What causes poverty? Discuss the obstacles to prosperity in many countries of the Global South?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The ideal answer should include:
1. Poverty is caused by a confluence of variables, and there exists no single cause or explanation of poverty that can singlehandedly account for all of international poverty. What may cause poverty in one country may not be true of the country next door. Hence, poverty has many causes. The most important variables that prevent countries from developing include:
- Overpopulation and high fertility rates impose great strain on existing resources, preventing economic development.
- Corruption and economic inefficiency, which characterize many countries of the Global South, hinder economic growth. Both corruption and inefficiency demoralize the population and drain resources, making economic growth difficult.
- Geopolitical factors, such as countries' geographic location and resources. For example, just under 50 percent of the merchandise exports coming from the less developed countries are primary commodities. Such reliance of commodity exports makes less developed countries susceptible to price fluctuations.
- Internal disorder and violence that hinder investment and lead to problems, such as refugee crises and many others.
- Neocolonialism that creates dependency situations in which external actors effectively control local resources.