Why South-Asian region not developed, yet?
The South-Asian region compromises 28.4% of the world’s population (1.94 Billion) and covers about 3.5% of the world’s land surface area (5.2 million km²) and has so much geographical importance. The region holds one-fourth of the world’s population and is the most densely populated geographical region, facing real political, economic, and social problems.
The most influencing reason or among other reasons behind not being a developed nation, i.e. mass poverty, poor management, and a massive population. These are man-made issues means due by economic planners and have serious consequences for the South Asian region.
1- Poverty is a Human-made phenomenon
One of the most, major hurdles on the road to becoming this region developed is mass poverty. More than 33% of people living in extreme poverty globally reside in South Asia. As, poverty is a Human-made phenomenon, same as human-created wealth the negative aspect of getting wealth is creating poverty.
“Poverty is not an accident, like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of Human beings…” -Nelson Mandela
Poor Policymaking led to Mass Poverty
Poor Policymaking is also a major human-made mistake that led to mass poverty. Due to poor policymaking in the South Asian region countries, there is a huge-class difference. The major policy failure, (which I consider) is “growth with injustice”. Dr. Mehboob ul Haq in his famous writing “Poverty Curtain: the choice of Third World (1976)” describes economic planners of developing countries made a serious mistake while planning in his writing he mentioned that planners give more attention to economic development and undermine or forget the social objective of development i.e. eradicating poverty and ensuring the social justice. Due to giving much more devotion to the growth rate in the GNP (Gross National Product), bring along by rosing disparities in personal and national income as well as regional income. This led to mass poverty which hindered the way to becoming developed.
Another major policy failure is “Neglect of Human resources”. Dr. Mehboob-ul-Haq describes in his writing, that the economic planners of these South Asian states pay little or un-seen able investment in the development of Human resources, which ultimate way to eradicate poverty and use such assets in way of progress.
Extractive State-Institution
The Extractive State- Institution is the major reason which gave birth to Poverty and also cause the lack of development, as Dr. Acemoglu and J. Robinson quoted in the famous book Why Nation Fails. Most, South Asian countries got independence from imperial power Britain-which to build such institutions for the sake of its imperial desires. And as the authors state in the book, history is evident that such extractive institutions play a critical role in explaining economic growth and stability, along with creating a rich and poor gap. By their logic must create wealth that can be extracted.
As, Extractive institutions are those that extract resources and wealth from the population for the benefit of a few individuals or groups, rather than creating a level playing field where all individuals can compete and innovate. Also that the extractive institutions are self-enforcing.
2- Poor Management or Maladministration
The utmost hurdle in the way of development of the South-Asian region is “Poor management” or “Maladministration”. The economic and political institutions are poorly administrated or doing such mistakes which result in this region not, yet, developed.
“Maladministration is the enemy of development, progress, and prosperity.” — John Dramani Mahama
Investment Illusion
Maladministration of the economic sector is an “Investment illusion”, as Dr. Mehbub ul Haq in “Seven Sins of Economic Planners” enlists it. As capital formation is the heart of development, so economic planners in developing states are concerned with investment rates and try to increase them. For them, it matters less what the investment is and (where and) how much productive it is, and however the investment goes in human resources. Every time planners prefer more investments and use in new projects, rather than getting commodity aid and boosting existing institutions to make them more productive. This creates administrative failure and planning failure.
Development Fashions
The planners tend to follow global fashions and fashionable prescriptions introduced by developed countries to get more investment from donor countries. As they become victims so, constant shifts in development strategy and not working on their system and their unique characteristics, lead to nowhere.
The political aspect of maladministration is weak law and order situation, increased crime rate, and lack of National consolidation. In the South Asian region, the law and order situation due to fragile institutions and social injustice are not suitable, along with it there is a lack of National Consolidation also creates problems.
3. Population
One more is the massive population-as from the economic and social point of view the high population growth in South Asia has slowed down economic growth, increased foreign trade imbalance, and worsened poverty. It also (area’s) overburdened the area’s educational system.
Population growth (annual %) in South Asia is 1.14% and comprises of 24.9% of the world’s population.
“Unchecked population growth is the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about.” — Al Gore
Illiteracy
The reason behind such excessive growth in population is illiteracy, and such topic of short families & considering the subject as Taboo and along with it have less sense of planning system-
Fraudulent Census
There is (no accurate number) biased or fraudulent census population, so not having accurate numbers which also hinders in way of uplifting them. Along with it, there is utilization Female gender which is 48.3%. of the total population of the South Asian region Females are largely excluded! decision-making shave limited access to and control over resources and studies show only around 1 out of 4 women in South Asia participate in the labor force, ultimately they become a liability.
Neglect of Human Resources
Human forces are not smartly utilized. However, in the last decades, the literacy rate increased from 46% to 68% but such are not fit in the system due to Western-liberal education and are not equipped with practical skills. Along with the best, this region has not remained there, the Western world through, the brain drain swept up there. Also, a major portion of the population is left undeveloped due to which countries remain left out in the world’s race.
