Economic Inequality in Developing Countries

 

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My name is Emebet Hailemariam Tessema from Harar, Ethiopia and I am one of the participants of the Summer Peacebuilding Program at MIIS.
I really enjoyed today’s lecture on Economic inequality by Dr.Jeff Dayton- Johnson. It was a wonderful learning experience as he integrated figures, discussions and small-group works, which I thought were active learning strategies.

In regard to the topics covered in the lecture this morning, although the lecture was a comprehensive discussion on Economic inequality, it made me think a lot about inequality issues in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is one of the examples of countries where growth rate is rising and education is relatively improving, but an improvement in equalities is deteriorating. Additionally, women in developing countries, such as Ethiopia are economically disadvantaged because of their limited access to education, which affects their participation in economic activities. Society and higher education institutions should pay attention to female education because several studies show that female schooling is one of the most significant sources of human capital, which raises productivity and economic growth. Therefore, empowering women both boosts the economy and minimizes the gaps in equality, which consequently fosters peacebuilding process and development.