SOCIAL AND CULTURAL OBSTACLES / FACTORS
Now, we present the obstacles to economic development which represents the socio-cultural attitude of the people. These are as under:
(i) Social Attitudes
Economic development has much to do with human social attitude. Broadly speaking, developing countries posses social institutions and display such attitudes which are not conducive to economic development, e.g. irrational attitude to have more children is also an obstacle to economic development.
(ii) Custom and Traditions
The people of developing countries are slaves of customs and
traditions, e.g. people spend money conspicuously on marriages, birth
(iii) Caste-Ridden Community
The Caste system has stood in the way of the economic progress of
underdeveloped countries. It has created a divergence between aptitude and
(iv) ReIigion
The religious beliefs of the people condemning the concentration of wealth, dependence upon fate, and the will of God are also an obstacle to economic progress. They depend on fortune and do not work hard,
(v) Joint Family System
The Joint family system kills initiative and enterprise in the Younger members of the family. They expect to be comfortably looked after by the head of the family, It results in a low rate of capital formation.
(vi) Law of Inheritance
The law of inheritance has resulted in sub-division and fragmentation of landholdings which have barred all agricultural improvement and productivity becomes low.
(vii) Nepotism
People are influenced by kinship, caste, clan or creed and geographical origin, These are the components of nepotism. It appears to be difficult to disentangle a person's abilities and capacities as a worker from nepotism. Consequently, efficiency suffers because special abilities go unused.
(viii) Illiteracy
The literacy rate is low in developing countries e.g. it is 58% in Pakistan. Illiterate people do not take part as a productive agent of the. economy.
(ix) Unfavorable Environment
The environment of developing countries is not favorable; e.g. lack of residential accommodation health facilities, provision of water and sanitation, etc. The efficiency of workers declines due to an un-favourable environment.
POLITICAL OBSTACLES / FACTORS
In addition to the economic and socio-cultural factors, there are political factors that retard the economic growth of a country. These are as:
(i) Political Instability
Political instability is commonly cited as an obstacle to
economic
(ii) Misuse of Powers
The misuse Of powers and authorities of the administration of developing countries is a common practice, This process leads to corruption and this practice disturbs the merit policy,
(iii) Insincere Leadership
The political leadership in developing countries is not sincere due to lack of training and political instituti011$. The leaders prefer personal interests to national interests and join politics to safeguard their persona interests.
(iv) Political Institutions
The political instability is the result of a lack of stable political institutions in developing countries. Landlords change their political affiliations frequently and new expectations arise and cannot be fulfilled immediately.
ADMINISTRATIVE OBSTACLES / FACTORS
There are marked deficiencies in Public administration in the undeveloped countries which are as below.
(i) Law and Order
The traditional role of the state to maintain law and order is not satisfactory,
(ii) Public Servants
To carry out development functions, the government needs a body of Public servants. Often, they are lack of administrative talent and organizational skills.
(iii) Technical Training
This is true of Pakistan were civil servants belonging to the highest services, for which they do not have the requisite technical training.
(iv) Organization of Administration
The system of administration is not rationally organized in
the
(v) Complicated Rules and Regulations
Rules, regulations, and procedure are complicated and time
(vi) Centralization
There is undue centralization
of power and authority at the higher
(vii) Inefficiency
Inefficiency is a serious obstacle to development in developing countries.
(viii) Lack of Public Spirit
There is a lack of public spirit in government officials and they use their powers for their personal interests. This leads to corruption and bribery in the services.
INTERNATIONAL OBSTACLES / FACTORS
Due to some international factors, the developed countries have kept the developing countries in a state of underdevelopment. These are as under:
(i) Adverse Balance of Payments
Most developing countries have an agrarian economy. Their export consists of raw materials and get low prices in international markets while they import finished goods and pay their high prices. In this way, developing countries have to face the effects of the adverse balance of payments.
(ii) Debt Burden
Foreign aid is used to fill the gap of a deficit budget. It leads to an increase in the debt burden of developing countries. The total public debt is Rs. 16936 billion.
(iii) Technical Progress
Developed countries do not want to transmit the benefits of technical progress to developing countries.
(iv) Inflation
There is an inherent danger of inflation due to rising prices of the imports. The inflation rate is 4.8% in the fiscal year 2014-15.
The export earnings of developing countries are used to pay international debt and interest and during the depression, developing countries are hit the worst.
(vi) Economic Sanction
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