A GROWING GAP

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27307, 6 February 1950, Page 4

A GROWING GAP

Economic Development Old And Modern Countries “ One of the most alarming aspects of our modern world is the wide and growing gap between the economically advanced countries and those that are less developed,” said Mr E. J. Riches, economic adviser to the International Labo r Office, in a broadcast address iii.a nignt. “If, instead of being born ,n i,,ew Zealand, you had started life ,n one of tnose great areas of the wei'ij where techniques of production nave hardly enanged in a _ thousand \ VM.is.your expectation of life would ~ave Lee.i only half as long, and the a.e.age income you could expect to earn wouiu lie omy one-tenth or oneas great as it is in New Zealand. “ This great gap between unprecedented wealth in a few countries and 'grinding poverty in most of the others is a basic source of economic and social instaoiiity m the world. The more ’• advanced countries, by reason of their very progress, are in a position to push ahead more rapidly than the retarded ones. Their higher levels of output and better economic organisation make it easier for them-to accumulate capital for further development and to direct it into productive channels. The existence of highly-developed industry and agriculture automatically provides the best kind of training for managers, technicians, and skilled workers, and each technical advance helps to stimu- ■ late further inventions. The under- . 7 developed areas thus tend to fall farther and farther behind, and they are likely to continue to do so unless ef- ‘ fective measures are taken to bring them the benefits of modern science and technology. " "The people in the less developed areas are becoming increasingly aware of the disparity between their condition and that of the economically advanced countries, and this awareness is a basic source of international unrest,” Mr Riches said. “It is worth stressing that capital is a factor of fundamental importance. You cannot do much with technical knowledge and skill alone: you must have the necessary tools and the power to run them. If the under-developed countries are to make real progress they must raise their own rate of • capital formation; and they must be ■ ■ able to draw to some extent on the ' accumulated capital resources of the >. more advanced countries. - 1 "The United Nations and the various Specialised Agencies have supplied the under-developed countries with information and advice • about modern production techniques .' that are best suited to their special needs and conditions, and by training their experts fo apply these techniques, this programme can speed up both capital .formation and the production of urgently needed consumers’ goods. 9 - “ The possibilities for increasing proC duction in this way are remarkable. It is conservatively estimated, for example, that yields ,in 'rice-pr6ducing countries could be increased by , 10 per cent, if the best varieties of rice were generally utilised; that the introduction of high-grade varieties of , com (maize) would add 20 or 30 per cent, to present crops; and that selective breeding could increase world' livje-stock production by 25 per cent, in] 10 years. "It is a prime objective of economic ; development to improve the conditions of life and labour of working men . and women,” Mr Riches concluded. “Unless these conditions are clearly being improved, the sense of exploita- : tion, so widely prevalent and so dangerous to world peace, will be heightened rather than removed, and -will present a fertile ground for political agitation, internal instability and external recrimination. , Moreover, unless labour and social standards are raised, the full benefits expected from •new equipment and improved methods of production will not, in fact, be tealised.”