William Easterly's The Elusive Quest for Growth - Chapter 1

William Easterly goes about presenting the reader with a bleak but realistic view of poverty in the poorest of nations. He demonstrates that a significant gap exists between the richest 20% of the world and the poorest 20% (from now on I will refer to the bottom 20% simply as poor or poorest countries). As with the majority of economists, Easterly argues that something should be done to increase the level of living at in the poorest nations. This is certainly his pursuit in writing this entire book.
The first telling statistic that Easterly provides is that the infant mortality rate in the poorest countries is a staggering 20% while the richest countries enjoy a miniscule rate of 0.4%. Some factors that likely cause such a high death rate are poor nutrition of mothers during pregnancy, lack of qualified doctors during birth, and widespread disease that can kill children before their immune system is strengthened.
If a child makes it past infant stage, he is at serious risk of malnutrition. Easterly writes that calorie intake is 33% lower in the poorest countries than in the richest countries. It is ironic that the poorest countries’ economies are largely agricultural, yet they have trouble eating enough.
A third woe that Easterly is concerned with is child labor. He points out that “forty-two percent of children aged ten to fourteen are workers in the poorest countries” (12). It should be noted that frequently children work out of necessity because of a missing father or a general dearth of family income. But in many poor countries the government simply ignores child labor laws. Children forced to work don’t always get the “luxury” of working in decent or poor conditions. Many young girls are forced into prostitution and many young boys are forced into the military. The result is devastating on the young generations and causes the economy to consistently lag behind the developed world.
Easterly argues that poverty is diminished in growing economies. He states that a 1% increase in per capita growth causes a 1% increase to the poor’s income. He seems ready to discuss the failures of many economic theories that attempt to diminish extreme poverty all while he argues that growth is the key to killing poverty.
It is sobering to read over the statistics that he presents about poverty in the world we share. I must humble myself when I consider my wild riches relative to others in this world. At first glance I buy into Easterly’s thought that growth is the key to eliminating extreme poverty. However, he is going to have to back up his argument with empirical evidence throughout his book before I become a faithful follower.
I like that he fixates on the idea that “people respond to incentives”. This tenet must be remembered as economists theorize on causes of poverty. We must understand that particular cultures or geographic regions are simply not going to promote industrialization as seen in the western world. As I learn of poverty theories and argue one or another, I believe it is essential that we leave our arrogance behind and recognize that no shift in wealth can happen in regions where the natives are not willing to change or the government is stifling. The West seems to have a guilty conscience about wealth, but it should not fool itself into believing that it has a monopoly on proper cultural economics and government. Once the guilt and arrogance is left behind we can begin our debate.