Essay about the economic development of any region

I need you to write a well-organized free plagiarism paper of 4000 words about the economic development of a region of your choice. 

17

Cristian Ruiz

Final Paper

4/21/2021

GEO3502

Economic Development of Mashonaland Region

Introduction

Economic development refers to the creation of wealth that ultimately enables a community to realize benefits and meet its needs. It is a commitment and an investment in the economy so that the community can enhance the prosperity and quality of life for everyone. According to Myint, (year) economic development is a process in which simple and low-income economies transform into modern and industrial economies through quantitative and qualitative improvements. The theory of economic development defines it as the process through which poor and primitive economies can evolve into relatively prosperous economies. From a public perspective, economic development involves an efficient allocation of limited resources such as land in a manner that benefits people in terms of income distribution and employment. Economic development is usually the responsibility of the government to influence the direction, nature, and viability of investment towards opportunities that assure the growth of the economy. Through sustained economic growth, the government can provide profitable business opportunities to its people, a situation that furthers the growth of the economy.

Unified growth is a concept that captures the economic growth process over the course of human existence by focusing on factors such as technology, population growth, and education. The concept encourages the need for governments to actively invest in technology. Through this concept, subnational regions have transitioned from stagnation to a period of sustained economic growth. They achieve this by capturing the key phases of economic development as well as the central role that human capital plays in the economic growth and development process. The concept maintains that the variations in cultural, biogeographical, and institutional characteristics can enhance the transition from stagnation to economic growth and development. The unified growth concept, therefore, contributes to economic geography since it identifies factors that can govern the transition from economic stagnation to economic growth and ultimately economic development.

Mashonaland is a subnational region in Northern Zimbabwe divided into three provinces namely Mashonaland West, Mashonaland east Mashonaland central. It borders Zambia to the North and Mozambique to the east and northeast. It is also the traditional homeland of the Shona, a Bantu-speaking group in Zimbabwe. The region has a population of about two million people. The region predominantly consists of savanna grassland although there are areas that have savanna woodland. The economy of the region consists mainly of agriculture, service, and mining industries. Many citizens of this region are predominantly farmers hence agriculture drives the economy of Mashonaland. It also has prospects for tourism which have significantly improved its economy.

However, the subnational government is increasingly faced with poor leadership which negatively affects the adoption of economic policies. As a result, Mashonaland’s economy lags. On a closer assessment of the region, the evidence of poverty is both a contributor of the low economic development and a consequence of the same thus coming out as a serious issue that the region grapples with. Mashonaland has an opportunity to expand its economy by focusing on its strong points such as agriculture and mining. Research shows that the prioritization of literacy and education can enable an economy to compete positively in the global arena (Wamboye & Nyaronga, 2018). There is also a concern that Mashonaland’s economic issues result from an unsustainable population that is solely dependent on scarce resources. There is also a need to narrow the gap between the rich and poor and prioritize entrepreneurship as a key to economic growth. To make entrepreneurship, Mashonaland has always considered a business-friendly regulatory environment so that it can foster innovation.

The concept of unified growth is relevant in this region because it can be used to revive the stagnant economy so that it develops. The government can be used by the subnational government to identify factors that negatively affect the economy and identify strategies of dealing with them to realize economic development

Against this background, the objective of the paper is to examine which factors have contributed to Mashonaland’s economic development?

Our Hypothesis is that the unified growth concept has been an effective strategy in Mashonaland’s transition towards economic development.

The paper is structured as follows. The literature review section will explain the unified growth concept further, its importance, how to measure it, and how it has been applied in different regions of the world. The empirical section will explain the region’s economic evolution using the unified growth concept. The conclusion will summarize the findings of the paper and discuss the limitations.

Literature Review

The unified growth concept explains this entire growth process from ancient civilizations to date by identifying the forces behind the transition. In terms of definition, the concept refers to a formal framework that explains the entire growth process of human history.

