>Doug, you once pointed out that, in America, the poor could not contribute
>much to national savings. They only control about 3% of the economy, you
>said, so even if they saved 20% of their income, which would be impossible
>anyway, it would only amount to maybe .6% of the national income. I'm
>wondering if what holds true here is true for entire nations that are poor.
>Do poor nations like Mali and Bangladesh need outside investment simply
>because they don't have enough income to invest in themselves? Or could they
>come up with the money to do internal investment if only there was the
>internal political will?
Given the structure of the world economy, will doesn't count for much. A poor country is almost certainly in debt, so much of whatever surplus it can generate is shipped out in interest payments. Were they to default, they'd have a hard time getting essential imports or any technologically complex capital equipment. So, barring any political change in the North or a debtors' cartel in the South, they're screwed.
Doug