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Why are countries that are the riches in natural resources the poorest economically?
If you look at countries in Africa, and also countries like Iraq, Iran, and many other Middle Eastern Countries, besides the Saudia Arabia, and the UEE they are all rich with natural resources, but yet they are some of the poorest countries. Take Africa for instances, Africa as a continent has oil, gold, diamonds, charcoal, and many other valuable resources, but yet remains one of the most poverished places on the globe. Yet western nations like the US, and UK really have no natural resources to export but yet remain world powers. It seems it would be the other way around. What is the cost of this. Is this strictly a governmental thing. If Africa as a continent maintained a centralized govt. and provided for their people they would by far be a force to reckoned with. Potentially, they could make billions upon billions with legitimate exports, but yet they don't. What do you think about this issue?
Basically, the idea that a nation's wealth is a measure of its natural resources is an antiquated economic policy known as Mercantilism. That's why Europe embarked on carving the world into vast empires; in their minds, the more natural resources that they held onto, the richer they were.
However, natural resources do not translate into wealth. You don't mine computers from sub-saharan Africa, and Americans didn't move across the continent to harvest Pizza plants. Wealth is a product of using natural resources to produce something useful. 500 tons of steel could be useful, but there's not a whole lot you can do with 500 tons of steel sitting in your back yard.
Wealth takes an intelligent, entrepreneurial minded people; it requires peace, and equitable and fair laws regarding property rights. It requires an efficient system of communication and transportation in order to move large quantities of resources to where they can be applicably used. Places like Africa, have none of these. Africa is ruled by tribal warlords who think nothing of pillaging their own people in order to fund their regimes. Private enterprise and free markets are stifled in these conditions. Middle Eastern countries are ruled by religious autocrats who have nationalized their major industries in order to fund the state, but sacrificed their productive innovator class in order to accomplish this. Russia is abundant with natural resources, but the government is virtually powerless against the powerful crime syndicates that control most of the production.
Places where laws are lenient and just, like Hong Kong, America, and the U.K, are places where private enterprise, and by extension wealth, can flower.
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US $389.00
KI-117761 18k lab-created 6mm round alexandrite engagement ring with natural diamonds
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