The term ‘unified’ includes all the common yet fundamental economic growth engines that propel economic growth. The unified growth concept emerged as a modern theory for explaining economic growth and development after the failure of endogenous growth theory which argues that economic growth and development are due to endogenous factors rather than external forces. It also holds that investment in innovation, human capital, and knowledge are critical factors in understanding economic growth. The endogenous growth theory predominantly focused on technology and human capital accumulation as the main engines of economic growth.

Although the concept of unified growth closely relates to the endogenous growth theory, it captures several irregularities in economic growth processes and their contribution to the underlying economic inequality among nations. The concept was initially advanced by Galor (year) who defined it as an economic framework that aids in the transition from economic stagnation to sustained economic growth. His research led to a radical scientific conviction that has significantly changed how people perceive economic growth.

Economic growth is explained using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Galor holds that there are three fundamental stages in economic growth; the Malthusian, post-Malthusian, and modern growth stages. The concept holds that in any economy, progress in technological innovation can be easily offset by unsustainable population growth. It also points to the need for investing in education since it empowers individuals to adapt to any changes in the environment. At the heart of the concept is the need for institutional and cultural change so that the pace of transition from stagnation to economic growth is enhanced.

The concept also considers the relationship between human traits and the economic growth process. For instance, traits that are complementary to the technological environment generally generate high levels of income as compared to those that denounce technological advancements. This explains why there is a great disparity between developed and underdeveloped regions. It, therefore, offers insights into the deep causes of economic growth.

The unified growth concept accounts for Malthusian stagnation, demographic transition, an escape from economic stagnation, and the realization of modern economic growth and development. The Malthusian stagnation was introduced by Malthus in 1798. Malthus argued that no amount of technological change would increase per capita income. He pointed out that population growth would consume any additional income. The unified growth concept overcomes the Malthusian Limitations by providing a coherent framework for economic growth. It is a concept that provides an analytical framework for understanding the differences in incomes per capita (Foreman-Peck & Zhou, 2019). The literature on economic growth and development has predominantly focused on textbook models and concepts of economic growth. However, these models and concepts do not account for many aspects of long-term economic development. The unified growth model is a comprehensive growth framework that accounts for factors such as population, technological innovation, human capital, and total factor productivity. It also guarantees the acceleration of economic growth from a quasi-stagnation state to sustained growth rates.

The importance of the unified growth concept is that it succinctly explores all the possible factors from institutional, cultural, and technological dimensions that are responsible for economic growth. From there, it becomes clearer, the factors that also impede economic growth and development. For instance, it follows that when there are institutional failures such as corruption and leadership inefficiencies, economic growth cannot be achieved. Also, when there is no prioritization of technological investments, economic growth cannot be realized. Golor conceptualized that the rise in the standard of living has not been universal due to the differences in technology and cultural and institutional foundations. The concept is also important because it provides a mechanism from which unsustainable economic growth can be reversed. For instance, Golor (year) states that through the demographic transition, economies have managed to convert portions of their gains from progress in technology and factor accumulation into income growth per capita. Many nations who took advantage of this concept managed to enhance labor productivity and the growth process. The concept is also important for understanding the persistent effect of deep-rooted factors such as human development in economic growth.

Empirical Section

Mashonaland’s Economy

Without capital accumulation, it is almost impossible to sustain any growth process. Although an economy may register considerable productivity by intensively and efficiently using its resources, such gains cannot lead to sustained growth. Research points that unless these gains are translated into productive investment, the economy will suffer numerous shortcomings in its quest for economic development. Mashonaland, which is a low-income region may suffer these shortcomings if there are no investment changes that can lead to capital accumulation. Currently, the region is unable to sustain its population by providing basic needs. However, it has increasingly relied on its rich agricultural lands to revive the economy. Figure 1 shows the natural farming regions of Zimbabwe with Mashonaland being a specialized and diversified region. While recommendations point to legal and policy changes, there is a need for a change in mindset so that the economy can accelerate investment and growth.

Figure 1: Natural Farming Regions in Zimbabwe

McAllister, G., & Wright, J. 2019.

