Geography Affects Economic Dev

There are many countries in the world that are prosperous. Their economy is strong and their people enjoy the benefits that come from having a strong economy. Many countries, though, are not so fortunate. Their economies are weak and their people are considered to be the poorest in the world. Many of these countries are located below 20 degrees latitude. Indeed, the notion that a country’s geography determines its prosperity is very controversial. People from these countries are offended at such a connection because it seems racist and it undermines the notion of equal opportunity for all nations and individuals. What causes these countries to be less fortunate? What can policymakers and politicians do or promise if nothing can overcome geography? In this essay, we will examine why these countries do not seem to be able to become the economic powers that their northern counterparts have become.

Closing the income gap between the rich and the poor countries has been a goal of the international community for the last 50 years. This common goal has caused the creation of the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, the United Nat

Nations that are located far from a coastline are also usually poorer and have lower rates of economic growth than coastal countries. It has been reported that a country whose population is farther than 100 kilometers from the sea grows 0.6 percent slower per year than nations where the majority of the population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast (World Politics, pg.42). This means that most of the post-Soviet republics will have a difficult battle ahead of them because of their geographical disadvantage. One reason they are at a disadvantage is because water-based transportation is much more affordable than overland transportation. One recent study found that shipping goods over 1 kilometer of land is as costly as shipping those same goods over 7 kilometers of water (World Politics, pg.42). Shipping over water is often best suited for the bulky, low-value-added goods that developing countries tend to produce. This causes the countries that are not accessible by water to be shut out of many potentially high profit global markets. The result of this geographical hindrance is that many of these countries cannot compete with other coastal countries making the same kinds of goods. Land transportation is also very costly for landlocked countries if their products need to cross borders, which has become a much more costly hurdle than originally thought. Not only do companies have to worry about the initial transportation costs, they also have to worry about duties, taxes, and other fees assessed from crossing into another country. For example, shipping a standard container from Baltimore to the Ivory Coast costs about $3,000, while sending that same container to the landlocked Central African Republic costs $13,000 (World Politics, pg.43). A company trying to make a profit is not going to spend $10,000 more to ship to a landlocked country.

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