Why underdeveloped countries missed the bandwagon of the first industrial revolution

[Dimpho Geschenk Busang]

Is it fair to say that the first industrial revolution gave the present developed countries an initial advantage, which they sustained through the existence of various cumulative forces against those left behind. Also consider the conditions of agriculture, urban bias, population size and external relations of those underdeveloped countries.

[Sadiq Bello]

Looking at it from the African perspective, yes developed countries had an advantage in pepping their economy during the first industrial revolution. However, as African there a need to start appreciating who we are and more importantly what we stand for. Our development need not follow the popularized western stages of development. A time would come where we would inherently need to discover ourselves and seek to develop tailored approaches for the so-called less developed countries of the world. For instance, Countries in Sub Sahara Africa have majority (say over 80%) of their people living in rural areas with their means of livelihood surrounding agriculture. Therefore emphasis should be placed on the awareness and capacity building of these people to first and foremost appreciate who they are and what they stand for, . This will most likely discourage the urban bias as well as purposefully step up standards of living of these people. Rather than the colossal waste of executive time spent on formulating western tailored policies which end up on shelves.

[Dimpho Geschenk Busang]

Thanx Sadiq. The thing is this question is an academic assignment and I am supposed to affirm the statement. Nevertheless thanx for popping in and contributing something... Hav a nice day

[Dimpho Geschenk Busang]

How did population size and urban bias contribute to the LDC's missing the First industrial Revolution?

[Nathan Och]

Don't forget about political stability. This plays a very large role in the growth of an economy. Any region can have an industrial revoluion, but without political stability, the right circumstances will never be seen. Africa has had unrest in many nations for many years. However, the issue of how the unrest came about could also be debated (i.e. industrialized nations causing unrest due to the fight over wealth through certain industrial complexities located in Africa).