Mashonaland has adequate resources and thus it has taken advantage of this great wealth to accumulate capital and enhance economic growth through a bottom-up approach. With these, the region can invest in new technologies which can help it to set its terms of trade given the abundance of raw materials at its disposal. The subnational under such a condition, the realization of rapid and sustained economic growth may become a reality for Mashonaland. Self-reliance is an important recipe for economic development. Although Mashonaland is increasingly focused on economic development, it has not established a virtuous circle of investments hence an inability to sustain growth and realize economic development. The following sections detail some of the most important factors that have prevented the region from realizing economic development.

Socioeconomic Factors That Were Responsible for The Economic Stagnation of Mashonaland

The Politicization of Economic Issues

One major problem that impeded Zimbabwe from forging ahead towards economic development was the politicization of economic interests. This trickled down to the sub-national level, a situation that prevented the adoption and implementation of projects. There is an overarching idea that development projects cannot be instituted in an area where there is a perceived political enemy. Such a mindset impedes the pursuit of critical developments that would significantly support societal economic development in the region. This is in part due to the sub-national government’s failure to channel investment into the project due to internal politics. Such indecision points to the countries’ lack of concern with national economic interests.

There is also a tendency among many African leaders to use economic development interests as rhetoric for political campaigns and this also takes place in Mashonaland. Politicians, therefore, make unrealistic promises to the people during elections and fail to deliver once they are in office. This situation points to leaders taking advantage of people’s desperation for economic growth and development. They are aware of what the people need yet they choose not to deliver further compounding the issue of underdevelopment.

Zimbabwe has also experienced economic sabotage in the forms of tax evasion and armed struggle all of which have stagnated the economies of its subnational regions. Although many of these may seem like productive efforts to force the government into action, they have led to the staling of economically based productions. This economic debacle has significantly hurt Mashonaland’s growth prospects and it specifically points to poor governance and poor governance structures in the region.

Corruption

Discussions about governance in Africa cannot be complete without discussing corruption. Research shows that although Africa and Asia initially had similar levels of income, Asia has outpaced Africa because its economic development lies primarily on local investments. However, the corruption in Zimbabwe has led to the extraction of economic rent and transferring the financial capital to the European countries instead of encouraging local investment (Opoku, Ibrahim & Sare, 2019). Many leaders enter power with the mentality of acquiring wealth at the expense of the economy. Corruption undermines private and state-led efforts towards improving the economy of the region (Nwaoba, 2017). The tendency of not punishing public officials for embezzling public funds encourages others to misappropriate funds to the disadvantage of economic development.

As a result, there will be continuous economic underdevelopment of the region that will be very difficult to remedy. This may create bigger problems of a socioeconomic debacle for the region. For instance, as the circle continues so does the problem of socioeconomic impediments increasingly become systemic. When such ills become entrenched in society, there is a permanent inhibition on economic growth and development. Such a situation makes it very difficult to make necessary changes for economic development. Figure 2 illustrates the increasing corruption index of Zimbabwe since 1998 that has had negative implications on the national and subnational economies.

Figure 2: Zimbabwe’s Corruption Index

Take-profit.org (2021)

According to Transparency International, Zimbabwe’s corruption has increased significantly from 2009 since it ranks at position 160 out of 180 countries. The figures reflect on the governance structure of Mashonaland. Although the region is trying to zero down on corruption, the subnational governments still grapple with massive embezzlement of funds, a situation that has impeded their economic prospects. For instance, the government of Robert Mugabe led to the collapse of the country’s agricultural economy. Zimbabwe’s agricultural economy was formerly Africa’s strongest agricultural economies. Such instances coupled with poor governance made Zimbabwe one of Africa’s poorest economies and it will take a lot of time for the subnational governments such as Mashonaland which predominantly depends on agriculture to recover.

When a society offers tangible and intangible support for corruption, it cannot realize any tangible or intangible economic growth prospects. Although corruption exists in other parts of the world, research shows that it has deep roots in most African countries, and this has ruined their chances of advancing economic growth. These instances deny Mashonaland its optimum opportunity for accelerated economic development.

