Income Inequality In Sub-Saharan Africa
Throughout the course of modern history, many academics and policymakers have all proposed various methods to eradicate poverty. Because each of these suggestions is unique, not all of them agree on a common approach to tackle poverty or hold the same views on the subject. For example, Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University insists that poverty in impoverished nations can be eradicated by investing foreign aid in development and technology in order to stimulate growth and allow people to exit the vicious poverty trap (Scientific American, 2005). On the other hand, Dr. William Easterly of New York University argues that such aid does not in any way provide for sustainable growth and is in fact a small piece of a much larger picture in which the rights of people afflicted with poverty are not respected (The Wall Street Journal, 2014). However, despite many conflicting views, the focus of a large majority of these proposals and a recurring theme is: stimulating human
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development of some kind. While there are exceptions, a promising path out of poverty is guaranteed only if there is a definite stimulus for growth and development.
The nature of this argument requires that one thoroughly understands the definition of ‘Human Development’. According to the UNDP, human development can be broadly defined as an approach that provides people more opportunities and choices in order to add value to their lives and stimulate growth (UNDP, 2015). The UNDP also adds that the above definition is broad in context and that different people accept varying interpretations of human development. Indexes like the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Inequality-adjusted HDI as well as statistics like the rate of literacy, the GDP per capita and the life expectancy at birth all aim to quantify development in a region or state. In fact, the World Bank utilizes a comprehensive list of indicators that are both general and specific in nature, to measure development (World Bank, 2016). This assortment of indicators, that ranges from agriculture to energy expenditure, as well as the strong correlation between development and indigence suggest that poverty is to a large extent a function of development.
The rate of extreme poverty worldwide has witnessed a steady decline to about half of what it was in 1990, however, an estimated 701 million people across developed, developing and underdeveloped regions still live below the current standard of the poverty line (UN, 2016).
Half of these people, living in Sub-Saharan Africa, survive on below $2.00 a day. On the other hand, the income inequality that arrived with the advent of the industrial revolution has been steadily increasing in most developing and developed nations (UN, 2016). While it is tempting to think that the two completely correlate with each other, Dr. Sachs argues otherwise. Poverty in places like Sub-Saharan Africa is, he says, not because of rising income inequality or globalization for that matter, but because globalization has largely bypassed the region hardly influencing it or stimulating growth (Scientific American, 2016). It is at this stage that investments towards development enter the
picture.
Farm Africa, a British organization founded in 1985, has touched the lives of 1.8 million people in Eastern Africa in a sustained manner, most notably young women with children. By encouraging the people of the region to engage in agriculture, fishing or pearl diving, by guiding them in their first steps and providing them the required knowledge, Farm Africa has helped them achieve a guaranteed source of income and allowed them to educate their children and invest in a better life (The Guardian, 2015). In rural India, self-help groups that have been set up with the help of the World Bank have provided people various kinds of opportunities to people such as better employment, better sanitation, technical education, a working water supply or skill training. These groups socially and economically empower an estimated 30 million women and handicapped people while remaining accountable to the individuals who benefit from it (World Bank, 2016). When funds are channeled into sustainable and responsible projects like the aforementioned examples, such investments towards development accomplish the task of eradicating poverty without turning into charities, providing foreign aid the fair chance that Dr. Sachs advocates for (Scientific American, 2016).
The sole criticism that this approach faces is its implementation. Dr. Easterly clearly distinguishes the ‘Planners’ and the ‘Searchers’ in his book The White Man’s Burden and compares charitable missions to colonial conceit. In The Tyranny of Experts, he claims that the human rights of the impoverished are ignored and that they are not allowed to come up with a ground-up approach by themselves (The Tyranny of Experts, 2014 and The White Man’s Burden, 2014). However, the above examples demonstrate that it is possible to eradicate poverty through investments towards developments whilst keeping goals such as human rights, independence and sustainability in mind. Only a sustained source of income will allow one to escape the unforgiving poverty trap and this source of income can arrive only if people are shown the way out through education and an infrastructure.
development of some kind. While there are exceptions, a promising path out of poverty is guaranteed only if there is a definite stimulus for growth and development.
The nature of this argument requires that one thoroughly understands the definition of ‘Human Development’. According to the UNDP, human development can be broadly defined as an approach that provides people more opportunities and choices in order to add value to their lives and stimulate growth (UNDP, 2015). The UNDP also adds that the above definition is broad in context and that different people accept varying interpretations of human development. Indexes like the Human Development Index (HDI) and the Inequality-adjusted HDI as well as statistics like the rate of literacy, the GDP per capita and the life expectancy at birth all aim to quantify development in a region or state. In fact, the World Bank utilizes a comprehensive list of indicators that are both general and specific in nature, to measure development (World Bank, 2016). This assortment of indicators, that ranges from agriculture to energy expenditure, as well as the strong correlation between development and indigence suggest that poverty is to a large extent a function of development.
The rate of extreme poverty worldwide has witnessed a steady decline to about half of what it was in 1990, however, an estimated 701 million people across developed, developing and underdeveloped regions still live below the current standard of the poverty line (UN, 2016).
Half of these people, living in Sub-Saharan Africa, survive on below $2.00 a day. On the other hand, the income inequality that arrived with the advent of the industrial revolution has been steadily increasing in most developing and developed nations (UN, 2016). While it is tempting to think that the two completely correlate with each other, Dr. Sachs argues otherwise. Poverty in places like Sub-Saharan Africa is, he says, not because of rising income inequality or globalization for that matter, but because globalization has largely bypassed the region hardly influencing it or stimulating growth (Scientific American, 2016). It is at this stage that investments towards development enter the
picture.
Farm Africa, a British organization founded in 1985, has touched the lives of 1.8 million people in Eastern Africa in a sustained manner, most notably young women with children. By encouraging the people of the region to engage in agriculture, fishing or pearl diving, by guiding them in their first steps and providing them the required knowledge, Farm Africa has helped them achieve a guaranteed source of income and allowed them to educate their children and invest in a better life (The Guardian, 2015). In rural India, self-help groups that have been set up with the help of the World Bank have provided people various kinds of opportunities to people such as better employment, better sanitation, technical education, a working water supply or skill training. These groups socially and economically empower an estimated 30 million women and handicapped people while remaining accountable to the individuals who benefit from it (World Bank, 2016). When funds are channeled into sustainable and responsible projects like the aforementioned examples, such investments towards development accomplish the task of eradicating poverty without turning into charities, providing foreign aid the fair chance that Dr. Sachs advocates for (Scientific American, 2016).
The sole criticism that this approach faces is its implementation. Dr. Easterly clearly distinguishes the ‘Planners’ and the ‘Searchers’ in his book The White Man’s Burden and compares charitable missions to colonial conceit. In The Tyranny of Experts, he claims that the human rights of the impoverished are ignored and that they are not allowed to come up with a ground-up approach by themselves (The Tyranny of Experts, 2014 and The White Man’s Burden, 2014). However, the above examples demonstrate that it is possible to eradicate poverty through investments towards developments whilst keeping goals such as human rights, independence and sustainability in mind. Only a sustained source of income will allow one to escape the unforgiving poverty trap and this source of income can arrive only if people are shown the way out through education and an infrastructure.