Comparative Politics Final Exam : Why Are Some Countries Wealthier Than Others?

The view that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer has been heard repeatedly in reference to America’s income inequality. Though ironic, it comes as no surprise that America, a continent that easily trumps other countries in terms of wealth would be affected by the issue of poverty at such high levels. While much has said regarding the poverty levels, many economists, educators and scholars feel that the income inequality in America may be the reason why it is difficult to live and maintain a middle class lifestyle or to rise out of poverty into the middle class in the current economic state. With this in mind, the only way America, has a chance of lessening or eliminating poverty altogether is by understanding how it exists.

Poverty is an issue that has affected society since civilization was first created. Even with a globalized economy and economic opportunity prevalent nearly everywhere, there is still a vast majority of people who live in financial strain. According to recent information obtained by the World Bank, “10.7% of the world’s population live on less than US $1.90 a day”(World Bank 2013). In the United States considered the wealthiest nation on Earth, the poverty rate is 12.7% which is 40.6 million people(US Census Bureau 2016). Though some people are in poverty because of their own choices, poverty is a result of structural institutional practices in place.

It is crazy to hear that the top richest people in this world have the same wealth as the poorest 3 billion people in this world. Even though rich countries are giving aid to poor countries, the huge gap difference between their wealth is due to large corporations form rich countries taking more money from poor countries, and this really explains a lot why poor country never have the chance to actually thrive. The thought that poor people should be able to come up from where they came from, which is a thought in many people's minds, especially those who have money, isn't all that simple.

No country in this globe can escape from wealth inequality. Never and ever. Even, America – The land of opportunity and the first economy of the world. While the nation is striving towards achieving its dream, it is faced with the problem of wealth gap among the low, middle, and upper classes of the society. Wealth inequality is a phenomenon or a social event of the difference in money and other assets which individuals can accumulate. For some people, no more land of opportunity and the existing wealth gap is a result of unequal opportunity. However, I and others argue the nation is still a land of opportunity, but with some challenges to overcome. Furthermore, I and some firmly believe that the wealthiest people at the top are the achievers

Over 20 percent of the global population live in unsustainable impoverished conditions, surviving on less than a dollar a day, with approximately 50 percent living on less than two dollars. Over 2 ½ billion people have a 10% infant mortality rate versus the 0.006% of infant deaths in developed countries. As conditions worsen the poor-rich gap widens through progressive decades, reaching an average per capita income of 74:1 in 1997.1 A debate has emerged as the whether developed countries possess a duty to ameliorate the living condition of the global poor and on what grounds said duty is justified.

Poverty has been an inevitably critical root of this world that it revealing ubiquitously, even in those prosperous nations, the United States would be the best noteworthy example to speak openly. Perhaps surprisingly, the overall performance of the America supports for economy does not put in words the nation’s incapacity to gain improvement against poverty. Why, with the flourishing financially, is the nation not able to make it against poverty? From an eyes of the foreigner, there are three forces that are widely reflected to shape poverty degree: Moneyless resources, lack of affordable housing and medical expense.

Human development is majorly concerned with what the state government is doing to make its citizens transform their environment to a productive and creative atmosphere, which can make them acquire all their needs and interests. People are the real wealth of any given nation, therefore if people are rich, the nation is rich. The theme of “The rich continue becoming rich and the poor continue becoming poor” has continued to gain a considerable rise among most American citizens (UN, 2010). This paper will addresss some of the reasons why citizens of the United States of America have disparities in acquiring wealth. It also shows how most of the American has continued living in a low-income life and how the government has continuously ignored their plea. Including the futile attempts the government is putting in place to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor as well.

There are many factors at play in determining whether a nation is rich or poor. Geography is one of them. Some nations are lucky to be located in places with rich oil deposits, others are in key locations along important shipping lanes whilst some are land locked or have very little natural resources.

