Geography Question...
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I've been wondering...can anyone explain why some countries are poor and some are rich? What does it depend on? And I'd also appreciate if you could explain situations for some particluar countries. E.g, Finland in contrast to Romania, Germany in contrast to Poland, Japan in contrast to Nepal, etcetera...
PS. This isn't for homework! :p
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Lots of stuff matters. History, access to resources etc..
For some examples:
Germany has the best economy of Europe because after the crash and hyperinflation caused by the massive reperations that had to be payed due to the treaty of Versailles, Germany began being very careful about its economy. When the nazis came and left, the allies begun a plan to revive Western Germany and Berlin, which worked because it was in the sphere of influence of the Allies. The fact that it has access to plenty of coal, uranium and other stuff also helps.Poland was for much of history a battleground for other major powers and in the few years of peace it prospered, but after WW2 it fell in the sphere of influence of the battered soviets, who could not afford to rebuild Poland like the allies rebuilt Germany, because they had to focus more on reparing the pretty much wrecked Soviet Union. After years of communism and oppresive governments, Poland began to prosper and grow.
Finland enjoyed peace after breaking away from Russia and after expelling the invasion of the Soviets, also spared themselves the trouble of war. They also managed to agree on peace with the Russians before they could enter Finland and destroy everything. Once WW2 was over, Finland was pretty unharmed compared to other countries and after enjoying good relations with the west in the cold war, managed to become the nation that it is today.
Romania on the other hand was a lot like Poland, being the battleground of the Austrians, the Ottomans and the Russians for a good period of its history. Romania made the poor decision to ally with the Axis in WW2 and furthermore, was caught in the Iron Curtain. Oppresive leaders didn't help either, and because of one leader called Caucescu, we didn't have a peaceful breakaway from the USSR like others. But, on the way, we broke away and began having far better relations with the west.
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There are many factors that make certain countries an economic powerhouse for the world. These are usually resources, location, and economic system.
Each of these three, in combination sometimes, effects how a they will be able to trade with other countries. If you notice where developed countries are situated, the majority of those are near water. That was due to the fact water provides a trade route by sea. Most cargo is shipped across the ocean to this day. It's cheaper in terms of volume and the ability to accept that cargo at ports is plentiful. While location may not have a huge factor in some situations (Switzerland), it does add to how they grow economically.
Resources are another important factor to economic prosperity. This one should be quite obvious in most cases. If a country has lots of oil, gold, or timer (ancient times they depended upon the timber industry for ships and other necessary goods), it will likely have a strategic advantage in trading if those goods are sought after by everyone else. This demand for goods can be shown by historical events such as the rise of automobiles and aircraft. Due to this rise of fissile fuelled machines, the demand for a now useful crude oil rose dramatically. Thus middle eastern countries gained their economic advantage from their now in demand goods.
Economic systems basically cover the rest of whatever other countries are not strategically located or have tons of demanded resources. In general if the economics of a country allow for opportunity by people or corporations, it is likely to grow much quicker than a country without a developed economic system. The United States at some points had given people and companies equal opportunities for expanding through loans and other methods of getting a jumpstart in the economy.
As mentioned earlier, Switzerland is not strategically located for trade nor does it have valuable resources anymore (last gold mine closed years ago). Instead it is economically viable through the laws that allow business to go on more easily. They have lots of gold reserves considering the fact their laws make it much easier for gold trade to occur at a more competitive rate.
Education and many other government subsidized programs also fall under the economic system umbrella. While a country with a more developed education system is likely to have a high GDP per capita, a lesser developed education system in another country will have a lower GDP per capita. In general the European Union has been taking actions to equalize education across the board.
Source: I have a minor in Economics.
Edited once by Lockheedmartin. Last: 22nd May 2015 -
Resources aren't important if the government is too incompetent to extract and sell them. Most of the poorest countries in the world have some of the most resources. (Kyrgystan- poorest country in the former soviet block, lots of gold; Democratic Republic of Congo- the most resource-rich country in Africa, yet a very large poverty rate, Venezuela- a country filled with oil, yet also embrawled in poverty and civil conflict etc..)
Edited 2 times by HitlerSucks. Last: 22nd May 2015 -
Exactly. If they have a terrible economic system of managing how those resources are utilized, then it will not have as good of an economy. Africa countries are rich in resources such as minerals, metals, and oil, but the economic system is not making the whole country sustainable.
Edited once by Lockheedmartin. Last: 22nd May 2015 -
So as a conclusion we could say that one country's economy will depend on its relations with others via trade and other methods. Perhaps if those countries which @HitlerSucks mentioned bothered to ask for help to extract those resources, maybe they would not be as poor as they are.
Another way I thought could influence a country's economy is if there is little amount of money in circulation and a lot of resources, (which means that the currency gets more value due to the fact that resources are abundant and common), or if there are less resources in comparison to money.
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Also Finland did not enter WW1 also that's why it wasn't really affected, during the world depression during the 30's and early 40's. Entering a war can also affect your economic growth. Germany didn't pay off its until 2010 from WW1 and WW2. Education also can affect economics. In the United States we count everyones testing scores. Some countries only count the 79-100% scores on test.
Edited 2 times by NUCLEAR_FOX. Last: 23rd May 2015 -
Finland didn't enter WW1 because it was part of Russia back then...
Also, as much as we don't like to admit it, the more diverse a country is, the more likely it is to face civil conflict. Most conflicts come from different political views, religious views or ethnicities, since not all people are understanding of others' beliefs (and sadly, a lot of these types of people have access to power). (that's why we should all become robots)
Edited once by HitlerSucks. Last: 23rd May 2015 -
My bad.
Although the countries that remained neutral during, both wars had a lot of economic growth.
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Yes, conflict is a sign that two or more opinions exist, not only in humans. For example, if you see two cats fighting you can tell that one cat wants one thing and the other wants something else. Conflict isn't always violent; it can be formal discussions.
I also have two more queries.
1. Almaty is the biggest city in Kazakhstan and is located south close to the mountains. I think it houses so much people because like HitlerSucks mentioned earlier Kyrgyzstan is very mineral rich. It is also almost all at high altitudes. I am going to presume that lots of people move to Almaty because it has a lot of jobs and industry - people may go outside and work in the mountains. Who agrees?
2. For how long exactly were countries like Finland, Belarus, Ukraine, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan absorbed into Russia? Was it forever? Or were they invaded?
