[MUSIC]
Turning now to human resource quality, the crucial role of skilled labor has been
shown again and again when sophisticated mining, defense, or manufacturing
machinery has fallen into disrepair and disuse because the labor force of
developing countries did not have the
necessary skills for operation and maitenance.
Accordingly, development programs to improve education,
reduce illiteracy, and train workers, as well as to improve public
safety and health, can make a developing country's population much more productive.
This is because workers can learn to use capital more effectively, adopt new
technologies, lose fewer days to sickness or
injury, and better learn from their mistakes.
In this regard, for advanced learning in science, engineering, medicine,
and management, countries can benefit by sending their
best minds abroad to bring back the newest advances.
But, there is a big warning sign that must be posted here.
Countries must be aware of the brain drain, in which
the most able people get drawn off to high-wage countries.
Let's turn now to the second factor in economic growth, natural resources.
Perhaps the most valuable natural resource
of developing countries is arable land.
Much of the labor force in developing countries is employed in farming.
Hence, the productive use of land, with appropriate conservation, fertilizers,
and tillage, will go far in increasing a poor nation's output.
However, some poor countries of Africa and
Asia have meager endowments of natural resources.
And such land and minerals as
they do possess must be divided among dense populations.
Economists suspect that natural wealth from oil
or minerals is not an unalloyed blessing.
Some countries like the United States, Canada and Norway have used
their natural wealth to form the solid base of industrial expansion.
In other countries the wealth has been like
loot subject to plunder and rent seeking by corrupt
leaders and military cliques.
Countries like Nigeria and Zaire, which are fabulously wealthy in
terms of mineral resources fail to convert their underground assets into
productive human or tangible capital because of venal rulers who
drained that wealth into their own bank accounts and conspicuous consumption.
The same time, land ownership patterns are key to providing farmers
with strong incentives to invest in capital
and technologies that will increase their land's yield.
When farmers own theitr own land, they have better incentives to
make improvements, such as irrigation
systems, and undertake appropriate conservation practices.
However, in developing countries, a small handful of
the wealthy own a large percentage of the land.
This kind of land
ownership patterns not only discourages production.
It has also led to violent socialist revolutions
and civil strife in more than one developing country.