bobandjudy said:
Hi. First, I thank everyone for your help to us since we arrived in the DR 18 months ago. I enjoy reading dr1.com's posts and I've learned much about the DR from you--keep up the good work!
You'll recall that this thread started with an article from Mirador's post, Why Poor Countries Are Poor, a graphic description of Cameroon's poverty and inefficiency. The book CULTURE MATTERS has a chapter written by Daniel Etounga-Manguelle from Cameroon called "Does Africa Need a Cultural Adjustment Program?" CULTURE MATTERS is a collection of essays edited by Lawrence Harrison (Basic Books, 2000) arguing how values shape human progress and determine economy.
Etounga-Manguelle argues that "right to privilege" (p 65), "little enthusiasm for work" due to "weak controls over uncertainty" (p 65), doing "nothing to prepare for the future" (p 66), and "a society in which magic and witchcraft flourish today is ... ruled by tension, fear, and moral disorder" (p.73) all work to undermine Cameroon's economy. Note that all are values-oriented (or lack of, if you prefer).
Mirador's article reminded me more of Haiti than the DR but encourages me to be 110% honest in all financial dealings as I can't encourage politicians to be ethical if I refuse to be.
Thanks to all for your time, Bob
Ever since I saw an advertisement of this book on the NY Times I have been interested in reading it, but have not had the chance to do so. However, I will purchase the book either today or tomorrow and read it through the weekend.
Although, culture appears to have an influence in economic development of nations, a Peruvian economist by the name of Hernando DeSoto (no, not the explorer
) published "The Other Path: The Economic Answer to Terrorism". Earlier this year I had the honor of attending a speech he was giving regarding the book.
“The Other Path” is an economics book that basically tries to find an answer as to why the developing world suffers the economic problems that developed nations seem to have mastered and also attempts to offer some legitimate ways of fixing these same problems. Among the many problems discussed, the issue of property rights is brought into question by DeSoto, with the assumption that if impoverished city dwellers in developing countries would have property rights, they would be able to improve their chances of achieving a more dignified standards of living and be included in the formal economies, as oppose to being pushed into the informal economy. The informal economy is another issue that is discussed in the book with the regard that informality in developing countries are due to over regulation by developing countries government and too much intervention by the public sector into the private sector. Albeit, it’s not entirely clear if the informal economies exist solely or primarily due to those realities of developing economies, the truth is that those reasons are not helping developing economies gain a winning step towards economic prosperity. DeSoto also tries to put a connection between global terrorism and global poverty in developing nations and attempts to present free market capitalism as the answer to both issues affecting the world, particularly poverty which is often revered as being the breeding ground for terrorist in the modern world. Part of the reasoning behind this notion is in DeSoto’s experience while looking into the guerrilla movement in Peru, which disintegrated greatly the moment free market capitalism began to take root, thus the idea of laissez fare capitalism quenching the growing desires of terrorism and alleviating poverty.
DeSoto's assumptions also expands on the notion that this will work in most societies, irrespective of cultural differences.
Another book that I greatly encourage all DR1ers to read, if they have an interest in economic development, is "The Birth of Plenty: How the Prosperity of the Modern World was Created" by William Berstein. Mr Bernstein takes a look on economic growth in the developed world in a historical context. He claims that in order for successful capitalism to take root, there must be four pillars fully imbedded within a society. These pillars are: 1. Property Rights (surprise surprise), 2. Scientific Rationalisation, 3. Capital Markets, and 4. Transportation and Communications. He insist that nations that wish to become successful simply will have to develop those institutions prior to seeing an increase in national wealth of note, because this is how all wealthy nations of the world have done this through the years.
I tend to agree more with Bernstein than DeSoto, primarily because Bernstein expands on more issues that relate to the economic inefficiencies of countries like the DR, but both are equitably interesting and on the mark as far as I am concerned.
-NALs