Overdependence on Foreign Aid

African countries have been active recipients of foreign aid since they got independence. In return, the West has continued to provide Africa with aid in social, economic, and humanitarian forms usually to the disadvantage of Africa. Although there is an argument that foreign aid from humanitarian organizations has moral imperatives, in the long run, they do provide a stable platform for the African countries to sustainably develop. Asia which has received little foreign aid in comparison to Africa is better placed in terms of economic development.

Despite the foreign aid that African countries receive, there is little improvement in the living standards of people since the region continues to grapple with poverty (Tang & Bundhoo, 2017). For instance, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided more than $3.2 billion in development assistance to Zimbabwe since the 1980s to improve living standards, support democratic efforts and enable economic growth at the sub-national levels. Instead, only a few rich individuals benefit from the aid while the poor remain poor, a situation that hinders economic development. This is evidence that Africa’s overdependence on foreign aid increasingly hurts its economic development prospects instead of helping it. This also reflects on Mashonaland’s economy. As a subnational government, it depends on the economic pursuits of the national government which has become complacent due to its reliance on aid.

First, foreign aid is synonymous with the promotion of corruption especially in regions where corruption is already widespread. Since the region also grapples with issues of governance and accountability, foreign aid does not realize its true purpose. Instead, it reinforces the number of resources that corrupt government officials can access. Also, the aid is not evenly distributed among the population since in many cases it leaves out key sectors of the economy that can improve the lives of the poor. Dependence on aid has also made many African regions complacent to an extent that they never promote their local businesses (Fashina et al., 2018). Such a mentality prevents any form of economic improvement and therefore drags growth prospects behind.

Mashonaland’s dependence on foreign aid also reinforces the concept of neo-colonialism which has deprived many countries of their capability to sustain themselves economically (Tang & Bundhoo, 2017). Mashonaland on job creation for its populations so that it can deal with the underlying issue of poverty. With a very young population, the creation of policies and implementation plans that will empower young people through job creation. It can also create more jobs by investing in the private sector, the manufacturing, infrastructure, and agricultural sectors.

The socioeconomic factors that impede economic development to a decline in government revenue and developmental projects in the region. For instance, due to poor governance in the subnational government, there has been an enormous decrease in accruable government revenue. This is partly due to economic sabotage, corruption, and poor infrastructural developments. It is also due to lack of employment opportunities which has led to few people paying personal income. Such situations do not provide a favorable environment for economic development. The continuous persistence of the impediments that Africans have perpetrated against African development will always cripple the ability of African regions to provide adequate employment opportunities for their people. With the current issue of population growth, if the current socioeconomic impediments persist, Mashonaland will continue with the challenge of providing reasonable opportunities to its people, a situation that will further the economic underdevelopment.

Factors that Can Revive Mashonaland’s Economy

Mashonaland has a lot of resources that it can focus on to revamp its economy. It also has the capability in terms of labor and know-how to encourage local investment because this is the key to having superior economic development. There is currently a poor culture of investment that is witnessed in little or no planning, evaluation, and execution of investments. Many citizens are continuously caught up in the web of migration because the governments do not prioritize investments in local economic and commercial industries and ventures in infrastructural development and manufacturing. Without real investment in these key areas, there is poor economic development that ultimately unleashes economic hardship on people. The evidence also shows that the region’s greatest undoing is its governance system that prioritizes politics at the expense of economic development.

Infrastructure refers to the basic equipment and structures such as bridges and roads that an organization, a country, or a region needs to operate efficiently. Infrastructure development, therefore, contributes to the economic development of a country or a region by providing services and increasing their overall productivity which enhances people’s quality of life. For instance, infrastructure development can translate to an increase in aggregate output in agriculture through better transportation (Gaal & Afrah, 2017). Water and irrigation projects can also significantly improve the quality of life of people and therefore transform low-income economies into developed economies. Infrastructure development plays an important role in tackling poverty.

