GGH3702 EXAM PACK 2023

ESSAY QUESTIONS Question 1 Debate the reasons why some economies in the Global South are on the decline or stagnant while others are growing. How can government in countries with weak or stagnant economies influence their economies to grow? Support your answer with literature on how countries of the Global South can achieve economic development whilst maintaining the environmental integrity for future generations. 3 Contents NO PAGE 1 Introduction 2 Defining the term Global South 3 Booming Economies in the Global South State of China’s Economy Why China’s economy is growing South African economy Reasons why South African economy has experienced growth State of Rwanda’s economy Reasons behind Rwanda’s economic growth 4 Declining economies in the Global South Somalia state of economy Reasons behind Somalia’s weak economy Zimbabwe’s economic state Reasons behind Zimbabwe’s economic decline 5 How can government with weak or stagnant economies influence their economies? 6 Conclusion 7 References 4 Introduction Throughout history, it has been quiet apparent that the world is divided into two groups. The first being the one that controls the world assets and the other group being the one that is constantly under development. These two groups are: The Global North and the Global South. The Global North is composed of primary developed countries such as the United States, Australia and countries under European Union. On the other hand, the Global South which is under discussion in this essay. The first part will conceptualize the term Global South, secondly identify countries under the global south whose economies are growing and reasons behind their growth, the essay will further discuss economies in the Global south which are declining or remaining stagnant and the reasons behind the stagnancy. The other part of the essay will share on strategies that can be adopted with Government with economies which are struggling. Lastly the essay will discuss how countries in the Global South can achieve sustainable economic development. Defining the term Global south The emergence of the term Global South in its historical context constitutes interesting connotations since the term has been charged with various shades of meaning since the term is not perfect. The term Global south can be said to be contextual since it evokes different meaning for different people. To some it is related to economic division between the richer and poorer countries. According to Mahler (2007). The nations of Africa, Central and Latin America and most Asia are collectively known as the Global South. Global South is the latest term used to describe the non-Western world or developing countries. The term is usually used to mean countries faced with social, political and economic challenges which include poverty, environmental degradation to mention just but a few. S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 5 Booming Economies in the Global south Countries of the Global South have been described as newly industrialized or in the process of industrializing, this part of the essay shall briefly look at China, South Africa, and Rwanda. State of China’s Economy World Bank (2018) assert that China has the largest global economy, the largest exporter and has the largest exchange reserves in the world. According to World Bank report on China since the country began to open up and reform its economy in 1978, the Gross Domestic Product growth has averaged almost 10 percent a year and more than 800 million people have been lifted out of poverty. It is on record that China has experienced improvements in access to health, education and other services. According to a report by World Bank, China is now an upper middle income country. Why China’s economy is growing According to Hurst (2017) China’s economy has enjoyed more than 30 years of explosive growth, making it one of the fastest growing economy in the world. Caves (2007) highlights that China’s success is largely based on a mixed economy and there was massive government spending in trying to build their economy. Xu (2011) argues that the government of the People’s Republic of China owns strategically important companies that dominate their industries, it is argued that Chinese government ownership allowed China to direct companies to high-priority projects. In addition to that the government is said to control its relations with foreign investors as they have strict policies when handling foreign partners. This therefore implies that China’s regulations on foreign business has also helped in the economic growth. S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 6 Another reason why China’s economy has grown whilst other countries in the Global South are wallowing is that the People’s Bank of China, controls the Yuan to dollar value. The control of the nation’s central bank is meant to manage the prices of exports to other countries such as United States. Their goal is to produce goods and services which are cheaper than those produced in United States and the country takes advantages of the disparity between the countries. South African economy According to World Bank (2018) South African economy is the second largest in Africa after Nigeria, however South Africa is evidently the most industrialized, technologically advanced and diversified economy in the African continent. According to World Bank report South Africa is an upper middle income economy which is highly developed with advanced infrastructure. World Bank report on South Africa (2017) notes that South Africa is one of the largest exporters of gold, platinum, and other natural resources. In addition to abundance of resources, the country has well established financial, legal, energy, communications, stock exchange and many other sectors. Reasons why South African economy has experienced growth According to World Bank (2018) South Africa has one of the most sophisticated and promising emerging markets globally. Various scholars highlight that the nation of South Africa has experienced a booming economy as result of a highly developed first world economic infrastructure and a huge market economy. With such, it has given room for strong