Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 4.5
Measures of wealth and welfare provision in regions of Brazil.
State or region
Sewage disposal: % of localities
with service
Nordeste region 4,373 26.1
Ceara State 2,514 7.6
Southeast region 12,386 91.0
São Paulo State
1
4,515
9
4.8
Source:
Anuario Estatistico do Brasil 1995, Instituto Brasiliero de Geografia e Estatistica,
Rio de Janeiro.
Regional product per capita (1
0
00s cruzeiros)
Table 4.6
“Finishers” of secondary school as a percentage of the total population, in
various regions of Brazil.
State or region
% finishers
Nordeste region
0.32
Ceara State
0.003
Rio Grande State
0.52
São Paulo
0
.54
Source:
as
Table 4.5
.
involves mostly the young and the better trained segments of the population.
Any one-sided improvement in education, health, or other social facilities, is
likely to increase the flows to the southeast beyond the level at which they can be
absorbed into the cities. It is unlikely to attract in new industries seeking to
utilize the skills of the population. As in the national case of Sri Lanka, social
provision cannot be justified as the lead sector of development.
The Ecuadorean case provides a sample at a more local scale. Teachers and
doctors for the rural region around Cuenca, in the southern highlands of the
country, mostly live in the city of Cuenca and travel out from the city to visit
their work areas. At the village of Sig Sig, some 40 km from the city, for
example, there are some primary school teachers, but the secondary school is
taught largely by teachers who take buses out from Cuenca every day, or in a few
cases, by teachers who arrive on Monday and leave on Friday. Doctors are only
available here because in the first year after graduation, a field year is imposed
on new doctors who must work in villages. Again, they are available only during
the week. Smaller villages around Sig Sig have no service.
Human capital
The above review of basic facilities has avoided the ideas presented in the first
half of the chapter, on improving human capital by upgrading skills and
attracting high-technology industries, as has become the strategy in some
developed countries. This would seem to be less relevant to poorer countries
