Author Question: What causes a person, or a nation, to be poor? Why are there poor people in rich countries, and rich ... (Read 374 times)

joe · **on:** Jun 30, 2018

What causes a person, or a nation, to be poor? Why are there poor people in rich countries, and rich people in poor countries?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Some international negotiations have been characterized as pitting rich nations against poor ones, yet often the countries we call developing are not all on the same side of an issue.

What are some differences among developing countries that may account for this lack of harmony?

Anonymous · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 30, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Students may want to focus on natural resources and capital goods, but should emphasize human capital, especially education and acquisition of skills. Such an emphasis can help explain both parts of the question.

Answer to Question 2

The last tables in the chapter provide clues to this question. Developing countries range from very poor to relatively well off, from depending largely on agriculture to being more industrial, and exhibiting a range of reliance on foreign trade. These alone can account for significant differences of interests among them.