Making Poor Areas Richer

C1 – Advanced

Even in the rich countries, financial hardships that is brought about by inflation and the global economic crisis are felt, and the poorest areas are the ones hit hardest by this pinch.

Amidst the continuously widening economic divide, is there hope for these declining areas?

Watch the video on how to tackle regional inequality.

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does the idiom “to feel the pinch” mean? “Many across the rich world are feeling the pinch and it’s hitting hardest in its poorest regions. ” Use this expression in your own sentence.
  2. What does “to be left in the lurch” mean, “Although globalization benefited many in well-off countries, large areas have been left in the lurch.” Use this idiom in your own sentence.
  3. What does ”top-down” in governance mean, “[In] countries which tend to be very centralized and top-down in terms of governance what we see is only certain parts of the country seem to really enjoy the benefits of prosperity and they tend to leave other parts of the country behind.”? Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is regional inequality also an issue in your country? Talk about how evident it is and how the government is addressing this problem.
  2. How can countries with the problem of the dark divides fix this issue?
  3. In a country with the government system like the UK, should Mayors be given more autonomy to address their respective city’s crises? Explain your stance.
  4. How does economic globalization worsen regional inequality?
  5. How might regional inequality affect a country?
5.00 avg. rating (93% score) - 1 vote

Related posts:

  1. Being Thinner Makes You Richer B2 – Upper Intermediate Have you ever observed that in the developed world, wealth and...
  2. The Harmful Legacy of Poor Nutrition B2 – Upper Intermediate The quality of our diet is crucial to our overall health...
  3. Rich and Poor Countries C1 – Advanced There are almost 200 countries all over the world. Some are prosperous,...
  4. Speaking Activity: It’s a Smaller World, After All What pops in your head when you hear the the term “globalization”? Does it give...
  5. United States Falling Behind in Women’s Rights B2 – Upper Intermediate A recent report showed that while women in the United States...

2 replies on “Making Poor Areas Richer”

Some comments to discuss:

1) Yes, there is also some inequality in my country across regions, specifically between north and south. North is richer because it is an industrial area meanwhile south is more focus on tourism and other sector with lower value. One way to compensate this differences is the structured of Spain. Spain is structured in 17 Autonomous Communities (like a Federal State) in such a way that the management is shared between central and regional goverments according some rules in order to make everything more efficient although with some political and party conflicts. Regional Goverments can identify the needs of the region and Central Goverment can provide a general view of the financial resources in order to allocate them properly.

2) In my humble opinion the first point to get a good solution of a problem is to recognize that the issue exits. Second, it is necessary to involve everyone can provide ideas and solutions. I’m talking about local and central governments, public and private institutions, etc and create a Coommittee and workshops. Third, identify strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities in order to design a roadmap ambitious but feasible, credible and with clear deliveries. Fourth, provide financial resources. Fifth, execute the plan involving everyone because it is completely important everybody feels is part of the plan. Sixth, to monitor the plan and ask for the accountability.

3) Yes. It is neccesary because they know the reality of the region better than the central Goverment and for this reason they can allocate the resourses more efficient. Nevertheless, if they need financial resources and they are connected with other regions, it is necessary that the central Goverment can check the financial balances and their local initiatives are conected with the other regions in order to get a coordinated framework.

4) I think there are so many aspects that impact but maybe the most important is that the big companies decide where allocate their fabrics to produce and normally they look for cheaper costs in order to enhance their margins. They do not consider the impact of leaving tradicional countries and/or regions where the fabrics were alloated for decades and these areas are not able to reinvent themselves in a short period of time.

5) Having regions richer and others poorer. Obiously people who live in poor areas will migrate to richer ones and maybe there will be problems of coexistence that can be taken in advantage for radical parties with bad menseges in order to get the Goverment. Inequality has so many problems and we must only have a look in our history to learn about the consequences.

Welcome to the Phoneenglish blog. Job well done writing your responses.

Just one thing to remember, always write in full sentences. For example:

Having regions richer and others poorer.

Here is a good way to write it:

Regional inequality can affect a country in such a way that some Having regions could be richer and others poorer.

Until your next entry.

Leave a Reply

Only registered students can submit comments.