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So there's a lot of true on it that you said; do not is needed a lot of enlightened people with capital to create big businesses that boost the economy, but is needed a large stock of technical professionals like engineers or many kinds of blue collar workers to collaborate in these companies. Plus this battalion of well-paid workers creates a giant consumer market that ends up employing the portion of the population not directly linked to the sectors that generate great wealth in developed countries.
If the actual demand for these high skilled workers is met, the remaining high skilled ones will go to waste except the few that are sciphon off by other countries, particularly developed one.
Reality is that demand for high skill workers never requires that most people be high skill workers. In fact, if the supply of high skill workers greatly outpaces the local demand fof high skill workers, labor positions that require a high skill (usually a university graduate) will see a decrease of salaries. That's when you end up having people that spend a good part of their lives (more than a quarter of life considering the average person doesn't live to 100 anywhere) to find jobs that either matches the skill they offer but hsve a depressed salary or can't even find work in their field (which is worse). A college degree hanging on a wall isn't as appealing if it isn't back up with a good paying job with excellent benefits, etc.
Some people think that automatically a college degree equals finding a good job in your field with excellent pay. Reality isn't that simple.
That has been falling in Panama much more than in Brazil too. Oh sure, you probably thought whatever you did vis-a-vis Brazil (in this case Rio de Janeiro) when in fact Panama has a lesser problem of slums than the giant in the south. Then we add the economic performance of Panama vs Brazil and there is no point in mentioning where it has done considerably better.
Taking these numbers as correct Brazil has 28% and Panama has 23%, but, don't you think is really strange a country like Panama with $36,000 of GDP PPP percapita, similar number than Croatia and Greece not far from Portugal and Poland ($40,000) having this level of poverty?? Brazil has half GDP percapita of Panama.
Countries like Costa Rica and Chile with much less GDP PPP percapita than Panama has much less poverty and slums. Why ?? because much of this money are not being made by panamanians but by tax heaven banks and the canal.
If the actual demand for these high skilled workers is met, the remaining high skilled ones will go to waste except the few that are sciphon off by other countries, particularly developed one.
Reality is that demand for high skill workers never requires that most people be high skill workers. In fact, if the supply of high skill workers greatly outpaces the local demand fof high skill workers, labor positions that require a high skill (usually a university graduate) will see a decrease of salaries. That's when you end up having people that spend a good part of their lives (more than a quarter of life considering the average person doesn't live to 100 anywhere) to find jobs that either matches the skill they offer but hsve a depressed salary or can't even find work in their field (which is worse). A college degree hanging on a wall isn't as appealing if it isn't back up with a good paying job with excellent benefits, etc.
Some people think that automatically a college degree equals finding a good job in your field with excellent pay. Reality isn't that simple.
Many university degrees especially in the humanities are useless in the job market. So you have to separate underemployed workers with degrees in technological areas, engineering, office administratives, and sciences from, as example, literature and arts.
Taking these numbers as correct Brazil has 28% and Panama has 23%, but, don't you think is really strange a country like Panama with $36,000 of GDP PPP percapita, similar number than Croatia and Greece not far from Portugal and Poland ($40,000) having this level of poverty?? Brazil has half GDP percapita of Panama.
Not at all because that was from years before your trip while you're citing a GDP per capita PPP that is much more recent. In that case, its comparing apples and oranges. Panama was a much poorer country back then.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EVANGELISTTI
Countries like Costa Rica and Chile with much less GDP PPP percapita than Panama has much less poverty and slums. Why ?? because much of this money are not being made by panamanians but by tax heaven banks and the canal.
Those countries have been at their levels of national wealth for much longer than Panama. The rule of thumb in Latin America is that the typical country doesn't change much in national wealth as time goes on relative to the other countries in the region. You look at a ranking of Latin American countries from say 2000 and compare to one more recent from 2020, 2021 or 2022 and you will notice that most countries rank the same vis-a-vis other countries. The exceptions are counted in one hand and Panama is one of them as one of the economies that converges the most with other countries in Latin America. Their ranking then and in the more recent one shows an increase of position unlike most Latin American countries.
Plus only three countries in Latin America are flosing the standards of living gap with developed countries and Panama is one of them. Time moves on and most of Latin America's standard of living gap with developed countries either stay the same (a few) or increase (most). Basically, a country can grow over the long term, but developed countries are growing faster (when economic crises are taken into account) that they actually are getting ahead even further compared to most of Latin America.
Then there is Venezuela that fell off a cliff, but that they created themselves by having that lunatic Maduro in power and not being able to get rid of him.
This difference is something that is noticeable when you visit the major cities. Go to a country like Colombia, which has beautiful cities especially MedellÃn, and then visit Panama City. You will notice just by looking around that there are more signs of growth and change in the latter than in the former which has a more slower or stuck appearance. For example, you will see more construction activity in Panama City than in MedellÃn.
That is actually something that is pinpointed by Dominicans as there is a much more visible sign of change and economic activity in Santo Domingo than in Bogota, even though the latter is a much bigger city. They are also bound to comment about things such as cars since in MedellÃn there are certain vehicles that are mostly seen in really nice areas like Poblado while in Santo Domingo you will see owners of similar cars in more varied neighborhoods. Also things such as most private cars in MedellÃn appear to be smaller and are manual vs in Santo Domingo where they are bigger and automatic for the most part. Right now Colombia is a popular vacation spot, especially MedellÃn and Cartagena, for middle class Dominicans that now is rare to hear thst someone either hasn't been to Colombia or is planning to go in the next 3 years or so.
Now, there are many things MedellÃn comes through as better than SD, particularly in the organization and urban design. It becomes noticeable as soon as you arrive that MedellÃn's city government uses professional urbanist/architects/etc in enhancing the beauty and fooliage of its streets thsn in Santo Domingo. The city is also much more segregated than Santo Domingo, particularly in the latter its much more common for a nice neighborhood to be next to a poorer one or a really nice house to be next door to one that isn't. In MedellÃn most of the people with a comfortable lifestyle live in one side of town and is rare to see rich people passing through poorer areas or poor people walking in the streets of posh areas like Poblado. In fact, there seems to be a racial segregation in this sense in MedellÃn as you hardly see any blacks in Poblado, but you do see more walking the streets of poorer neighborhoods. This is not the case in Santo Domingo at all.
I really wish that Panamá and Dominican Republic develop themselvs overlapping fully the middle income trap, that all most developed Latin American countries fell one day. As well Guyana and Suriname, who discovery billion barrels in oil and gas recently don’t follow the steps of Venezuela.
Argentina isn't going nowhere and it hasn't for over a century. If you went to Buenos Aires say in the 1980's and you go today, minus the usual changes that comes with the times the place still looks largely the same.
If you went to Panama City in the 1980's and you go today, the place is unrecognizable.
Last time I was in Panama City was 1952.
I would hope it has changed in 70 years.
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