Summary Of Article
- There seems to be a connection between a
country's temperature and its economic development, with colder countries
generally being more prosperous.
- Studies have shown an inverse relationship
between temperature and GDP per capita, indicating that colder countries
tend to have higher GDP per capita.
- Researchers are investigating if there's a hidden
third factor influencing this relationship or if it's purely coincidental.
- Historically, colder regions have been associated
with disciplined populations and constant water availability, which could
contribute to economic development.
- Cold climates may enhance work capacity and
industrial focus, leading to economic prosperity.
- While many cold countries are rich, there are
exceptions like Singapore and UAE, which are prosperous despite being
warm.
- Historically, warmer regions were associated with
advanced civilizations due to better agricultural production.
- In today's world, economic development depends
more on industrialization, education, and innovation rather than climate.
- While climate may have played a role historically, modern economic development is influenced by various factors beyond temperature.
Welcome to Historical Horizons. If we
talk about countries like America, Canada, Great Britain, Switzerland, Finland
and Germany, what comes to your mind? Off course your answer will be
that all these countries are prosperous and developed. On the other hand, when
countries like Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh and Pakistan
are mentioned, we definitely think of a poor and under developed country.
But friends, they have one more thing in
common. That is, most of the prosperous and developed countries are cold while the
poor countries are mostly found in the warm regions of the world. Technically,
the development of a country is directly related to factors like government
stability, natural resources, credit rating, infrastructure etc.
But friends, at this time, apparently, the
development of a country also seems closely related to the climate and
temperature of that country. So is it just a coincidence that rich and
developed countries are cold while poor and developing countries are hot or is
there a real connection between climate and temperature to economic
development? Did historically the developed civilizations also belong to the
cold regions? Let's try to find out the answers to these questions.
An Apparent Relationship Between Temperature and Economic Growth
Currently, we have data on economic development
and temperature of most countries in the world, so their correlation can be
easily known.
An important measure to measure the economic development of a country is the
country's GDP per capita.
GDP per capita shows a country's economic
output per person. It also indirectly determines the prosperity of a nation
Cold countries usually have the large per capita GDP in the world Ireland,
Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Denmark are extremely cold countries and their
per capita GDP is very high While Luxembourg, most of the US and Australia are
also considered relatively cold.
If we talk about Australia, its two main and
richest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, experience the coldest temperatures. On
the other hand, Darwin, despite its abundant natural resources, is considered a
poor city in Australia Darwin's average temperature is higher than Sydney and
Melbourne.
A study conducted in 2020 compared the per capita GDP and average temperature of
98 countries in the world and
the result shows that there is an inverse or negative relationship between
temperature and GDP per capita.
That is, countries with higher average
temperatures have lower GDP per capita and countries with lower average
temperatures have higher GDP per capita. According to this study, if the
average temperature of a country is 1 degree higher than another country the
per capita GDP of this country will be 725 dollars less than the other country.
Moreover, through this study and all available
data, it was also estimated that GDP per capita depends on temperature by about
9%, which seems to be quite significant. On the other hand, all other factors
including government stability, natural resources, credit rating, infrastructure
etc accounts
for about 91%.
But friends, the question arises here, can all these data be random and
unrelated and is it possible that there is a third factor that exists between
temperature and GDP per capita? For example, what would you say if someone said
that research shows that when air conditioners sale increases, the number of
people who die from drowning increases? Of course, your answer will be that air
conditioner sale have nothing to do with drowning people.
Indeed it is, but there is a third factor
hidden in this connection that is common between air conditioner sale and
drowning deaths and that is, the summer season means, air conditioners sell
more in summer and the number of people bathing in swimming pools or beaches
increases in summer due to which the number of drowning deaths in summer also
increases. So,
indirectly, when the sale of air conditioners increases, the number of people
drowning in water also increases.
So guys, is there a hidden third factor between
temperature and GDP per capita of a country? So far, several researchers have
investigated the direct relationship between a country's temperature and its
GDP per capita, or any third factor that exists between this relationship on
technical grounds.
Let us examine the various factors that may
have contributed to the development of colder countries.
Tough and
Disciplined People
People living in cold regions are said to be
tough and disciplined.
Apparently, this seems to be true because historically, people used to plan in
advance to survive in extreme cold People in extremely cold countries could not
survive the harsh winters unless they planned ahead to store food, build good
shelters, and conserve other resources.
So it can be said that the people of cold
regions were always organized and even today that planning and discipline can
be seen in their lives and perhaps this is the secret of their progress.
Constant and moderate availability of water One thing that has dominated human development
over the centuries is water.
Whether it is agriculture or waterborne trade,
water has always been of utmost importance. In hot regions, the flow of
water in rivers can increase or decrease up to 80 times throughout the year.
This is because the rainy season or monsoons are widespread in hot climates.
Floods prove to be very destructive in such areas. Whereas in colder countries,
rainfall is regular and moderate, which keeps the water level in rivers and
canals quite stable. As
a result, waterway trade in such areas can be transported more consistently and
efficiently.
Warm Weather
and Human
Work Capacity
Friends, a person's ability to work can
decrease in hot weather. According to a study, when the temperature rises above
27 degrees Celsius, a person's ability to work begins to decrease by two to
four percent per degree.
A reduction in individual work capacity affects overall domestic production and
livelihoods.
Here is a big advantage for countries with cold
climates. Getting rid of a cold is relatively easy. The use of warm clothes,
and the construction of buildings in a certain way can prevent the extremes of
cold.
In hot weather, using air conditioners can control the temperature inside a
house or building but it is not possible to control the outdoor temperature and
hot climate.
Moreover, some hot countries cannot afford air conditioners usage on a large
scale due to lack of resources.
Therefore, with limited resources, man can
control the hot climate only to a certain extent and thus the productivity of
hot countries remains relatively low.
Industrial
Production
Crops cannot be grown on a large scale in
extreme cold regions and moreover, there are some cold countries where natural
resources such as oil and gas reserves do not exist. Therefore, such countries
focus all their attention on industrial production and technology.
As a result, cooler countries become richer and
more prosperous due to their industrial exports, better infrastructure and
technology services.
Examples of Hot and Rich Countries
Friends, while we have countless examples of
cold rich countries and hot poor countries, there are also counter examples
like Singapore, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which are
still very rich and developed despite being warm. The only reason why Arab
countries are rich is because of their abundant natural resources.
While Singapore is truly a country that has
emerged as a strong economic country despite the lack of natural resources. On the other hand, North
Korea is a poor country despite being very cold, reason being their political
setup. In addition, Russia is a country that is very cold and rich in natural
resources, but its per capita GDP is not so significant.
Ancient
Civilizations and Climates
If we look at history, most civilizations such
as Egypt, Persia, the civilizations around the Indus River, even the ancient
Maya civilization, were actually concentrated in hot areas. At that time, the
wealth of a country was determined by the production of food. Because a large number of
crops and plants grow better and more abundantly in warmer climates these
civilizations of warmer regions were considered more advanced due to greater
agricultural production.
Conclusion
So friends, why did this change happen now and
why are cold countries more developed than hot ones? This is because economic
development in the modern world does not depend on how much food a country can
produce, but on industrial development, education, research and innovation The
provision of technology, defence and services has become more important and
valuable As time has changed, the needs of the world have changed and the
factors that determine countries' prosperity and GDP have also changed.
Therefore,
the development of countries does not directly depend on weather or
temperature, but regardless of the weather, every country has the potential to
develop within its limited resources.
So
friends, how did you like this interesting and unique Article?
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