Jablonski & Venugopal What’s Belgium Ghana do?

Issues regarding development: A comparative study of Belgium and Ghana

While some countries enjoy a high level of economic wealth and superior living

standards, many others do not have the same level of economic development. To analyze

this disparity, two countries will be examined: Belgium, a powerful MEDC in Western

Europe with an HDI of 0.946 (13th in the world), and one of the wealthiest LEDCs in

Africa, Ghana, which has an HDI of 0.553 (135th in the world) (UNDP, 2008). This case

study will evaluate the economic wealth, trade and debt, education, health care, equality

and environmental status in both countries.

In general, the GDP reflects the economic wealth of the country. This is evidently

true for Belgium, which has a real GDP per capita of $36,500, and for Ghana, where the

average inhabitant has a much lower income of $1,400 (CIA, 2008). With more money

to spend, Belgians can afford a better quality of life than their Ghanaian counterparts,

with the ability to cover all their basic needs such as clothing and shelter, and to indulge

in certain luxuries such as world-famous Belgian chocolates. In Ghana, such material

amenities are simply unaffordable. Often, adequate shelter is inaccessible, especially for

many rural to urban migrants who live in shanty settlements (Levy, 1999). Belgium’s

higher GDP and relative economic prosperity is due to several factors, one of them being

the diversity of its industries: the production of engineering and metal products,

transportation equipment, scientific instruments, and processed food and beverages are

only some of its many industries (CIA, 2008). With a diverse economy, it is less

vulnerable to the fluctuations in prices on the world market. Despite this diversity, some

of Belgium’s industries – particularly heavy industries – are stagnating due to decline in

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demand (Elliot & Pateman, 2006). Ghana, on the other hand, has less diversity in its

industries: mining, lumbering, cement and light manufacturing are its main industries

(CIA, 2008). Another important factor to consider is the composition of each country’s

workforce. Belgium is more industrialized with an urban population: 73 percent of the

labor force works in services, 25 percent in industry and only 2 percent in agriculture

(CIA, 2008). Ghana’s population is still mostly rural, meaning that its economy is

agriculturally based: 56 percent of the workforce is in agriculture, 15 percent is in

industry and 29 percent is in services (CIA, 2008). Therefore, Ghana relies on

subsistence farming, which brings in few profits compared to services and industry.

Belgium has few natural resources, so it imports large quantities of primary

products and exports secondary (manufactured) products (Elliot & Pateman, 2006).

Inversely, resource-rich Ghana exports many raw materials, such as cocoa and gold, and

imports manufactured goods and food. Interestingly, 5.2 percent of Ghana’s exports go to

Belgium, and 4.7 percent of its imports come from Belgium (CIA, 2008). This

dependence on trade is problematic since both countries’ economies could be negatively

affected by international events. Both Belgium and Ghana have serious debt: the former

has 86.1 percent of its GDP as public debt, and the latter owes $3.387 billion in external

debt (CIA, 2008). Belgium’s debt comes largely from the costs of its generous services.

Consequently, the government has imposed high taxes, which has resulted in high rates of

tax evasion (Elliot & Pateman, 2006). Ghana is in debt towards the IMF and MEDCs

because of previous international loans to finance projects, which in the long term failed

to meet expectations (Levy, 1999). Since much of the government’s income goes

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towards paying off the debt, it has less money to spend on services, which has greatly

hampered the standards of living of the population. Ghana’s receives about one billion

dollars in aid every year, which accounts for 10 percent of its GDP. As helpful as this

money has been in reducing debt, it makes Ghana dependent on foreign nations without

providing a long-term solution to the economic deficit (BBC, 2006). Belgium provides

$1.978 billion in aid to foreign countries every year, which only adds to its economic

deficit (CIA, 2008).

Education is a significant factor of economic development; a more thoroughly

educated population is able to pursue higher-level employment, and thus to stimulate the

economy. With an adult literacy rate of 99 percent, the majority of Belgians are well

educated. Ghana’s lower rate of 57.9 percent indicates that a large percentage of its

inhabitants do not receive the education necessary to prosper economically (CIA, 2008).

