Introduction
For developing countries grappling with poverty, inadequate infrastructure, and limited public services, economic growth is not a luxury but an existential imperative. Without sustained increases in national income, governments cannot fund healthcare, education, or the basic infrastructure that underpins human dignity. This essay supports the view that economic growth should be the overriding priority for developing countries, as it provides the material foundation upon which all other development goals depend.
Economic growth is the most effective mechanism for lifting large populations out of poverty and meeting basic human needs.
Explain
Sustained economic growth generates employment, raises incomes, and increases government tax revenues, all of which are essential for reducing poverty at scale. Without a growing economy, developing nations simply lack the resources to provide adequate food, shelter, healthcare, and education to their populations. Historical evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that the most dramatic reductions in poverty have occurred during periods of rapid economic growth.
Example
China's prioritisation of economic growth from 1978 onwards, beginning with Deng Xiaoping's 'Reform and Opening Up' policy, lifted over 800 million people out of extreme poverty between 1981 and 2020, according to the World Bank. China's GDP per capita rose from approximately $200 in 1980 to over $12,500 by 2023, enabling massive investments in infrastructure, education, and healthcare that would have been inconceivable without sustained growth. Similarly, Vietnam's Doi Moi reforms in 1986, which prioritised market-oriented economic growth, reduced its poverty rate from over 50% in the early 1990s to below 5% by 2020.
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This strongly supports the view that economic growth should be the priority for developing countries, as no alternative strategy has proven remotely as effective at delivering the scale of poverty reduction that growth enables.
Economic growth generates the fiscal resources necessary for governments to invest in public goods such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
Explain
Developing countries face a fundamental paradox: they need strong public institutions to develop, but they cannot fund those institutions without economic growth. Growth expands the tax base, increases government revenues, and creates the fiscal space for investment in the social infrastructure that supports long-term development. Without growth, governments are trapped in a cycle of scarcity where every developmental need competes for inadequate resources.
Example
Rwanda used its expanding revenues to achieve remarkable developmental outcomes, with life expectancy rising from approximately 51 years in 2002 to 69.6 years by 2022, and near-universal health insurance coverage through its Mutuelle de Sante scheme.
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This reinforces the argument that economic growth should be the priority for developing countries, as the public goods that citizens most urgently need can only be funded through the revenues that a growing economy generates.
Developing countries can address environmental and social concerns more effectively from a position of economic strength than from poverty.
Explain
The environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis suggests that while environmental degradation may initially increase with economic growth, it eventually decreases as wealthier nations invest in cleaner technologies and stricter regulations. Developing countries that sacrifice growth for environmental or social goals risk remaining too poor to address those very concerns. Economic strength provides the resources, technology, and institutional capacity to tackle inequality and environmental damage far more effectively than poverty does.
Example
South Korea's trajectory exemplifies this pattern. During its rapid industrialisation from the 1960s to the 1990s, the country prioritised growth, and environmental quality deteriorated significantly. However, once South Korea reached high-income status, it invested heavily in environmental protection, committing to a 'Green New Deal' in 2020 worth $61 billion to transition toward renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. By contrast, many of the world's poorest nations, despite having low carbon footprints, lack the resources to invest in climate adaptation, with the IPCC estimating that developing countries need $300 billion annually in adaptation finance that they cannot generate domestically without economic growth.
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This supports the view that growth should be the priority for developing countries, as economic strength is a prerequisite for, rather than an obstacle to, addressing environmental and social challenges effectively.
Counter-Argument
Opponents of growth-first strategies argue that prioritising GDP expansion frequently exacerbates inequality, concentrating wealth among elites while leaving the majority no better off. Nigeria, Africa's largest economy with a GDP exceeding $470 billion, nonetheless had 133 million people living in multidimensional poverty as of 2022, representing 63% of its population, because oil revenues were captured by a narrow elite.
Rebuttal
The failure of countries like Nigeria reflects not the inadequacy of economic growth as a priority but the absence of effective governance and redistributive policies alongside it. China's prioritisation of economic growth from 1978 onwards lifted over 800 million people out of extreme poverty, and Rwanda's average annual GDP growth of 7.5% between 2000 and 2020 funded near-universal health insurance coverage of 91%, demonstrating that growth, when accompanied by even basic institutional accountability, is the most powerful engine of broad-based poverty reduction.
Conclusion
In conclusion, economic growth should remain the paramount priority for developing countries because it is the indispensable engine of poverty reduction, infrastructure development, and social progress. Without growth, governments lack the fiscal capacity to invest in the public goods that improve quality of life. While the manner in which growth is pursued matters, the fundamental imperative of expanding national income cannot be subordinated to other goals when millions still lack access to the most basic necessities.
Introduction
While economic growth is undeniably important for developing nations, the insistence that it should 'always' be the priority reflects a dangerously reductive understanding of development. Growth that is pursued at all costs can exacerbate inequality, devastate the environment, and entrench authoritarian governance, ultimately undermining the very prosperity it seeks to create. This essay argues that developing countries must pursue a more balanced approach that integrates environmental sustainability, social equity, and institutional development alongside economic expansion.
