3/1 Gov

Front 1

What are the problems and solutions of the WTO?

Back 1

- The difficulty of cracking down on non-tariff barriers
- Domestic groups are hurt by free trade
- Specific policies on the lowering of non-tariff barriers actually restricts the freedom of countries in deciding whether a product is safe
- Might promote bad labor conditions in developing countries
- Bad for environment
- New enforcement mechanisms

Front 2

How can one view the current downward trends of absolute poverty in the world?

Back 2

- Most of this downturn in poverty comes from China's economic upturn
- Excluding China, the absolute number of people who are living in poverty has gone up, even though the percentage is slightly down.

Front 3

How can we characterize the world in terms of poverty between 1820 and the present?

Back 3

- The gap between the rich and the poor has grown
- However, the world has become a better place to live.
- Growth, however, is accelerating in the developed world while stagnant in the developing world
- The rich are getting richer

Front 4

Why is the developing world not developing?

Back 4

- All the poor countries of the world are located in areas that don't have access to major markets: these landlocked countries have not felt the benefits of globalization, because they cannot receive the benefits of the betterment of water transportation
- Location in the tropics (dealing with poor soil, needing more expensive agricultural technology, diseases)

Front 5

Why can't the landlocked, tropical countries just invest in infrastructure?

Back 5

- You need to depend on other countries to make your own investments work, which contributes to the collective action problem

Front 6

How has colonialism played a role in the stagnancy of economic growth in developing countries?

Back 6

- Illogical borders (many different ethnic groups are stuck in one country; once the colonists left, these countries descended into civil war)
- Even if there were no civil wars, there are many cultures and langauges stuck within one nation: this can pose a problem to conducting business
- Disadvantageous economic structures that colonists left behind

Front 7

Please describe the disadvantageous economic structures that colonialists left behind

Back 7

- All the training went to the whites
- Infrastructure was based all around the export of raw materials
- Dependence on these materials is not good, because the prices fluctuate
- Also infrastructure was not connected to major population centers; only from the source of raw material to the coast

Front 8

How do economic policies of the developed world hurt the developing world?

Back 8

- Not enough foreign aid
- Not enough economic openness
- Too much economic openness

Front 9

What is the problem with foreign aid?

Back 9

- Ineffective
- Sometimes foreign aid could probably even worsen the situation (debatable)

Front 10

Please describe economic openness in terms of affecting the developing world

Back 10

- Not enough: WTO allows high tariffs on agricultural goods, which Africa produces well; institutionalizes this inequality
- Too much: Forces developing economies to open up too quickly; money flows out of these countries too quickly. Free trade economists say it's okay as long as these countries produce what they produce best. But this might force them into low wage environments, and does not let them progress in other ways

Front 11

What are some miscellaneous conditions that prevent growth in the developing world?

Back 11

- Culture
- Corruption
- Political Instability
- Lack of Democracy