What obstacles to economic development to developing countries face ?

Question

What obstacles to economic development to developing countries face ?

Answer 1

in my view it's exploitation.  i am not a conspiracy theorist, but it only a few countries that run this economic world.  it seems that either a company from one of these countries is there mining for resources, cutting tree's, etc.  but the real deal is the resources are exported and the products are made elsewhere.  those production jobs, which the US and Canada are losing, lead to a strong middle class.

Answer 2

The biggest obstacle is lack of clear property rights.  The reasoning is this: What is the point of owning a lot of land or gaining massive profits if the government or the mafia can just come take them and I have no recourse to get them back?  Post-communist Russia is a perfect example of an economy without clear property rights where people still live in fear of mafias taking their stuff.

Other obstacles could be lack of infrastructure, e.g., roads, bridges, and other ways of moving products inside of a country; political corruption that essentially allows foreign companies to take business away from more efficient local producers; and violence that prevents investment in capital.  

Hope that helps!

Answer 3

I would have to agree a little bit with both of the first two answers. They have highlighted a few of the issues these countries face. In addition, there is too much of a urban/industrial focus in economic policy of developing countries which involves a type of development that doesn't create a lot of jobs (i.e. industry is capital intensive) and therefore doesn't create a lot of income opportunities. There hasn't been enough in terms of rural infrastructure investment in the form of communications and transportation. They also tax rural farmers way too much and there are too many other disincentives (i.e. price ceilings, lack of incentives in general) to engage in rural agriculture, so many people end up going to the city for work (where there may not be enough to match the amount of people moving to the city). Small scale rural development including primary commodity processing would add value to the products the rural farmers are producing, thereby expanding income opportunities for the farmer and potential laborers, but would also create forward and backward linkages that could create income opportunities for others (i.e. a shipping company, perhaps an advertising firm, possibility of further processing and production of new consumer goods)