INVESTIGATING THE ROLES OF SOCIETAL ISSUES AND CULTURAL ISSUES IN FOSTERING ECONOMIC GROWTH
Economic growth is a serious concern for all nations and societies. Even developed economies such as those in the United States, Japan, and Western Europe frequently experience problems associated with economic growth. For the most part among these economies, however, the causes of such problems tend to be cyclical in character, and the variations in long-term economic growth among developed economies are relatively modest, although one is led to believe by proponents of one theory or another that such variations are enormous. As developed economies at times do not grow and recede in lockstep, however, there is always room for friendly (and sometimes unfriendly disagreement). The strand of unity among the developed economies is shared cultural and societal values that foster independence, freedom, and economic growth. This relatively upbeat assessment, however, cannot be widely applied among the developing economies of the world (Siegle, Weinstein, & Halperin, 2004).
There are some notable exceptions among developing economies wherein some developing economies have achieved commendatory levels of economic growth - at least for short periods of time. Further, some developing economies have been successful in putting themselves on what appear to be sustainable paths of economic growth. For many (perhaps most) developing economies, however, the path to economic growth appears to be closed permanently (Roll & Talbott, 2003).
A variety of explanations has been offered as explanations of why some developing economies seem never to develop economically. Further, the character of these explanations on each side of the issue has changed over the years. A simplified rendering of the dichotomy on the issue finds that one side contends that the absence of capital (or access to capital), poor physical resource bases, over population, and a ...