Growth-at-all-costs strategies frequently exacerbate inequality, concentrating wealth among elites while leaving the majority no better off.
Explain
Not all economic growth is inclusive. When developing countries prioritise GDP growth above all else, the benefits often accrue disproportionately to political and economic elites, multinational corporations, and urban centres, while rural populations, informal workers, and marginalised communities are left behind. Growth that widens inequality can actually worsen social outcomes for the majority, as rising aggregate wealth masks persistent deprivation at the bottom.
Example
Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, exemplifies the failure of growth-centric development without attention to equity. Despite decades of oil-fuelled economic expansion, a large share of the population lives in multidimensional poverty. India's impressive GDP growth has coexisted with rising wealth concentration, with the top 10% holding 77% of national wealth according to Oxfam's 2023 India Inequality Report.
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This challenges the view that growth should always be the priority, as the Nigerian and Indian experiences demonstrate that economic expansion without equitable distribution can fail to improve, or even worsen, the lives of the majority of citizens in developing countries.
The pursuit of economic growth as an overriding priority has caused severe and often irreversible environmental destruction in developing countries.
Explain
When growth is treated as the supreme goal, environmental regulations are weakened, natural resources are exploited unsustainably, and the ecological systems upon which long-term prosperity depends are degraded. The assumption that developing countries can 'grow first and clean up later' ignores the reality that some environmental damage, such as biodiversity loss, aquifer depletion, and climate change, is irreversible. Moreover, the poorest citizens of developing countries bear the brunt of environmental degradation through polluted water, toxic air, and climate-related disasters.
Example
Indonesia's pursuit of economic growth through palm oil production has come at enormous environmental cost, with millions of hectares of rainforest destroyed since 1990, making Indonesia one of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters due to deforestation and peatland fires. The catastrophic haze events of 2015, which caused an estimated $16 billion in economic losses across Southeast Asia and led to over 100,000 premature deaths according to Harvard and Columbia university researchers, illustrate how growth-driven environmental destruction can undermine prosperity.
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This demonstrates that economic growth should not always be the priority for developing countries, as the environmental costs of unchecked growth can be irreversible and ultimately self-defeating, harming both ecological systems and human welfare.
Alternative development frameworks that balance growth with sustainability and equity have proven more effective at producing lasting, broad-based prosperity.
Explain
The narrow focus on GDP growth as a measure of development is increasingly recognised as inadequate, as it fails to capture the quality of life, environmental sustainability, or distributional fairness that citizens actually experience. Development frameworks such as the United Nations' Human Development Index, Bhutan's Gross National Happiness, and the Sustainable Development Goals provide more holistic benchmarks that prioritise wellbeing alongside growth. Countries that adopt these balanced approaches often achieve superior outcomes in health, education, and life satisfaction.
Example
Costa Rica, despite a modest GDP per capita, consistently ranks among the world's happiest nations in the Happy Planet Index and has achieved a life expectancy of approximately 78 years, comparable to many wealthier nations. Costa Rica abolished its military in 1948 and redirected defence spending toward universal healthcare and education, while protecting over 25% of its territory as national parks.
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These examples demonstrate that economic growth should not always be the priority for developing countries, as holistic development strategies that integrate environmental protection, social equity, and wellbeing alongside growth produce more durable and meaningful prosperity for citizens.
Counter-Argument
Proponents of growth argue that developing countries can address environmental and social concerns more effectively from a position of economic strength, citing South Korea's trajectory from prioritising rapid industrialisation to committing $61 billion to a 'Green New Deal' in 2020. They contend that economic strength provides the resources, technology, and institutional capacity to tackle inequality and environmental damage far more effectively than poverty does.
Rebuttal
This 'grow first, clean up later' argument ignores the reality that much environmental damage is irreversible and that the poorest citizens bear its costs immediately. Indonesia's destruction of 26 million hectares of rainforest for palm oil production caused the catastrophic 2015 haze events, which resulted in over 100,000 premature deaths and $16 billion in economic losses across Southeast Asia, demonstrating that environmental destruction driven by growth ultimately undermines the very prosperity it was meant to deliver.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the view that economic growth should 'always' be the priority for developing countries is a false doctrine that ignores the profound costs of growth pursued without regard for sustainability, equity, and governance. The experiences of nations that have achieved high GDP growth while failing their citizens in health, environmental quality, and democratic participation serve as cautionary tales. A more holistic vision of development, one that treats growth as a means rather than an end, is both more ethical and more likely to produce lasting prosperity.
How far is increased prosperity for all a realistic goal in your society?
2013'The gap between the rich and the poor can never be bridged.' Discuss.
2013Should governments prioritise reducing inequality over promoting economic growth?
2022'Capitalism has failed the majority.' How far do you agree?
2018'Technological unemployment is the greatest economic challenge of our time.' Discuss.
2023