This page is part of the site Global Development, dedicated to promoting a new approach to eliminating poverty, reversing environmental deterioration and generating sustained economic growth that benefits all of humanity. The site has been developed by Frans Doorman. No copy rights are claimed, but those using material are kindly requested to name the source.

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Questions and answers:
Ending global poverty

This page gives a summary of the main issues related to ending global poverty, in the form of a series of questions and answers. For a more in-depth analysis, links are given to pages on which these issues are discussed in more detail. A comparable set-up is used for discussing issues related to the problems of economic stagnation in the rich countries, and for discussing the financing of sustainable development.

Question: How can global poverty be ended?
Answer: Through satisfying the basic needs of all of humanity and generating sustained economic growth.

Question: How can the basic needs of the poor be met?
Answer: Governments the world over should ensure that 1) All people should get access to adequate basic education and health care, and clean drinking water and sanitation, and 2) All households should be allowed a minimum income that will enable them to provide in their basic subsistence needs, i.e., food, clothing and shelter.This minimum income can be provided in the form of child support (for women with children*), pensions (for those over 60), and employment programs (for able-bodied men and women without children). These programs should be aimed at environmental improvement and infra-structural development.

See also: Global Development - CHAPTER VII: FIGHTING POVERTY

* Note: child support should not turn into an incentive for having many children. Therefore, it should only be made available for the first two children, and only after a woman has reached the age of 21. Convincing stimuli should be given to limit the number of children to two. For example, as long as no third child is born, a 50% bonus could be given on child support payments; for sterilization, a 100% bonus could be awarded. Parallel to these measures family planning, i.e., giving all women information on and access to means for birth control, must become a focal point in basic health care. See also Global Development - Chapter VII: A subsistence income

Question: How can the economies of poor nations be set on a path of sustained economic growth?
Answer: By stimulating domestic demand through increasing the purchasing power of the poor.

Question: Economists, politicians and other opinion leaders seem to advocate free trade and export led-growth for poor countries. What about that ?
Answer: That is a solution that will work for only a limited number of countries which are already able to compete in global markets. Even in those countries only relatively small proportions of the population, mostly belonging to the already better off, will benefit.
For more click on: Economic growth engines: exports, foreign investment, domestic demand

Question: So should countries that are not competitive be allowed to use trade barriers, permanently?
Answer: No, they should not. Freeing trade is good for consumers: it forces producers to compete on quality and price. Therefore trade should be liberalized. But for hitherto protected sectors of the economy this should happen gradually, to allow producers to adapt to international competition. Moreover a "bottom line", in the form of a minimum of social and environmental standards all producers should adhere to, should be agreed upon and effected worldwide, to avoid competition at the cost of workers and the environment.
For more click on: From free trade to free and fair trade

Question: And what about foreign investment? Should we allow multinational corporations to set up shop in poor countries and wipe out local competition? Is that fair?
Answer: It may not be fair, but it’s necessary. Foreign investment should be promoted and facilitated, to help economic sectors in countries that have fallen behind in increasing their competitiveness with foreign capital and know-how.
For more click on: Foster foreign investment, or protect local entrepreneurs?

Question: It has long been argued that the poor countries would benefit hugely if the rich countries would eliminate current trade barriers stop subsidizing (agricultural) exports. What of that?
Answer: True, those barriers and subsidies should be eliminated. However, the main beneficiaries would be other rich countries and the limited number of poor countries that are already able to compete internationally. Overall in this case also the number of people who would profit would be relatively small, with most of the benefits going to the already better off.

Question: Why is there no large scale, international drive to alleviate poverty?
Answer: Because prevailing ideology holds that poverty alleviation can come about only as a result of economic growth, to be generated through export-led production and foreign investment. That view relieves national governments and the international community of the obligation to make the large scale investments needed to alleviate poverty in a direct manner.
For more click on: A matter of priorities, ideology, and self-interest

Question: What is likely to happen in the poor countries if present policies continue?
Answer: For much of the middle class and the poorer and poorest sections of the population, the situation will worsen. Poverty will increase, worsened by environmental deterioration and a corroding public sector. Lack of prospects and a growing gap between rich and poor will provide chances for anti-democratic leaders and movements, and lead to increasing extremism and possibly, terrorism.

Question: What’s the link between environmental deterioration and poverty?
Answer: The biggest threats to the poor are fresh water shortages and the deterioration of agricultural land - through soil erosion, desertification and, in irrigated areas, water logging and salinization. In coming decades these problems will become especially acute in China and Southern Asia, home to close to half the global population. Large parts of Africa will also be affected, as will parts of South and North America and Central Asia. Another danger is the progressive destruction of natural ecosystems, notably tropical rain forests, mountain forests and wetlands. This will cause changes in local climates, and increase flooding and soil erosion. Also, livelihoods will be lost and natural food supplies, notably fish stocks, will dwindle. Lastly, the Greenhouse effect will lead to an increase in natural disasters, rising sea levels and local climate change. Again, the poor will be affected most severely.
For more click on: The environment: present and prospects for the future

Question: What should be done about these problems?
Answer: What’s needed is a concerted effort, by rich and poor countries, to address these issues. Measures should focus on the protection of natural ecosystems, agricultural land and water supplies, and minimizing pollution. The rational, environmentally sustainable use of land and water should not only be promoted but also enforced. Deteriorated or deteriorating land should be recuperated, and large-scale infra-structural works may be required for resolving water structural shortages.
See also: Global Development - the book: Chapter VI,  Fostering local demand and production and Chapetr VII, Agriculture, water and soil management

Question: So for poverty alleviation as well as relieving environmental problems we need large-scale investment programs. Economists usually say that the first priority of poor countries should be economic growth. Then, with the proceeds of that growth poverty alleviation and environmental measures can be financed. So how should a process of sustained economic growth be generated?
Answer: We’ve already seen that with present policies, it will be impossible to generate healthy, sustained economic growth. To break the circle of poverty the economies of the poor countries will have to be "jumpstarted". This should be done by increasing demand through the execution of the above described poverty alleviation and environmental programs. The resulting income transfers and job creation will raise the purchasing power of the poor and hence, demand. That will stimulate private sector production, job creation, and profits. This, in turn, will foster more demand, thus setting in motion a process of sustained economic growth.
For more click on: Jumpstarting sustainable, equitable economic growth

Question: So what we need are large-scale programs to satisfy the basic needs of all of humanity and counter environmental deterioration. The economic demand created by providing education, health care, drinking water, sanitation, child support, pensions, and employment in soil and water conservation will work as a catalyst for sustained economic growth. Great. But a program like that would cost hundreds of billions of dollars! Where would the money come from?
Answer: Part of it can be raised in traditional ways: through re-allocating existing funds and taxation.
For more click on: Financing sustainable development - the conventional way?

Question: And the rest?
Answer: The remainder will have to be made. Money must be created by an international financial organization such as the IMF, and made available to countries under strict conditions and in such quantities that the extra demand generated does not exceed productive capacity, both nationally and internationally.
For more click on: Money creation for sustainable development

 

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