Globalisation's Effects On Malawi: The Effects Of Globalization In Malawi

The Effects of Globalization on Malawi

Globalization has had drastic effects on the developing world. From colonialism, to the search for natural resources, the slave trade, all the way to modern day global trade and communication, globalism has effected everyone. For developed nations such as the United States, Britain, and other western countries, globalization has been positive. The benefits of outsourcing labor and less environmental regulations has increased the economic prosperity of these countries as a whole, disproportionately to the upper class. The developing world has not received these same benefits and the small landlocked country of Malawi is no different.

2. Globalization has NOT been good for the people of my country.

History

Due to the climate, this is not the most efficient way to sustain the country. Since subsistence farming is the main practice of Malawi, there is not much commerce or innovation coming from the country. This has led to widespread poverty. Almost 74% of the Malawian population lives below the poverty line (Kavinya, 2014). In fact, 72% of the people of Malawi live on less than $2 per day (Tran, 2011). The average person makes $371 a year (Cook, 2013). With poverty levels being so high and a climate not conducive to farming, the basic diet of the average person in Malawi is limited. The standard dish of the Malawian diet is boiled corn meal which they refer to as nsima (Dolph, n.d.). This is usually consumed for lunch and dinner. With varying rain fall, the yields from farmers on average is not enough to sustain a family for the entire year (Harrigan,

In 1994/1995 fertilizer subsidies were removed making the item become much more expensive for the local farmers (Harrigan, 2008). This has led to much higher levels of poverty and hunger as farmers do not yield as much food and have less to trade in markets. The cut in fertilizer subsidies has also caused decreased ability to export crops from Malawi and raise Gross National Product. The main exports of Malawi are coffee, tobacco, and tea which they trade with developed nations such as the United States (Dolph, n.d.). Because of unstable currency and massive inflation, the economy of Malawi is still unstable and the poverty and hunger persists. In 2011, the United Kingdom indefinitely suspended aid to Malawi (Tran, 2011). This decision was made because of Britain’s discontentment of economic management by the Malawi government. Ironically, Malawi was once colonized by the United Kingdom and until July 6th, 1964 (Lambert, 2016). The United States gave $146 million to Malawi in foreign aid in 2013 (Cook, 2013). Although the aid is supportive, it only averages out to approximately $9 per person a