Generally, there are broadly two economic worlds that cut across the globe: the Global North and the Global South. The Global North countries represented by Europe, North America, Australia, Israel, and South Africa are economically developed, technologically advanced, politically stable and aging as their societies tend towards zero population growth. The Global South countries signified by Africa, 51qc India, China, and Mexico seem to be the opposite of the North. The Global South countries are agrarian based and economically and politically dependent on the Global North countries. In summation, Global North has continued to dominate and direct the Global South in international trade and politics.
Economics is simply just the study of a process we find in all human societies –“the” economic problem which is the process of providing for the material and well-being of the society. According to Uroh, 1998, development is multidimensional; as such a precise definition of development is difficult to arrive at. Development has shifting, understood variously by different people at various times. Kegley and Wittkkopf (1999) explain development as the process which a country increases its capacity to meet its citizens basic human needs and raise their standard of living. In Nnoli’s study in 1981, it stated that development is a process leading to man’s progressive and quantitative self-improvement. Meanwhile, Irele sees development as the expanding and adaptive capacity of a society in satisfying the materials and cultural needs of its members. In summary of the definition stated above development can be defined as the point of continued advancement of man towards good living standards.
In the study of Lemuel Ekedegwa Odeh entitled “A Comparative Analysis of Global North and Global South Economies”, the development of the two economic world was examined using the four selected themes namely levels of productivity, population growth and dependency burdens, agricultural production, and exports and international relations.
In terms of levels of productivity, the Global South countries are at its low-lying pace. The deprivation in human development is also evident. In addition to this, Global South countries are characterized by low levels of labor productivity. The levels of labor productivity in terms of the output per worker are extremely low compared to those in the Global North countries. Strauss and Thomas (1998) argue that the low productivity of the workers may due to largely physical exhaustion and the physical and emotional inability to withstand the daily pressures of the competitive work. According to Dasgupta and Ray (1987) low productivity leads to low income which can leads to low capacity of moving forward towards to the so called development.
The population growth and dependency burden of Global South countries is highly comparable to the Global North countries. Both birth rates and death rates of the two economic worlds are strikingly different. The Global North, birth rates are very low with the order of 15-20 per 1, 000 population while the Global South has high birth rates which ranges from 30-40 per 1, 000 populations. According to the data from the World Development Indicators (2004), countries that have the highest birth rates ranging from 50-20 all belongs to the Global South countries. In accordance to the study of Dasgupta and Ray (1987), the overall dependency burdens represents only one-third of the population of the Global North and about 45%of the population of the Global South.
The agricultural productions of the Global South countries are high compared to the Global North because of the agrarian dependency of the global south. According to Todaro (2006) Global South countries are 65% rural based while the global north is only 27%. Also, 58% labor force of the global south countries are engaged in agricultural activities while the global north only has 50% of its labor force engaged in agriculture. Agriculture contributes for about 14% to the Global South Nations while only 3% to the Global North Nations. Todaro further explained that the Global South countries focused more on agriculture because of having low income which makes them to prioritize more on food, clothing, and shelter and lacks on technological advancement.
In terms of export and international relations, it is pretty visible that the Global South countries depend on the Global North Nations. There is an unequal strength because the Global North Nations is technologically advanced and producing a highly competitive workers.
In conclusion, over the years, the Global North Nations have been dominating the Global South countries in terms of technology, politics and productivity. The Global South Nations are striving to make its own way of development by prioritizing agricultural development. Both Economic worlds are aiming for a progression with sustainable development in order to sustain the needs of the future generations to come.
Reference:
Odeh, L. E. (2010). A Comparative analysis of Global North and Global South Economics. Volume 12, No.3, 2010, 338-348.
