defined Affluence is the abundance of money, property, and other material goods; riches; wealth, as stated by dictionary.com. In determining the various degrees of affluence among the four countries given in the lab (Mali, Haiti, United States, Thailand); I chose to differentiate this using degrees of measure such as GDP, calorie intake per capita, life expectancy, and things such as the number of automobiles that they own. The factor that I initially believe to be the most foretelling of the affluence of a particular country is the GDP. The GDP for the United States is 31872. As stated by cia.gov, a few current factors that have caused the growth of the GDP in the past two to three years are the substantial gains in labor productivity and the great amount of money spent on health care per year, which happens to be another representation of their grade of affluence. The life expectancy of a person from the United States is 76.8 years. Life expectancy is a good measure of the level of affluence because it shows their quantity of life. Typically, when a country has a high life expectancy, it can be assumed that they have the money, time and energy to spend on their health. They have the appropriate amount of food, healthcare and exercise. The infant mortality rate of a country can be used to asses the affluence of a country because a country with a greater affluence has the ability to spend the money, time and energy into not only making sure children are healthy but developing new techniques to assure the health of newborn babies. The infant mortality rate of the United States is 7 in 1,000 live births. For example, schools in the United States have the ability economically to provide students with the information on the side effects of smoking, drinking, and drugs on babies in the womb. Another clear indicator of the affluence of the United States is their percentage of people undernourished in their country. They have a percentage of zero people undernourished in the United States, which indicates their ability to eat well and the United States ability to feed the impoverished. The United States also has a wide variety of food that they commonly eat such as meat, potatoes, carrots, onions, green beans and peppers. This array of food also symbolizes their affluence because it shows their ability to eat a wellbalanced diet with the meat necessary, their vegetables, and seasonings. The last item that shows the degree of their affluence is the number of radios (roughly 3), telephones (5), televisions (2), VCR's (1), Bicycles (4), and automobiles (3), per American household. They not only have one of these but they have the ability to own multiples of these items. Each American family typically sets aside money to aid their 16 year old son or daughter in buying a car, and when you are of age it isn't uncommon for a teenager to expect a car. American's have the capability to overindulge in their wealth and riches. The next country that was assessed was Thailand. Thailand has a GPD of 6132, which is significantly lower than the United States. People's Daily stated that this low GDP is partially due to the long draught that occurred a few years ago, the impact of the tsunami and the rising oil prices, but is expected to take a rise in the near future. The life expectancy is another factor that contributes to Thailand's affluence. It is the second highest of the four countries assessed with a life expectancy of 70 years. This indicates that they have a decent level of technological advances in the areas of medicine, and advances in the nation-wide knowledge of fitness and diet. Their infant mortality rate was also relatively low indicating the same level of affluence, being 26 deaths in 1000 births. They clearly have taken their prosperity and time and invested it into the health and well being of their country's people. The mere fact that they have the ability to spend this is a sign of their affluence. A startling factor that signifies their lower level of affluence in
comparison to the United States is their percentage of undernourished individuals: 21%. According to the website the Mekong Watershed, this percentage of undernourished individuals might be in part due to the diversities in the levels of income among the citizens of Thailand. As discussed in the interpretation of the United States, there is a great variety food that they eat: rice, shrimp, paste, bamboo shoots, red pork, and cucumbers. This variety indicates a high degree of affluence, because they have an ability to pick and choose what they eat as opposed to the other two nations of Mali and Haiti which will be discussed in detail later. Thailand typically has 1 radio in a household, 1 television, and 1 motor scooter and zero automobiles, VCR's, and telephones. Thailand isn't as affluent as the United States in these areas but it has the ability to spend extra finances on luxury items such as the radio, and television motor scooter. Haiti has a GDP of 1464, which is close to 1/6 of the GPD of Thailand and 1/30 of the GDP of the United States. This number indicates the poverty in the country of Haiti. Haiti's low level of GDP is due to the political violence that has dictated the country for the majority of its history, according to cia.gov. This site also indicates that there might be hope for the country because of the democratically elected President in May of 2006. "Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere... with 80% of its citizens living below the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty," according to cia.gov. Main reasons for this high level of poverty is the high rate of inflation, lack of investment and the low trade deficit. The life expectancy of Haiti is 52 years of age, which is significantly different than life expectancies of 70 and above for the United States and Thailand. This shows the lack of affluence in the country of Haiti because it shows that the don't have the time or money to spend on the health and well being of their citizens. They also probably have not had time with all of the warfare to think up technological advances or to have new technology introduced into their country from more prosperous nations. The infant mortality rate is also quite high with 83 deaths per 1000 births. This is probably so high for the same reasons that their life expectancy is so low. The percentage of undernourished people in Haiti is startlingly high at 62%. The reason for this high level of impoverished people is due to the poverty in the country; people are not able to access any reasonable amount of food to feed their families and themselves. According to worldfoodprize.org, another main reason that they are so impoverished is because there is a lack of good farming land due to deforestation. The land that is good enough to farm on is used to produce sugarcane as an export, and what is left if hardly enough to feed the vast population of Haiti at 7.2 million people. Haiti has zero radios, telephones, televisions, VCR's, bicycles, and automobiles. This shows that they have little money to spare, especially since they can barely afford to provide enough food for themselves and their families. Haitians live on a diet of sweet potatoes that truly shows their level of affluence because the food available consists of one main item. Mali is the last country that was reviewed. Mali has the lowest GDP of 753. According to cia.gov, "Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with a highly unequal distribution of income. Economic activity is largely confined to the riverine area irrigated by the Niger. About 10% of the population is nomadic and some 80% of the labor force is engaged in farming and fishing. Industrial activity is concentrated on processing farm commodities. Mali is heavily dependent on foreign aid and vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices for cotton, its main export, along with gold." A nomadic lifestyle is seemed to be somewhat primitive and explains why they have little
developments in technology. The lack of developments in technology could explain why the life expectancy is only 51, and the infant mortality rate is 143 deaths in 1,000 births. The citizens of Mali have probably had little time to spend on advancements in technology because they have been traveling to try and stay healthy and keep food and various weather conditions available. This food shortage could be due to the locust invasion in 2004-2005 which left the Sahel region with a severe food crisis, according to ifrc.org. Mali seems to be slightly more affluent in the categories of luxury items, because they have 1 radio and bicycle per household. This could be because before the food crisis they might have had more money to spend on these items instead of on the reproduction of food. Another category that makes them more affluent than Mali is that they eat rice and fish, meaning they have a more balanced diet. References "Field Listing-Economy Overview." World Factbook. 3 Apr. 2007 <https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/fields/2116.html>. "NIGER, BURKINA FASO,." Minor Emergency. 15 July 2005. 3 Apr. 2007 <http://www.ifrc.org/docs/appeals/05/05ME022.pdf>. The Mekong Watershed." The Contested Landscapes of The. 18 June 1999. Australian Mekong Resource Centre. 3 Apr. 2007 <http://www.mekong.es.usyd.edu.au/case_studies/nam_theun/Mekong_watershed /mekong_watershed.htm>. Thurn, Amanda. ""Understanding Trends in Global Nutrition: the Paradox." World Food Prize. 3 Apr. 2007 <http://www.worldfoodprize.org/assets/YouthInstitute/05proceedings/ClarionGoldfieldHighSchool.pdf>. Xinhua. "Thailand's GDP to Grow 4 Pct in 2005: JP Morgan." People's Daily Online. 19 Aug. 2005. 3 Apr. 2007 <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200508/19/eng20050819_203515.html>.