Introduction
Economic development can be described and referred to as a multidimensional process. In this case, it revolves around change to a more desirable nation from its previous state. As a matter of fact, economic development is supposed to reduce poverty and ensure that the welfare indicators have been improved and enhanced upon.
Global poverty has been the main concern of economic development because it is supposed to be eradicated. The main focus has been on the reduction of inequalities in the society with an aim of improving living standards. The issue of economic development has become and remained controversial because of various reasons.
In this case, there have been a lot of conflicts of interest from various nations that has ended up complicating the situation. This means that as much as everybody wants to see a developed world, it will depend on how the issue is approached to avoid controversies that have been witnessed (Sheffrin 2003, p. 12). As far as economic development is concerned, this can be pegged down to specific aspects like debt, debt relief, North south conflict and others.
Discussion
The World Bank has always been referred to as the world’s multilateral development agency. In this case, it is supposed to give poor countries some loans at an affordable interest rate. As a matter of fact, this is supposed to be at zero rates with an aim of moving these countries out of poverty.
All in all, this has been the main bone of contention because the bank has been focused on repayment instead of moving people out of poverty. The resources that the bank has been advancing to poor countries have been termed as insufficient and this is an issue that needs to be looked at. The World Bank has not been effective in reducing poverty with its programs and that is why there is a lot of controversy (Lucas 1988, p. 23).
Debt and debt relief is another issue that has brought a lot of controversies as far as economic development is concerned despite getting universal acceptance. The IMF and other advanced countries provide relief to poor countries. This debt relief is supposed to lift poor countries from poverty but this has not been achieved.
All in all, this debt program has been skewed because it lays more attention on repayment rather than reducing poverty in those countries. This means that debt relives are supposed to enhance economic development in poor countries which has not been achieved. As a matter of act, the indebtedness of eligible countries has been the main focus instead of looking at economic development. The issue of debt and debt relief is therefore a very controversial aspect based on various issues like how much money is supposed to be advanced and on what basis (Sheffrin 2003, p. 34).
The North South conflict is another issue that defines the political economy. In this case, there is an argument that the IMF and World Bank are controlled by developed nations. As a matter of fact, the conflict has arisen because of disparity in incomes that is supposed to be sorted out.
This means that the rich north has been accused of polarizing the south which is poor. The gap between the rich and poor countries has been increasing instead of reducing and this does not augur well for economic development (Galor 2005, p. 45). World prosperity can benefit everybody but this will depend on good relations between the North and South.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that everybody seems to be in agreement that the world should be developed. As much as this is a fact, there should be efforts to eliminate any controversies and problems that might make this an impossible mission. This means that there should be no suspicion that will define the way nations deal with each other.
In this case, rich countries should be helpful to poor countries through good bilateral trade. Globalization should be enhanced through good ideologies that will be agreed upon unilaterally (Foley 1999, p. 27). It should be known that global imbalances can be done away with through a good and effective coalition of conscience.
Reference List
Foley, D., 1999. Growth and Distribution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Galor, O., 2005. From Stagnation to Growth: Unified Growth Theory. New York: Addison Wesley.
Lucas, R.E., 1988. On the mechanics of economic development. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sheffrin, S., 2003. Economics: Principles in action. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.