Essay on Difference in High, Middle and Low Income Countries.

In making comparisons, countries are classified according to their level of economic development (p27). Developed countries known as high-income countries have high income which can support any needed health access (p27). Less developed countries do not have that privilege. Less developed countries or developing countries also known as middle-income countries, have relatively low income (p27). In environments as such, there are not always the possibility to afford any healthcare. Last, but not least, least developed countries known as low-income countries are the poorest. In environments as such, there is no chance to receiving the proper health care.

There is not singe factor that determine the quality of health and wellbeing. Many intersecting social and individual factors control the societies health. Income inequality is one of the leading determinant for our health. The effects of income inequality on health maybe understood by examining some social mechanisms, such as public education and healthcare, structural violence, disruption of social cohesion and social capital; and individual risky behaviors. (Kawachi and Kennedy, 1999)

2) Afghanistan and Japan differ greatly in terms of the Human Development Indicator (HDI) which include the GDP and GNI per capita, infant mortality rate, literacy rate and life expectancy. The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) or GNI (Gross National Income) per capita, which are both indicators of a nation’s level of wealth, are determined by dividing the GDP or GNI by the total population of the country. Japan has a GPD per capita of $34,870 whereas Afghanistan has a GDP per capita of only $2,000. Here, Japan, having a much higher GDP per capita is considered a rich developed country and Afghanistan, with a much lower GDP per capita, is considered a poor developing country. Another HDI that determines the wealth level of the country is the infant mortality rate.

The environmental health and demographics of a nation determine whether the nation is classified as high, middle, or low income. The World Bank provides global economic data for all nations. In my opinion the Rio Grande Valley can be considered a low income nation. The book talks about global stratification; this is the unequal distribution of resources among nations. The World Bank describes a low income nation whose gross national income per capita is $1,045 or less.

According to Global Health Observation (GHO) data, 71.4 years was the average life expectancy at birth of the global population in 2015. Base on the database and information provided by World Health Organization (WHO) in 2004, 58.8 million deaths were estimated globally of which 27.7 million death were females and 31.1 million males. More than half of all death were people who are 60 years and older and 22 million were people who are 70 years and older. Looking at the statistics distribution of death by age between different regions, income plays a great role in life expectancy. In Africa region, due to low-income those countries, 46% death were children aged under 15 year and 20% people reached 60 years and over compare to high-income countries

Education, if looked at beyond its traditional sense, forms the fundamentals of our daily lives. How we act and what we believe are based upon the knowledge we gain through instruction and knowledge. Thus it’s simple to conclude that education has become the very key to a sustainable development of a nation. At a smaller scale, each individual 's future is also dependent upon their levels of education, such as: the amount of income, social status, and is also a strong predictor of attitudes and wellbeing(Easterbrook et al). Such a concept is globalizing around the world, and more countries are starting to recognize the

While these factors are central to living longer, they alone cannot be the only facets. The social and economic conditions of each country will undoubtedly affect its citizens, their lifestyles and decisions. Citizens of wealthier countries have access to modern medicine and medical facilities, the

Education remains to be the priority of all nations around the globe. Most countries devote vast resources to guarantee equal education opportunities to all their students. Most education systems are developed to meet the economic and social demands of the country, both locally and globally. As the world’s 8th highest education spender, Saudi Arabia initiates an overhaul on the education system. It is the largest country in the Middle East. The Saudi Arabian education has gone through an astounding transformation. Initially, education was only available to few people who were children of the wealthy families. However, the transformation of the Saudi Education is now offering education to all children regardless of their social status.

The low economic productivity keeps poverty stricken countries in absolute poverty because they don’t have what is needed to thrive; agricultural machinery, seeds, water, and training. Countries like Manila and so many others don’t have medical care. This escalates the population that is already too poor to provide for another mouth to feed.

As previously shown, most economic indicators have flaws. The problem with a poverty line is that a slight difference in the poverty line may cause a seismic shift in the number of people considered in poverty. It also does not take into consideration prices around the world unless PPP and a basket is never truly uniform through the world. In contrast to absolute poverty, relative poverty is measured by a person’s income in relation to people from the same country or region. Relative poverty, as measured by OECD this is 60% of the median income salary. Also, if the hypothesis that humans relate our achievements and happiness according to a reference group, then relative poverty is just as if not more important than absolute poverty especially on quality of life. So, whilst looking at economic inequality, we shall use both relative and absolute poverty stats to help better understand the effect on economic inequality on poverty.

What drives poverty? First, how does one country consider itself living in extremely poor conditions? This can be answered by using tools like PPP or GDP per capita to distinguish between poor and rich countries. However, the purpose of this paper is not to discuss which country has the highest GDP, but rather to discuss the ability the poor obtain to boost their way out of poverty. Are there certain limitations that poor people face that refrain them from growing or is it just that the poor will always be poor? This paper will summarize main arguments of mechanisms that give rise to poverty traps from the article, Do Poverty Traps Exist. Based on these summaries, I will conduct further critical reviews on some and provide evidence to back my opinion on the specific mechanism at hand.

Using a cross sectional data with 30 observations, this paper finds the relationship between life expectancy and income in countries that are growing endogenously. After gathering the data and doing the regression analysis using STATA, even though it is true that there is a positive correlation between the two variables, income has a very small impact towards life expectancy. There are other factors that would have a bigger impact to change life expectancy.

In The Bottom Billion by Collier, he persuasively explains the reasons unindustrialized countries are developing at low rates. In addition, Collier proposes policies in an effort to get away from the sluggishness. Even though Collier has emphasized on the geopolitical affairs in the developing countries, there are shortcomings in his highlights. Collier does not take into account the historical context of those countries. Collier too does not take into consideration the role of Western countries in those four traps and the gaps in the available statistics about the poor countries. It is evident that Collier utilizes information from discussions he had with African leaders rather than taking a broader view of other people who have had experiences in those countries. Nonetheless, Collier has presented a strong piece in his book The Bottom Billion.Collier also outlines four traps that are the cause of the stagnation of the poorest countries, which include; increased conflict, the supply of natural resources, and the characteristic of being landlocked, and poor governance.

The goal of low income focuses on social welfare and increasing revenue. “After sharply increasing to almost 9 percent in the period 2013-2014, the real gross domestic product (GDP) rate decelerated in 2015 and the growth rate is not expected to exceed 2.5 percent in 2016. This slump is mainly due to declining raw material prices and a shrinking global demand for raw materials” (Worldbank, 2017). This is just one example of the difficultly in having unpredictable market and income due to the lack of a central bank and the challenge of establishing a long term economic growth policies.

Villages and communities in far removed or mountainous regions of countries lack the human and capital resources that are needed in order to initiate and sustain educational projects; furthermore, the cost of supplying adequate teachers, sufficient materials, and proper supervision to each community in need is difficult for many countries to support. However, access to basic skills and literacy education programs are crucial for improvements in the overall health, environment, and economic status of the communities and people of those areas. This “catch 22” disallows poor countries to grow; lack of resources and education keep these areas at a low status while rich countries continue to grow and get richer (once again, following the “Gap” hypothesis).