sustainable development is also related to meeting “the current needs

without compromising on the ability of future generations to satisfy their own needs”. It is

important to maintain sustainable development, and one of them is using the right resources

appropriately. It helps to ensure certain resources are not depleted, such as natural forests, fish,

and mineral resources. Sustainability helps in supporting biodiversity such as by maintaining

fresh water bodies. It helps in the promotion of fair trade among the different individuals.

Sustainability development is essential as it helps in the fight against poverty in the right manner.
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References

Stutz, F. P., & Warf, B. (2012). The world economy: Geography, business, development.

Prentice Hall is an imprint of Pearson.