Thread by @shrikanth_krish

Botswana, a land-locked Sub-saharan nation, that was among the poorest places on earth some 60 years ago, is often touted as an economic miracle

Today Botswana is over 2.5 times richer than India!

But there are some problems with the Botswana miracle

intpolicydigest.org/2017/07/26/bot…

A major challenge is its low level of economic diversification. It's economic growth has been entirely led by exports, and a huge dependence on the "mining" sector.

Agriculture still provides the livelihood for over 80% of Botswana's population

More than 50% of the government's revenues are from mining and mineral processing activities.

By some measures mining accounts for over 35% of its Gross Domestic Product.

Botswana is the world's leading producer of diamonds as measured by value, and specializes in gem diamonds.

The production is almost monopolized by a state owned firm that collaborates with De Beers

The GDP per-capita numbers mask the deeper structural problems in the economy. The Unemployment rate stands at 17.7% as of 2017.

Contrast this with the rates of 3.5% that exist in India.

More than half of Botswana lives in rural areas. One of the lowest rates of urbanization if you compare it with other countries in its peer-group with similar Per-capita incomes.

Botswana fares poorly in public health and has the third highest prevalence rate of HIV AIDS in the world, with over 20% of the adult population being infected by it.

Botswana also has a very high GINI index and is among the 5 most unequal societies on earth in terms of distribution of income.

Something that you would expect in such a largely rural country with such a high PCI, driven by natural resources

Botswana, in the final analysis, is an example of a country with "remarkable" economic growth numbers on the surface, but a closer examination reveals how this "growth" is hardly virtuous.

It is not an outcome of the people's ingenuity or enterprise, but of resource advantages.

India makes a very interesting contrast to Botswana

A country that is a tortoise relative to the many pretentious rabbits around the world.

But one that grows steadily and whose economic growth reflects the growth in public virtue.

Evident in the fact that services accounts for 59% of the country's GDP.

So the economic growth is driven by its people. Not by virtue of some large companies setting up manufacturing sweatshops or by the export-dominance of some "magic" mineral.

This comparison with Botswana also underscores the limitations that exist in the PCI measure - a measure that is often used to browbeat India and highlight its miserable poverty.

PCI conceals as much as it reveals.