entrepreneurial and dynamic investment environment. S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 7 The nation of South Africa can be described as the economic powerhouse of the African continent as it leads in industrial output and mineral production and also known to generate electricity. However, it should be noted that despite being an economic powerhouse in the African continent, the economic strength of South Africa is steadily on the decline, however this doesn’t mean the country is not improving. The country is fairly doing well apart from the fact that due to COVID 19, the economy has been severely affected but it would be unjustifiable to label South African economy as weak. State of Rwanda’s economy World Bank (2020) highlights that the economy of Rwanda has undergone rapid industrialization due to effective policies by the current government. The country is enjoying strong economic growth rates, creating new business prospects and lifting people out of poverty. According to a USAID report (2021) The government of Rwanda is actively working to develop the economy and reform the financial and business sectors. The World Bank report on Rwanda (2020) highlights that the country’s major foreign exchange earners include but are not limited to mining, tourism and agriculture. Reasons behind Rwanda’s economic growth One of the reasons behind economic growth in Rwanda is the Business environment in Rwanda. According to World Bank report (2020), Rwanda has seen success in the World Bank Doing Business 2020 report. In Africa it is currently ranked second in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business report. Reforms have been put in place to assist business people by easing the process of starting a business in their country, property registration, and many other processes. S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 8 Furthermore, Rwanda’s President Paul Kigame’s leadership should be applauded as has played a positive role in terms of political stability in the country. It is argued that you cannot expect production to take place in a country that is unstable. The country’s stability has managed to secure foreign direct investment. By managing to attract Foreign Direct Investment there has been increased employment, improved capital flow, increase in exports and overall economic growth. Declining economies in the Global South Somalia state of economy Somalia is one of the countries in Africa that lacks effective national governance. Its economy has largely been maintained by the informal sector which is largely based on livestock, money transfer companies and telecommunications (Lindley 2009). Somalia’s revenue is depending largely on agriculture sector of which livestock production is the most important. Reasons behind Somalia’s weak economy Conflicts and civil wars have largely contributed to the current economic decline in Somalia. According to UNDP report on Somalia (2020) Somalia has been wrecked by destruction of civil wars and conflicts and these are the main reasons why the country is under developed till date. It should be acknowledged that when a country is experiencing wars the government usually faces challenges and increased expense in reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure which has had a huge toll on the Somalian Government. S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 9 Another factor that can be attributed to Somalia’s weak economy is low educational attainment throughout the country. The Somali’s government has been failing to provide quality education as a result of the prevailing strife in Somalia. This has resulted in majority of the population to have a low attainment in education thereby facing an exclusion. Low educational attainment in Somalia has generally affected the economic growth of the country as they are lagging behind in almost everything making their country one of the poorest in the World. Zimbabwe’s economic state Chipika and Malaba (2011) notes that Zimbabwe economy depends heavily on mining and agriculture sectors. However, despite being endowed with mineral resources, unemployment has reached its peak and the country is deep in the throes of a severe economic crisis. For the past decade the country has had a soaring inflation that led the country to ditch its own currency and adopt series of currencies but currently the United States dollar is dominant. Reasons behind Zimbabwe’s economic decline Mararike (2019) asserts that Western sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe can be said to be one of the major cause of the decline in the economic strength of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s ruling party ZANU PF argues that the western sanctions imposed by the United States and European union are equivalent to an ongoing war as they have managed to put Zimbabwe’s economy under siege. The economic sanctions led to withdrawal of aid by the United States and European Union countries and IMF also worsened the situation by withdrawing their support thereby leading to the current economic crisis. S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 10 How can government with weak or stagnant economies influence their economies? Foreign Direct Investment can be an important enabler for development in cases such of Somalia and Zimbabwe or any weak economy in the South. As highlighted in the case of countries with growing economies, Foreign Direct Investment can influence the growth in weak or stagnant economies in the Global South. It is the responsibility of these countries with weak economy to lure Foreign Direct Investment since it has benefits such as transfer of technology, creation of decent and high value adding jobs. It should be noted in attracting Foreign Direct Investment, investors should operate in environmentally responsible manner maintaining the environmental integrity for future generations. In case of Zimbabwe whose economy is largely industrializing with mining and manufacturing sectors dominant, the government should ensure that for one to start mining or an industry there should be a license which makes it easier to regulate and also promote environmental integrity for future generations