Mashonaland collaborative initiatives with other subnational governments. This will sustain its development and encourage long-term prosperity for the region. Collaborative initiatives reflect on trade activities to accelerate economic growth and development. However, this depends on the willingness of leaders to actively seek such engagements and do away with underlying issues such as corruption and poverty. Without these key changes, economic development for Mashonaland will still be a distant reality. This initiative will help the region to actively pursue economic development. There is a need to put an end to the socio-economic impediments to economic development such as corruption.

From the foregoing, the main solution that Mashonaland needs to prioritize is leadership change so that it can successfully handle the other underlying issues. For instance, a focused leadership will prioritize the livelihoods of its people and institute policies that will improve the quality of their lives. These include education and health policies and increased local investments so that people can have access to job opportunities (Wamboye & Nyaronga, 2018). Good leaders will also tackle the issue of rising population and increased youth unemployment more productively. More importantly, focused leadership will invest in technology which is an important component of the unified concept. Through this, Mashonaland will manage to transition from economic stagnation to sustained economic growth.

Conclusion

The main objective of the paper was to analyze the economic development of Mashonaland, a subnational region in Zimbabwe. The main research question focused on finding out the factors that contributed to Mashonaland’s economic development. The paper hypothesized that the unified growth concept has been an effective strategy that Mashonaland used to transition from stagnation towards economic development. The research revealed that although Mashonaland has the potential for economic growth given its successful agricultural sector, there were deep-seated socioeconomic issues that impeded economic growth and development. Research shows that the region’s tendency to politicize economic issues impedes the pursuit of critical developments that would significantly support societal economic development in the region.

Zimbabwe has also experienced economic sabotage in the forms of tax evasion and armed struggle all of which have significantly affected the economic prospects of subnational governments such as Mashonaland. Although many of these may seem like productive efforts to force the government into action, they have led to the staling of economically based productions in the region. A classic example is corruption which has led to the destruction of the agricultural economy which is Mashonaland’s economic stronghold. There is also the problem of poor infrastructure which has denied many people the opportunity to participate in the market economy.

The paper suggests that the socioeconomic impediments that Mashonaland faces in its quest for economic development are the same problems that many economic regions of the world have faced in the past. For instance, the problem of population growth which is currently Africa’s major concern troubled industrialized economies.

However, these economies managed to successfully transition from economic stagnation to sustained economic growth. Research suggests that to understand the economic growth and development of a region, it is important to understand the entire process. This includes an understanding of the cultural, institutional, and geographic factors that promote economic growth. These are also the same factors that impede the economic growth and development of regions. The concept of unified growth is adapted to the Mashonaland region because it can be used to successfully identify the factors that can help the region transition from economic stagnation to sustained economic growth. The research limitations include limited data about Mashonaland’s economic development.

References

Gaal, H. O., & Afrah, N. A. (2017). Lack of Infrastructure: The Impact on Economic Development as a case of Benadir region and Hir-Shabelle, Somalia. Developing Country Studies, 7(1).

Fashina, O. A., Asaleye, A. J., Ogunjobi, J. O., & Lawal, A. I. (2018). Foreign aid, human capital and economic growth nexus: Evidence from Nigeria. Journal of International Studies, 11(2), 104-117

Foreman-Peck, J. S., & Zhou, P. (2019). The demographic transition in a unified growth model of the English economy (No. E2019/8). Cardiff Economics Working Papers.

McAllister, G., & Wright, J. (2019). Agroecology as a practice-based tool for peacebuilding in Fragile environments? Three stories from rural Zimbabwe. Sustainability, 11(3), 790. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/3/790/htm

Nwaoba, I. V. (2017). What Hinders Economic Development in Africa? European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, (02).

Tang, K. B., & Bundhoo, D. (2017). Foreign aid and economic growth in developing countries: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. Theoretical Economics Letters, 7(05), 1473.

Opoku, E. E. O., Ibrahim, M., & Sare, Y. A. (2019). The causal relationship between financial development and economic growth in Africa. International Review of Applied Economics, 33(6), 789-812.

Wamboye, E. F., & Nyaronga, P. J. (Eds.). (2018). The service sector and economic development in Africa. Routledge.