There is a discrepancy between what statistics show and what
developing countries experience. In this article, Charles Kenny describes the
world's "self-employed"- people who often make little money and are
part of an unseen "informal sector". Most of the 1.3 billion workers
who make less than $2-a-day work in this sector. Understanding the "self-employed"
in developing countries is crucial to tackling the big problems of economy
development and poverty and helping citizens who continue to depend on informal
occupations that make volatile pay.
Throughout the essay the author uses various rhetorical devices and strategies. Primarily, he focuses on statistics to make a cohesive logical argument. He writes, "That low productivity helps to explain why, even though only around 200 million people in the world are considered unemployed by the ILO, 1.3 billion workers lived in families below the $2-a-day poverty line." This includes statistics from various countries as well, which adds to the broader importance of his argument. For example, Kenny cities statistics from India's shop-owners to Chinese farmers. Kenny also uses a rebuttal-style organization, where he states what opponents may believe can help the economy of these countries and then uses statistics to back why they are either wrong or to show a better method of action.
Overall, Kenny does make a convincing argument. His audience was probably Americans who care about business, as the article appeared in BusinessWeek and was also fairly easy to understand. The use of statistics really added to the author's credibility. However, he doesn't really cite a viable solution to this issue. Although he says the current method of helping economies in developing countries is not working, his solution is vague, which detracts from his credibility.
Charles Kenny is a senior fellow at the Center of Global Development and author of The Upside of Down: Why the Rise of the Rest is Great for the West.
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