unlike having unlicensed operators who do not abide with stipulations or regulations set by the responsible agencies. For example, in case of Zimbabwe, the main piece of legislation that regulates mining is the Mines and Minerals Act, thus any company seeking to do business should subject to the piece of legislation. In this a country like Zimbabwe can achieve economic development whilst maintaining the environmental integrity for future generations. Somalia is one country that is experiencing environmental problems that can be detrimental to future generation. A report by the World Bank (2018) on Somalia argues that Somalia has significant environmental problems such as deforestation, overgrazing, overfishing and soil erosion. The report further went to explain that Somalia has an energy problem which if not dealt with will affect economic development and the future generations. According to a report by Sustainable energy for all in 2018, it highlighted S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 11 that majority of Somalians cooks with firewood, charcoal and some make use of cow dung, which is also regarded as a major polluter. It is therefore advisable that the Somali government invest in renewable energy which promotes development and also sustain the environment for future generations. Somalia can achieve economic development whilst maintaining the environmental integrity for future generations by carrying out environmental assessments to guide in their development plan. The government of Somali should also develop an early warning system to help identify potential threats to the environment, Somalia has been plagued by series of disasters and among the reasons is that it had a poor disaster preparedness and response thus if the country is going to develop economically they have to ensure that their development is sustainable by ensuring that disaster preparedness and response technology is in place as it guarantees preservation of environment even for the future generations. Conclusion It should be noted that there is plethora of reasons why some economies in the Global south are declining and these include instability as in the case of Zimbabwe and Somalia. Zimbabwe’s declining economy has politics to blame and the Somali’s own is its civil unrest leading to underdevelopment. Apart from instability poor governance and mismanagement has contributed to weak economies in the Global South. On the other hand, some economies have reported growth and this can be attributed to stability and good leadership as in the case of Rwanda. The last part of the essay dealt with how the weak economies can grow economically and maintain environmental integrity for future generations. It has been largely reviewed that the Global south countries can strengthen their economies without jeopardizing the future generations, however for them to achieve sustainable economic development without jeopardizing the environment they have to make policies which are legally binding. S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 12 References Caves, R.E. 2007. Multinational Enterprise and Economic Analysis, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hurst, L. 2017. China’s Iron Ore Boom, London: Routledge. Lindley, A. 2009 “Between Dirty Money and Development Capital” Somali Money Transfer Infrastructure under Global Scrutiny. African Affairs Vol 108, No 433: 519-539. Mahler, A.G. 2017. “Global South.” Oxford bibliographies in literary and Critical theory ed. New York: Oxford Press. Mararike, M. 2019. Zimbabwe Economic Sanctions and Post-Colonial Hangover, A critique of Zimbabwe Democracy Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA), International Journal of Science Studies, 7 (1):28-39. Xu, C. 2011. “The fundamental institutions of China’s Reforms and Development.” Journal of Economics Literature 49 (4): . World Bank. 2018. “ Global Economic Prospects” , Washington DC: World Bank. World Bank. 2020. “Rwanda Economic Update: Accelerating Digital Transformation in Rwanda”, Washington DC: World Bank. World Bank. 2017. “South Africa Economic Update #10: Innovation for productivity and inclusiveness”, Washington DC: World Bank. World Bank. 2018. The World Bank in China. Retrieved from S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 13 Question 2 “Low educational attainment contributes to poverty”. Debate the validity of this statement and provide reasons why you agree with it or not agree. Support your response with literature. In your opinion, suggest how your municipality can help individuals in your community with regards to improving education, training and innovation. S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 14 Contents NO PAGE 1 Introduction 2 Defining key terms 3 Literature supporting the claim that low educational attainment contributes to poverty 4 Suggestions on how my municipality can help individuals in the community with regards to improving education, training and innovation. 5 Conclusion 6 References S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 15 Introduction In recent times, educational attainment has been viewed as one of the primary weapon against poverty. However, a number of scholars have highlighted that there are two types of educational attainment which are low and high. It is argued that low educational attainment contributes to poverty whereas high educational attainment eradicates poverty, it is against this background, this essay is based upon so that it can really justify that low educational attainment can indeed contribute to poverty. Another section of the essay will address how my local authority can improve education, training and innovation as way of dealing away with the effects of low educational attainment. Defining key terms Poverty has different connotations for various people, making it a contentious subject. Lack of income, hunger, and malnutrition, poor health, increased disease and mortality from illness, homelessness and other basic services are all indicators of poverty. In an attempt to conceptualize poverty, there is a universally accepted principle called the poverty datum line (Deaton, 2005). The poverty line is the minimum level of income that is