Throughout the world, many countries have found a way or a (niche) to which they (the country) can profit from global trade (import and export). This particular niche could be a multitude of things such as manufacturing (machining metals or developing electrical components) or agriculture (raising animals or growing plants) or raw minerals (metal ore or oil). Some countries are capable of doing almost all things listed above, but not all countries are capable of this. Which leads to my point, that some countries are setup better, whether it be land, technology, or the raw materials which lead to a thriving economy. Another variable for which the countries well-being can be affected is how that country’s government is setup (republic-democracy, communism, etc). Many will say that the United States is a rich country; however, I would have to completely disagree. For example, the national

We're Experiencing the Greatest Reshuffling of Income Since the Industrial Revolution. Globally, in 2012 the world’s 100 richest people gained $241 billion to reach a net worth of $1.9 trillion. This figure nearly matches the entire output of the United Kingdom. While it is true that the nine-tenths of the planet’s richest 1% live in the Global North, such vast differences in wealth are not exclusively American or British problems. Notwithstanding Brazil’s, South Africa’s and Nigeria’s growth, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa remain the most unequal regions in the world. In East Asia, overall inequality has improved, in part because of China’s increases in prosperity. But China’s inequality is only slightly lower than the US and, by

One can easily identify the fact that poverty is generally considered as one among the most serious problems in human life. But the mainstream society provides less importance to this serious problem because human life did undergo transformation from empathy to disinterestedness. The western nations are comparatively safe from poverty and related issues, but the third-world nations are under the threat of the same. The problems related to global poverty is unimaginable because it forces human beings to do anything, just for survival. Still, world nations, especially the developed nations, can play the most important role in alleviating poverty from the world. Thesis statement: Global poverty, the most serious problem faced by humanity primarily

The problem of poverty has always plagued the world, including developed countries, such as America. It is one of the main reasons that less developed countries have difficulty developing at the pace of other countries. Many different actions can cause poverty. Most people have different opinions on why poverty still exists. “Nearly equal portions of the public in advanced, emerging, and developing countries, cite the gap between the rich and the poor as a very big problem. And notably, it is the leading economic concern in the eyes of people in major economies such as China and Germany, at 42 and 39 percent, respectively, according to the new Pew Research survey. A global median of 29 percent say their government’s actions are to blame for inequality, making it the leading cause cited. People in advanced economies, in particular, believe that their governments are responsible for the rich getting richer and equally culpable for the poor becoming relatively poorer. A median of 32 percent in those nations blame government, three times the percentage that cite the failings of their educational system and double the share who blame their tax system” (Stokes). Some people that are wealthy are also greedy. Although they control a large amount of wealth, they are unwilling to share it. Although it should not be the responsibility of wealthy people to support people in poverty, it would be helpful to the advancement of society. Another contributing reason that poverty exists is

The questions are raised as what and how the wealth is distributed or allocated among societies. Countries with similar average incomes can differ substantially when it comes to people’s quality of life such as social justice, access to education and health care, job opportunities, availability of clean air and safe drinking water, the threat of crime, freedom of speech, life expectancy, birth-death control, identity, culture, conservation, equal opportunities, environmental change. Development is important as it covers a wide range process involving cultural, economic, environmental, political, social and technological change of a country. Regarding goals and means of development, recent United Nations documents emphasize on human development measured by life expectancy, adult literacy, access to all three levels of education as well as people‘s average income which is a necessary condition of their freedom of choice. In other words, human development incorporates all aspects of individuals’ well -being from their health status to their economic and political freedom. The Human Development Report 1996 of UNDP focuses on development as the end and economic growth a

In the Acemeglu, Johnson and Robinson article, “Institutions as a Fundamental Cause of Long Term Growth”, the authors emphasize how institutions are the main determinant of economic development because stronger institutions allow for more growth in education, security, and health. To observe whether strong institutions determine economic growth it is important to mention the characteristics of a strong institution that allows for fast growth. Strong institutions are able to enforce property rights, a fair judiciary, efficient bureaucracies, intellectual property rights, corporation government bankruptcy laws, and democracy (e.g. “(Lecture 13)”). Going in depth

This research also shows that economic growth, on average, raises incomes for both the rich and the poor. It helps to lift the poorest in society out of absolute poverty and does not automatically increase inequality. More importantly, no country has managed to lift itself out of poverty without integrating into the global economy.