“Development is not about factories, dams, and roads. Development is about people. The goal is material, cultural and spiritual fulfillment for the people. The human factor is of supreme value in development.” —Julius Nyerere
Comparative Analysis and Seven Sins of Economic Planners
The comparative analyses show all countries of South Asia done mistakes in economic planning, particularly Dr. Mehboob-ul-Haq’s finest writing Poverty Curtain Choice for a third world which entails “Seven Sins of Economic Planners” which validate the seen their way in these Countries and assumptions that describe blunders that hindered progress.
Numbers Game
As setting a Bhutanese Government expected that the current account deficit will moderate to 7.7% of GDP in FY 2021-But, In FY 2022 current account deficit of 10.4% of to some political changes and not having enough data. This shows as well many other examples from Pakistan, the economic planners are so much obsessed with numbers rather than ground realities.
Growth without Justice
The other example of Growth without justice from India. In 1979 Sardar Sarovar Dam was and in 1990 construction of the “The Burgi Dam” was in Madhya Pradesh, India. As, these projects Economic development, resulted in the massive displacement of local indigenous. Both dams collectively made 50 million people homeless and they were not better compensated.
Neglect of Human Resources
If we make a glance that the neglect of human resources also hinders economic growth-As Bangladesh in the last decade utilized its man force appropriately while creating easiness to work in Industries and also by giving them skills. Now, according to 2019, Freelancing rating Bangladesh is fastly growing online market and seller with the contribution of 29% of world freelancers. and position Yearly giving Bangladesh a turnover of 22–27 million US dollars. So, each country has to put resources into human capital.
Development Fashions
South Asian countries are also affected by the damp squib or debacle of planning and implementation. Seeing that, Sri Lanka where a country humping with economic disruption. The planners made serious mistakes (whether due to foreign currency shortage), and the authority banned imports of chemical fertilizer, which means tried to combat climate adversities. And instruct them to use locally sourced organic fertilizers instead. This led to widespread crop failure. Such poor policies without seeing ground realities led to disrupting economic growth.
Excessive Control
Likewise, most of the underdeveloped countries “Nepal” has a planned economy, and economic activities are controlled. By, “The Act of 1964- “Restricting Investment Abroad” which prohibits Nepalese from investing abroad, adds up with high-value imports, and a highly regulative market also hinders progress toward growth. Also, take measures to control the economy which also limits economic growth.
Investment Illusion
Investment Illusion is one of the reasons why countries can’t develop. In countries like Pakistan, the economic planner to get new investments to abandon previous projects and starts new one which results in an investment illusion. Seeing that in 1987 PM Muhammad Khan Junejo’s “Apni Basti”, later PM Nawaz Sharif launched a Housing scheme named “Mera Ghar” and after that PM Imran Khan launched the “Apna Ghar” housing scheme. So, every new government abandons formerly initiated policies and programs and starts new ones to increase the vote bank and for publicity.
Recommendations
As Gary Shapiro said, “It’s important to not only identify the problems but also to offer actionable solutions that can drive meaningful change". Several recommendations could be made to uplift South Asian development. The following will help South Asian countries to improve their conditions:
Invest in education
Education is a key factor in driving development. Governments should invest in education to ensure that children have access to quality education and that they are equipped with the skills they need to succeed in the workforce.
Encourage entrepreneurship and Improve infrastructure
Encouraging entrepreneurship can help to create jobs, spur innovation, and drive economic growth. Governments should create policies that support entrepreneurs and provide them with the resources they need to start and grow businesses.
Improving infrastructure, including transportation, energy, and telecommunications, can help to connect people and businesses, and drive economic growth.
Address inequality and
Inequality is a major challenge in South Asia, and addressing it should be a priority. Governments should create policies that promote social inclusion, reduce poverty, and ensure that everyone has access to basic services.
Good governance is essential for development, and South Asian countries should prioritize it. Governments should create transparent and accountable institutions, promote the rule of law, and combat corruption
Address climate change
Climate change is a major threat to development in South Asia, and addressing it should be a priority. Governments should create policies and cooperate with regional powers that promote renewable energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change.
Strengthen regional cooperation
South Asian countries should work together to promote regional cooperation, trade, and investment. This could include creating regional infrastructure projects, promoting cross-border trade, and harmonizing regulations and standards.
Conclusion
While both human actions and natural factors can contribute to the development and underdevelopment of a country and also a region, it is clear that many of the social, economic, and political factors that shape these phenomena are human-made. So, the role of economic planners is to create policies that promote sustainable economic growth and development means all the development of countries lies in hands of economic planner and their effective planning. The economic planners and their planning in South Asia are not related to ground realities and are driven by extractive motives which led to underdevelopment.
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The writer is Muhammad Ismail Qaddus, a student of International Relations. Also a freelancer, content writer, and copywriter.
