The advantages and disadvantages of industrial development

Over the past three decades, there has been an explosion of industrial development in many Far
Eastern countries, ranging from those with no work-force expertise to the far more sophisticated
states such as Japan and ingapore! "ost countries have !some natural resource to develop, be it oil,
timber, rubber or minerals and gemstones! The general process has been to exploit these resources
by importing foreign expertise and e#uipment! $deally, the results have led to dramatic increases in
countries% &'(, favorable balances of trade, and the establishment of hard currencies which attract
foreign investment! )ll these should lead to the building of hospitals and health centers, schools and
colleges, sporting facilities and other amenities! &ood wages should permit radical improvements in
living standards! *nfortunately, this only happens where a country en+oys a reasonably democratic
political system! otherwise, in a one-party state, the temptation is to divert new money into
armaments, unnecessary extravagances and sometimes the pockets of those in power!
ingapore and Japan are not typical of the Far East, since for decades they have been ahead of the
rest in industrial development, although keen competition has reduced their lead in the past seven or
eight years! Oil exploration in the ingapore region has dropped, and with it the demand for the re-
export of oil-related machinery, drilling e#uipment and metal sheets and bars! Electronic
components, diodes, photocells and integrated circuits, consumer goods such as radios, T-s,
clothing, furniture and vegetable oils have also declined, due to competition from countries where
much lower wage-levels are acceptable! .owever, ingapore will always benefit from its free trade
/ones! There are six, five for seaborne cargo and one for airborne! 0ith their time-limited but duty
and document-free storage facilities, they will always remain an attractive proposition! o does
$'T1)2O, an international and paid-up trading company which has many useful functions!
The above relates to trade as much as to industry, but the results of both are much the same! On the
industrial side, apart from the products listed in para 3, mention must be made of the great diversity
of industrial products in modern ingapore, industrial chemicals, printing and publishing, shipyard
restructuring and upgrading, aircraft repair and overhaul capabilities, machine tools and related
products, and office e#uipment! 4ess than 56 of the land area of ingapore is used for farming, the
main products being pork, poultry, eggs, vegetables, fish and cut flowers!
o to summari/e the advantages! $ndustrial proliferation generates +obs! "oney can be spent on
universities, colleges, schools and training centers! tate housing, mostly blocks of flats, offers
rented accommodation! .ealth, social and police services can be financed! Typical health ha/ards,
such as the anopheles mos#uito, can be eliminated, and both hygiene and family planning
publici/ed! )bove all, relatively late industriali/ation means that state-of-the-art factories can be
built! There is no legacy of ancient factories to moderni/e or demolish!
7et all is not sweetness and light! There is something to be said for a more leisurely pace of life! )
sudden shift to urban dwelling and high tech employment can and does set up psychological
problems, which lead to health problems! "oreover, there was something to be said for the semi
+ungle nature of ingapore, and it would be pleasant to have a few wild tigers present! .owever, the
main disadvantage is that industriali/ation sets up living standard expectations which depend
absolutely on a healthy overseas trade! )t present there is a world trade recession! )lso, surrounding
countries are becoming far more competitive! $nflation and widespread unemployment are the chief
dangers!