considered to be adequate in any given country. Understanding Low educational attainment For one to understand the term, it has to be broken down, United States Census Bureau define educational attainment as a term used by statisticians to refer to the highest degree of education an individual has completed. This therefore implies that low educational attainment is below average education completion of an individual. Literature supporting the claim that low educational attainment contributes to poverty S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 16 One notable fact regarding low educational attainment is that it is likely to contribute to poverty. A large body of research is that there is direct linear relationship between education and earnings. It should be noted that once in employment, those with higher educational merits earn considerably more than the less educated. Generally, a large body of literature shows that educational attainment and poverty are inversely related. This means the higher the level of education the lesser will be the number of poor individuals and the lower the levels of education, the poorer the individuals become. This is so because education impacts knowledge and skills which is supportive in higher wages (UNDP, 2003). Having established this literature, it is agreeable to support the claim that low educational attainment contributes to poverty. Low educational attainment can be said to contribute to poverty when taken in context of female education. According to Chicoine (2012) High educational attainment can reduce fertility rate which is also a catalyst to poverty. Several researches have proven time and again that educated women earn more money thus there are high chances of raising their children effectively. Women with high educational attainment are more likely to have improved maternal and child’s health which gives women physical capacity to give birth and reduce necessity for more children which contributes to an economic strain. According to Pop-Eleches (2010) educated women adopt birth control methods more often than uneducated women. This implies that women with little education have a high fertility rate which creates an imbalance in the households of the lowly educated women thereby reducing the amount of resources each child might consume resulting in poor health, malnutrition and school drop outs which are major indicators of poverty. In this regard, it is justifiable to argue that low educational attainment contributes to poverty. S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 17 Furthermore, low educational attainment causes population explosion which might contribute to poverty. World Bank report (2012) argues that lack of education for women in Africa contributes to poverty. Poverty increases if women do not receive education. It is reported in some parts of Africa, there are still barbaric practices such as placing priority on boy’s schooling, while girls are expected to help with house chores or farming. In these communities because of low educational attainment women are usually forced to marry at a young age and this has its share of problems as they are the lowly educated women are not exposed to family planning to control population and this might contribute to poverty. It is therefore agreeable to argue that low educational attainment contributes to poverty. Suggestions on how my municipality can help individuals in the community with regards to improving education, training and innovation. In this essay, Durban metropolitan known as Ethekwini will be used as my municipality. One of the major challenges is that our community most students are into human and social sciences. Generally, there are few graduates within the engineering field. According to Woolnough (1994) historically student intake is high in other fields of study except engineering. The main reason why students don’t pursue a degree engineering is because they are told its hard. In such cases, the Municipality should promote free STEM education, this will improve education, training and innovation. As long the education is made free by the help of municipality, students intake will increase and this positively influence the economy in the near future as the community will not have to higher foreign nationals to do the engineering work but their citizens will be equipped with engineering skills. Furthermore, promotion of STEM boosts innovation in science and technology as it creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy and enables a generation of S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 18 innovators, The Municipality has to have a fund to promote projects done by science and tech students. The municipality should avail grants specifically targeting the STEM discipline as a way to promote science education and raise more scientists. In addition, a large body of research shows that girls are less likely to choose an engineering program, therefore it is important for municipality to avail grants that will improve girl child STEM education, training and innovation. Conclusion In conclusion, there is extensive body of literature that proves that low educational attainment contributes to poverty. Several points have been raised to justify that low educational attainment contributes to poverty. It should be noted that low educational attainment may not be directly contribute to poverty but will indirectly contribute to poverty. This can be seen from the literature regarding lack of female education, for example when fertility rates explode there are bound to be negative consequences which one of them could contribute to poverty. The other section of the essay demonstrated that municipalities can play a crucial role in promoting education, training and innovation through promoting STEM education which can have a positive impact in the community. S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 19 References Chicoine, L. 2012. Education and Fertility: Evidence from a Policy Change in Kenya. IZA Discussion Paper No. 6778. Deaton, A. 2005. Measuring poverty in a growing world (or measuring growth in a poor world). Review of Economics and Statistics, 87(1): 1-19. Pop-Eleches, C, 