Fourth World

THE MAIN ARGUMENT of the advocates of the “End of the Third World” relates to the uneven development within the Third World. Geographical size and population size were extremely different; some countries were rich in raw materials, others resource-poor. Giant India was part of the less developed countries (LDCs) as were microstates, which had fewer inhabitants than a suburb of Delhi.

In the 1970s, the newly industrializing economies (NIEs) (South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) were on the threshold of joining industrialized country status. Oil-exporting Saudi Arabia and manu-factured-goods exporting Brazil often have more in common with industrialized countries. At the same time, the income gap of the LDCs to the least developed countries (LLDCs), also called the Fourth World, increased year by year. Fourth-World countries (or LLDCs) are even less-developed than LDCs.

At the First United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 1964, there was a discussion about least developed countries and how to identify them. In 1971, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly recognized this category of countries characterized by severe economic and social problems, notably the profound poverty of their people and the weakness of their economic, institutional, and human resources.

The UN's criteria for LLDC status include income per capita per year of up to $750; ranking on the Augmented Physical Quality of Life Index (APQLI, which consists of life expectancy at birth and very limited health services, safe drinking water, calorie intake per day, attendance at primary and secondary schools, and literacy rate); an Economic Diversification Index (EDI) rank, also called Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI, with figures for the most part into manufacturing and services that play in a country's Gross Domestic Product, including consumption of electricity, structure of exports, the instability of agriculture, the economic importance of traditional activities, and the percentage of people displaced by natural disasters); and an upper limit of population of not more than 75 million.

Of the less developed countries, around 40 became part of the Fourth World. These countries were extremely poor; had minimal industrialization; suffered from malnutrition, ignorance, and disease; and their labor force was not very skilled. To be counted as an LLDC, all these indicators have to fit. The rationale behind these indicators is to quantify poverty in a simple and straightforward manner. The least developed countries or Fourth World shares absolute poverty and economic weaknesses, which make it very difficult to develop. The list of Fourth World countries is now around 50 strong, with a combined population of over 600 million people, and of those countries two-thirds are in Africa. The economic relationship of these countries to the rest of the world is minimal. Other characteristics for these countries are very low economic growth rates and of course very low savings and investment rates, but very high birthrates. Most people work in subsistence agriculture in the countryside, which is not self-sufficient and needs food imports. Transport links are very limited.

A place on this list of LLDCs has some advantages, as bi- or multi-lateral development agencies offer special conditions (grants instead of aid, which had to be repaid with interest or at least concessional aid) to the poorest of the poor countries. However, more aid will not end the increasing wealth gap among the less developed countries, and some countries see inclusion on this list as demeaning in general as it might also deter foreign investment. Special provisions in regional integration organizations, in commodity agreements when they exist, for oil purchases, for fair trade in general, and for a no-arms-sale policy might be more constructive for the Fourth World together with their governments’ acceptance of responsibility for development.

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