The level of education received by the population can be traced back to primary

schooling. Elementary schooling is free and mandatory in Belgium and Ghana between

the ages of 6 and 12 (Levy, 1999). However, Belgium’s education system is superior to

Ghana’s, with better facilities and more qualified teachers, as well as kindergarten

education for children aged 3 to 6 (Elliot & Pateman, 2006). The greatest difference in

education begins in secondary schools. In Belgium, schooling is paid by the government

and mandatory until the age of eighteen. High schools are specialized, so that students

can take more courses in the areas in which they show the most proficiency (Elliot &

Pateman, 2006). This has the benefit of making students ready for specific careers in the

future. In Ghana, high school education is optional and it costs a fee. Since school fees

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are too expensive for some families to afford, about 25% of students drop out of school

by the time of high school. Most of these students have no option but to get married

early, work on their family’s farm or find low-paying employment (Levy, 1999).

The health status of a country’s population is an indicator of its development: good

health care results in a larger and more prosperous workforce. Belgium high life

expectancy at birth of 79.07 years indicates that it has a superior healthcare system to

Ghana’s, which has a life expectancy of 59.49 years (CIA, 2008). Belgian’s excellent

health care is largely due to its funding of health expenses; in fact, public health

insurance for pays 95 percent of all medical bills (Burgan, 2000). In Ghana, much of the

health care is primitive, with rural areas having little access to hospitals and physicians

(Levy, 1999). The limited access to potable water is a problem; only one third of the

rural population has access to safe drinking water, and 89 percent has inadequate

sanitation (UNICEF, 2006). The prevalence of infectious diseases such bacterial and

protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever and malaria is high (CIA, 2008).

Furthermore, malnutrition, especially among poor subsistence farmers, is common, with

11 percent of the population being chronically malnourished (PPI, 2007). This is

problematic since much of the working population is lost to disease and hunger, thus

reducing the country’s economic output. In Belgium, there is an issue with the aging

population; 17.5 percent of the population is aged 65 and older, which means that the

government must expend much of its revenue on supporting the elderly.

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Both countries have a democratic form of government; Belgium is a federal

parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, and Ghana is a constitutional

democracy. Both countries have a constitution ensuring equal human and democratic

rights (CIA, 2008). This is an indicator of development because equal rights enhance a

population’s standards of living and productivity. Despite their constitutional rights,

women have a lower status in Ghana than in Belgium. Particularly in rural areas,

Ghanaian women are subject to more heavy labor, and women’s education is viewed as

less important than men’s education (Levy, 1999). This hampers economic development

because fewer women have the opportunities and skills necessary to pursue more

advanced employment. In both countries, there is a disparity between the living

standards of the rich and the poor; the Gini index (a measure of the distribution of family

income) is 28 in Belgium, and a more severe 39.4 in Ghana (CIA, 2008). These figures

imply that both countries might have some level of embezzlement or corruption, and that

many inhabitants live in relatively poor conditions.

Developed countries use more resources to sustain their industries and infrastructure.

Belgium has high rates of resource consumption compared to Ghana; the former uses

591,000 barrels of oil per day, while the latter uses 47,000 barrels (CIA, 2008). In

Belgium every year, the per capita energy consumption rate is 76134.68 kilowatt hours

and the average carbon dioxide emission is 13.66 tons per capita. The figures are much

smaller in Ghana: the energy consumption rate is 1758.25 kilowatt hours per capita and

the average carbon dioxide emission is 0.26 tons per capita (IAEA, 2006). Therefore,

Belgians can afford better standards of living because of their resource usage, yet they are

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more wasteful and destructive to the environment than most Ghanaians. The Belgian

environment has been damaged by air and water pollution, past deforestation and intense

urbanization (CIA, 2008). Environmental destruction can be harmful to development for

future generations. Thus, the government is undertaking measures to limit its

environmental impact, such as extensive recycling programs and eco taxes on appliances.

Belgium is highly dependent on nuclear power, which does not emit carbon dioxide but is

dangerous and produces toxic nuclear waste. In order to reduce environmental risks, the

government has agreed to stop using nuclear power by 2025, and has started to depend

more on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power (Elliot & Pateman,

2006). Ghana has its own environmental problems; the rainforest is disappearing at a

rapid rate due to clear cutting for subsistence farming. This has led to other problems,

such as droughts, soil erosion and bushfires. In response, the government has set up more

national parks, reduced lumber exports and initiated forest replanting projects (Butler,

2006).

It is evident that both Belgium and Ghana have weaknesses and strengths in terms of

level of economic development. Although quite different, they even share some similar

concerns. In the future, their ability to resolve their problems and to expand on their

positive features will determine how much they will develop.