2010. “The supply of birth control methods, education and fertility.” Journal of Human Resources 45: (4): 971-997. UNDP. 2003. Human Development report , New York: Oxford University Press. Woolnough, B.1994. Factor’s affecting student’s choice of science and engineering. International Journal of Science Education. World Bank, 2012. World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality andDe velopment, Washington, DC: The World Bank. S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 20 Question 3 Write a mini essay with regards to the community of your choice. Your essay should address all the points that are outlined below. Name of your community, its location and province, district, municipality, region General demographic information Major economic activities and challenges of reducing poverty and inequality Explain how your community is dealing transport, energy, water and information and communication technology issues (Learning unit 4 - Economic infrastructure) Explain the kind of initiatives which your community is involved in with the aim to transform human settlement (learning unit 5 - Transforming Human Settlements) Explain the kind of activities/programmes or actions which are promoted by your community in order to encourage community members to take part in improving their education status(Learning unit 6- Education, training and innovation) What is your community doing in order for its members to become part of the global citizens (learning unit 7- South Africa in the region and the world) In conclusion, do you think your community is in the right track with regards to the above objectives and if not, what could be done in order for your community to come close to achieving these objectives The community that I have chosen is Atteridgeville Township. Location This Township located southwest of Pretoria, Central Business District and it is under the of city of Tshwane metropolitan municipality in Gauteng province. And linked via WF Nkomo street and it is divided into three sections Phomolong, concerned and Jeffville. S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 21 Population The total population of Atteridgeville Township is approximately 200 000 and it is a multi – cultural community with diverse residents who speak different languages such as Sesotho, Setswana, Sepedi, Xitsonga, isiZulu and Venda. Economic activities There are many restaurants that cooks African food such as Tripe (Mogodu); Chicken feet and Kota and Atterdigeville, As well as shebeens and taverns. This area is also popular for interest places such as The Ga- Mothakga resort where the jazz festival is held every year, Saulsville Arena hosts music concerts and other major local activities, The Atteridgeville super stadium also known Lucas Moripe stadium which caters Premier Soccer League matches. Tourism provide job opportunities for many local residents in this area with 25% of the population working or owning food and beverage business 30% transport industry (taxis, buses, trains) and 25% merchandising mostly street vendors, the results indicate that 93 % of businesses in Atteridgeville are owned by the community. Despite all these poverty is still any issue in this township because education statistics indicate. The most significant challenges is to improve access to opportunities (work, education, health, recreation, etc.); and to upgrade the environment, (better housing, more sustainable choices of access to activities requiring the rationalisation of transport and housing subsidies. Transport system improvements will require significant investment, will not be sustainable, even in the medium-term, and may increase the cost burden on the poor in the form of fares hikes. Because of the serious backlog of transport expenditure, there S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 22 is, however, a need for more funds to be dedicated to the ailing transport system (both rolling-stock and facilities) to arrest its further decline. Public transport is the only practical means of transport for low-income earners, Because of the distances to work, walking or cycling is not possible for most people. Only a few high-income earners use public transport to travel to work and there is very little public transport patronage in wards, Income and car availability, which are strongly related, explain the choice of mode. Key challenges are, therefore, access and sustainability. The choices are: improve the transport system to reduce travel times and increase the choice of destinations for activities (improve mobility); or reduce, or trade-off, the high cost of accessible land against the long:-term costs of subsidised transport (improve accessibility)redirect public and private sector development to locations which afford good access to existing activities and facilities, (new housing), or to the population, (new economic activities) (improve accessibility and sustainability). The bullets below identify some common challenges that emerged across regions. Infrastructure maintenance: Where infrastructure does exist, it is not always maintained leading to environmental and other infrastructural problems. Environmental challenges: These include low-lying areas that are prone to flooding, resulting in infrastructural damage and a lack of housing security for many residents. Weak spatial structure and planning: As Tshwane has grown, so services must be stretched over larger areas. However, this growth has not always been planned leading to some residents having little access to services such as functional sewerage systems, and to traffic and congestion problems. S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material Downloaded by: LIBRARY | Distribution of this document is illegal Want to earn $103 per month? S - The Marketplace to Buy and Sell your Study Material 23 Poverty and inequality: Tshwane remains an unequal city with pockets of wealth, and widespread poverty. An effect of this is a high level of homelessness, theft and vandalism. Infrastructure development: There is a misalignment between infrastructure and new development opportunities. Growing high levels of unemployment: Atteridgeville needs more job opportunities for all.