Yesenia Saldana on Joseph Stiglitz "The Promise of Development"

In Stiglitz's "The Promise of Development" the author explains to us the reason as to why there is such a huge difference in the development or well being of a country. In his text he compares the difference of third and first world countries and why there is such a huge difference. The main argument of the author is that the reason for the difference in the well being of the countries is the difference in knowledge or as he mentions it the "knowledge gap."

Like most of us might know and the most obvious reason as to why some countries are less developed than other is because of the lack of technology or less advanced technology. Many countries are not up to date with technological advances because of lack of money or resources needed. The lack of technology then prevents these countries to provide the necessary education for kids which makes kids from those countries less knowledgeable than kids from countries that learn more stuff thanks to technological advances. For example, if we compare the education kids are receiving in the U.S. where schools are now providing tablets to kids and the education that kids in India have the "knowledge gap" between both will be huge.

According to the author, the way in which this "knowledge gap" can become at least a bit smaller is if first world countries or countries that have many technological advances or resources help out the less fortunate countries in order for these countries to be more developed in every way. Obviously, this will be unlikely to happen because of problems such as war and so on. Instead, what we do see is well developed countries trying to take over these less fortunate countries just because they feel that superiority over them. Since third world countries don't have enough resources to obtain great knowledge they will never be developed the same way. As we all know, knowledge is the one thing that helps one as a person succeed in every way. So, if a country as a whole is not knowledgeable then it will be harder for them to succeed.

For example, in our everyday lives if one goes to a job interview the more knowledgeable person in an interview will get the job compared to someone who seems lost and illiterate. Sometimes even if a person might not have all the knowledge needed as long as they know how to speak properly using the knowledge they have they are able to present themselves well and seem more knowledgeable than a person that might just speak like if they are in the street.

http://www.informationr.net/ir/16-2/p479fig1.png

Can knowledge be lost during a period of time due to natural disasters such as what Puerto Rico is going through? Or can a natural disaster help a country gain more resources or technological advances once it is back on its feet since it will try to get back on its feet with newer better things?