DEVELOPMENT LEVEL OF SWAZILAND (COMPARED TO THE USA) ASSIGNMENT 3 Development Economics (ECON 408) MAJEED KUMO BELLO UCHENNA AKAOGU DAVID EYO USANG ZAMOKUHLE MANANA

OUTLINE  Introduction  Purpose of this study  Demographic information on Swaziland Geographical location Total area space Population size  Study  Introduction of indicators  Our definition of development  Statistical findings  Theories used for the study and their challenges  Conclusion  What have we learnt about Swaziland

INTRODUCTION  The purpose of this study is to confirm our presumption and determine whether our studied country (Swaziland) is indeed less developed, measuring this underdevelopment against six indicators taken from a political, social and economic spectrum - supported with statistical inference where possible.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION  The Kingdom of Swaziland is a sovereign state in Southern Africa, its neighboring countries being Mozambique and South Africa.  Swaziland is a developing country with a small economy, and this is because Swaziland is one of the smallest countries in Africa with just 17,364 km 2 in total area  With just a minute estimated population of people, you would think that achieving Economic growth and economic development would be more practical. WELL LETS WAIT AND SEE…….

INTRODUCTION OF SELECTED INDICATORS  We chose: 1. High unemployment rate (UR): as our economic indicator because we believe that a country with high unemployment levels is less developed. i.e. High UR productivity GDP = less developed 2. Low income : as our second economic indicator because we also believe that a country with low income levels is less developed i.e. low income consume just basic goods (or even need these basic good to be subsidized) = less developed 3. Corruption: As a political indicator because we believe that a country with high corruption levels is less developed i.e. High corruption rate= less transparency= less developed

4. Limited Freedom of speech : as our second political indicator because we believe a less developed country is also characterized by limited freedom of speech i.e. barriers in freely expressing ones view, ideas, worries & needs. People are excluded from meaningful participation in society 5. High HIV rate : as a social indicator because we believe that a less developed country has a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS because development is not only comprised of the material things but also the nonmaterial which makes citizens happier. i.e. the less developed a nation is the less educated they are about how to prevent contracting fatal diseases 6. Low number of urban population : because we believe that in less developed countries majority of the people live in the slums or rural areas i.e. This can indicate that most economic activity takes place through the traditional rather than industrialized sectors e.g. agriculture (we know less developed countries depend largely on this sector)

Key: 100%= Total unemployment 0.00%=Total employment Year Source:tradingeconomics Year Source:tradingeconomics Swaziland % % United States Graphical Representation of the indicators

Key:100%=very clean 0.00%=highly corrupt Corruption Index %

 The definition of development can be seen as a broad concept because it includes not only economic growth but also economic development which takes into account non- material aspects like social and political dimensions. - A more developed country is a country that has characteristics like low levels of unemployment rates, high income, democratic governments, unlimited freedom of speech, low levels of HIV/AIDS and High numbers of urban population just to name a few as derived from our justifications.

STUDY Indicators SwazilandUSA High unemployment rate (% of labor force) 40% Source: UN data 6.1% Source: OECD data Low Income (GNI per capita PPP $) 2552 Source: tradingeconomics 4640 Source: tradingeconomics Corruption Index( 100% - very clean, 0% - highly corrupt) 43 Source: tradingeconomics 74 Source: tradingeconomics Limited freedom of speech (press freedom score 0= best, 100=worst) 79 Source: Freedom House 22 Source: Freedom House High HIV rate (% of population ages ) 27.7% Source: The World Bank 0.9% Source: Avert Urban Population (% of total population) 21.3% Source: UN data 81% Source: The World Bank

FINDINGS  After conducting a study based on our justifications, we found out that Swaziland is indeed a less developed country, although not any less or more developed than we thought.

DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES FOR SWAZILAND  Some of the theories we considered in the identification of the development challenges are :  The linear stages of growth theory Harrod-Domar growth model  Theories & patterns of structural change Chenery’s patterns of development  Karl Marx theory of economic development  HD model- The development challenges are that because Swaziland has low levels of income it is inevitable that there will also be low levels of savings and this gives rise to the savings gap and capital constraint. The argument is that GDP growth is proportional to the share of investment expenditure in GDP. Investment we all know comes from savings  Chenery’s model – In this model we know that one of the characteristic features of economic development is increased urbanization and because Swaziland has a low number of urban population the development challenges are that in addition to savings and investment we also need socio-economic factors for economic development.  Marxist – The challenges are that production means the generation of value,. Economic development is a process of value added and labor is seen as the source of value generation and if there is high levels of unemployment in Swaziland economic development is held back

CONCLUSION  We all concluded that although Swaziland is less developed in all three areas of study, we also learnt that it is mostly the political sphere that is crippling the economic development as a whole rather than the economic or social dimensions.  The country would otherwise be doing much better for its area size.