Stabilité et progrès : les problèmes de la pauvreté

Abstract

<i>Stability and progress : the poorer countries’ problem </i> Although the conditions prevailing in underdeveloped countries differ widely it is possible to formulate a certain number of general propositions concerning them. The causes of poverty in these countries may be related to internal handicaps or be the result of external factors. The most evident cause of regional poverty is a regional scarcity of productive resources relative to population. In the poorer countries, labour is always abundant relative to natural resources and, for most of them, labour is abundant relative to national resources. Another obstacle to development may be found in the impact of inflation and the inability of poorer countries to control it. The low level of incomes rather than a low propensity to save by prohibiting saving on a large scale, also puts a brake on development. Other obstacles which have been described in the literature, such as unequal income distribution, disguised unemployment and high interest rates merit however, critical examination before they are accepted. As regards external handicaps to development, it is clear that the commercial policies of developed countries can impose hardships on poorer countries. The contention that the terms of trade move against primary producers cannot, however, be accepted without qualification. The same holds for the monopoly effects of industrial countries, the so-called demonstration effect, and the influence of external economies in demands for tariff protection. A factor which causes instability in the poorer countries is their dependence on the export of a few basic commodities and the fluctuations in the prices of these products. Stabilization in the developed countries rather than commodity schemes is the most promising solution for this problem. Among the positive factors favouring economic progress in the poorer countries are the availability of the cumulative stock of knowledge of the richer countries and the latter’s contribution to the development of poorer countries. Provided the population problem can be solved, economic progress is a realisable goal for the underdeveloped countries.