4 ms·

Perhaps one thing to say is that not that many countries developed in general in the last hundred years or so, depending on how you count them. It seems there i

Perhaps one thing to say is that not that many countries developed in general in the last hundred years or so, depending on how you count them. It seems there isn’t really an easy path to development and many African countries started a very poor quite recently without the smoothest transition out of colonialism. You might count a few Caribbean countries for your initial question, eg the Bahamas is 90% black and has similar per-capita gdp to Poland (a lower hdi though). But maybe it’s easier to be this developed if you’re a small country (population 400k).

wonderwonder 4y ago
The Bahamas is successful essentially because it's a subsidiary of the US. With 80% of it's economy based on tourism and most of the rest on financial services for people that want lee way. If cruise ships stopped going there the island would collapse in a few months.
- opportune 4y ago
  There is tourism in Africa and there could potentially be a lot more of it, if there were more infrastructure and less social/political problems. It’s not that hard for me to get to Dakar or Windhoek as it is, and I could certainly see myself enjoying those destinations if there were more to do
- thinkingemote 4y ago
  Cruise ships stopped during the recent pandemic. Did it collapse? I imagine it suffered, but do we know what happened?
  - wonderwonder 4y ago
    That is a good point. Their GDP is 11.2 billion. Their losses during Covid are estimated at $7.9 billion. They did survive. https://www.iadb.org/en/news/covid-19-effects-and-impacts-bahamas-estimated-95-billion#:~:text=Most%20losses%20due%20to%20COVID,the%20fall%20in%20stopover%20visitors https://www.iadb.org/en/news/covid-19-effects-and-impacts-ba....
maeil 4y ago
Devil's Advocate - in 1954, South Korea was at least as poor as most of Sub-Saharan Africa, if not poorer.
- singleshot_ 4y ago
  Singapore
- dredmorbius 4y ago
  South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan were benefited hugely by becoming significant considerations within the US Cold War calculus against both the Soviet Union and China. There was both direct engagement through defence spending and presence, as well as policy designed to specifically encourage trade relations with the US and Europe. That hit critical mass in the 1960s (Japan) and 1970s/80s (Korea). All three regions were otherwise strongly unified culturally had had relatively little history of colonisation (arguably less so for Korea, which had in fact been occupied by Japan, than Japan or Taiwan).
- dan-robertson 4y ago
  I don’t understand what your argument is? I’m not denying that other countries developed but my (admittedly very poor) understanding of development economics is that there are some vague theories of ways that countries might develop but many attempts to develop have been stymied in practice in different ways in different countries in different places all around the world.

wonderwonder 4y ago

The Bahamas is successful essentially because it's a subsidiary of the US. With 80% of it's economy based on tourism and most of the rest on financial services for people that want lee way. If cruise ships stopped going there the island would collapse in a few months.

opportune 4y ago
There is tourism in Africa and there could potentially be a lot more of it, if there were more infrastructure and less social/political problems. It’s not that hard for me to get to Dakar or Windhoek as it is, and I could certainly see myself enjoying those destinations if there were more to do
thinkingemote 4y ago
Cruise ships stopped during the recent pandemic. Did it collapse? I imagine it suffered, but do we know what happened?
- wonderwonder 4y ago
  That is a good point. Their GDP is 11.2 billion. Their losses during Covid are estimated at $7.9 billion. They did survive. https://www.iadb.org/en/news/covid-19-effects-and-impacts-bahamas-estimated-95-billion#:~:text=Most%20losses%20due%20to%20COVID,the%20fall%20in%20stopover%20visitors https://www.iadb.org/en/news/covid-19-effects-and-impacts-ba....

maeil 4y ago

Devil's Advocate - in 1954, South Korea was at least as poor as most of Sub-Saharan Africa, if not poorer.

singleshot_ 4y ago
Singapore
dredmorbius 4y ago
South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan were benefited hugely by becoming significant considerations within the US Cold War calculus against both the Soviet Union and China. There was both direct engagement through defence spending and presence, as well as policy designed to specifically encourage trade relations with the US and Europe. That hit critical mass in the 1960s (Japan) and 1970s/80s (Korea). All three regions were otherwise strongly unified culturally had had relatively little history of colonisation (arguably less so for Korea, which had in fact been occupied by Japan, than Japan or Taiwan).
dan-robertson 4y ago
I don’t understand what your argument is? I’m not denying that other countries developed but my (admittedly very poor) understanding of development economics is that there are some vague theories of ways that countries might develop but many attempts to develop have been stymied in practice in different ways in different countries in different places all around the world.