Economic Development Rebuttal

Below are the answers from two different students about Economic Development. Please write your opinion whether you agree or disagree about what they wrote. Please make the rebuttal for each student both A and B be no less than 100 each. Also please keep them separated do not respond to them in one reply (each will have a separate reply)

Student A

How Does Geography and Education influence Economic Development?

Geography and education both most definitely influence economic development. Based on the geographic location of a country, this determines their trading abilities, tourist abilities, natural resources, etc. Education is so important because it goes hand-in-hand with the economic growth, political stability, etc. I think that the main thing with geography of a country is that the closer that country is to other prosperous countries, the more likely it is that country will also be prosperous. Also being near to other places reduces costs of trade such as transportation costs, which can be huge in aiding economic development. It is also important to note that climate of a given geographic location is important, especially for certain industries such as farming or fishing. It is a known fact that some areas of the world are more conducive to farming, while others are not, so this plays a huge role in that country’s ability to produce food because if they cannot, then they must rely on trade from other places and figure out alternative ways to make money. Education level of a country is also important as that relates to things such as jobs and influence. Studies have shown that higher educated countries report higher GDP growth, which is a factor for measuring how much wealth a country has per people. In essence, a more educated population in a country is more inclined to success politically, socially, and monetarily and that translates to the success and economic growth of the country. In conclusion, I believe that both geography and education play huge roles in the success of a country economically.

Student B

There are many factors that can influence economic development. Those determinants can be broken down into two categories; Economic Factors and Non-Economic Factors. Some of the economic factors can be capital, foreign trade, the economic system and geography. Some of the non-economic factors can be human resources, corruption, politics, social organization, and education. However, the two of the most influential factors on economic development is geography and education.

Countries with favorable geography are more likely to engage in trade. This allows these countries to have a more open market-based economic system and promote what the country has to offer. Countries along the coast line tend to grow at a faster rate than countries that are surrounded by land. One reason this occurs to countries inland is due to them not being close to the sea or along trade routes, so they have to pay double the cost to receive or send goods. They have to pay sea shipment fees, air shipment fees, and road shipment fees. Landlocked countries growth rate tends to be reduced by 0.7% per year compared to coastline countries. (Sachs, 1998)

On the other hand, tropical countries tend to grow slower than countries in temperate zones This can be due to unstable soil, diseases and pest, natural disasters, and rain being less reliable. There are countries such as Madagascar that has an annual cyclone season that regularly sweeps away their roads, bridges and damages their railways, refineries, and roofs. This makes it hard for their country to sustain infrastructure. So being surrounded by water doesn?t have the same results.

Another way that geography can influence economic development is the resources that the land has to offer. There are countries that have an abundant number of resources however there may be geographical impediments that don?t allow countries to capitalize on those resources. For those countries that do capitalize on their resources such as Saudi Arabia, with oil, and South Africa, with diamonds and gold, there is much wealth that has been made.

The geography of a country is something that countries inherit naturally, but educational factors are somewhat controllable yet not always easy to accomplish. For a long time, people were focusing on primary education, which isn?t an expensive investment, but there has been an increase in higher education. This is because there is an understanding that higher education results in higher income for the individuals and individuals with higher education plays a vital role in economic development.

The widely adopted human capital view is that higher education increases skills and knowledge that results in producing innovators and professionals. Innovators are good for a country but producing professionals such as doctors, nurses, teachers, and engineers. This allows a country to build a strong infrastructure such as healthy citizens, strong agriculture and clean water. In order to meet these goals, you have to have professionals trained.

To sum it all up, having a country with educated individuals, and a good geographical location can make a big difference on how your economy thrives. Sometimes these things can be controllable and sometimes they can?t and only when your country can figure out a way to take advantage of what it has to offer, then can it develop economically.