Why resource-racked countries are actually poor?
How can we explain the fact that some countries that are less endowed with natural resources are the world leading economies, for an instance, Japan have a small territory, limited natural resources, not suitable geographic conditions for agriculture, but it managed to become an economy superpower based on importing raw materials and exporting high value added products and new technologies.
On the other hand, let’s see the case of a poor country that is rich in natural resources like Angola. Angola is an African leader producer of oil and net exporter of minerals, however much of its population relies on food aid and lives below the poverty line.
Many development theories and historical circumstances can explain why resource rich countries are actually poorer at the present time. However I will try to explain this fact by contrasting the example between Angola and Japan economic history.
After the WWII the Japanese economy was in a deprived state, having much o of its population living with low living standards. Nonetheless the Japanese leadership at that time lead its human resource with strategic plan to catching up with richer countries in the west economy through modernization.
This was achieved through transfer of technology, infrastructure and R&D investment, financial and political ties, good governance and finally through nurturing professional training and potential industries. As result, Japan has become one of the top economies in the world with low inequality throughout its society.
Conversely, the history of Angola after the WWII was very different, the country received its independency from Portugal in 1975, like many countries in the South that were able to be independent since their European colonizers were not able to administrate its Colonies any longer. However instead of having a good leadership Angola has entered into a period of dictatorship and civil war, which left deep scars in the society and economic growth up to these days.
Today Angola has attracted inward investment from international companies who went to the country to extract and process its natural resources, however the income that these activities generate are not distribute among its citizens neither investment in infrastructure, education, job training and local industrial capacity improvement takes place.
Hence, historical authoritarian, corrupt and neglectful leadership, together with extractive activities that many multinationals conduct in the country, left Angola in a worst state than before in relation to its natural resource availability, absolute poverty and inequality.
The case of Angola is similar to many other countries which are rich in natural resources but at the same time repressely and unfairly administrated, holding political institutions that are after their own interest rather the common good for the country and society, making them entrapped into poverty.
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01 May 2012
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Patricia Perez Costa
IMSD /
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