Why is there a lack of domestic opportunity? Why do they keep exporting their labour instead of focusing on internal capital investment and inviting foreign capital?
Domestic opportunity is limited by corruption which causes unpredictability that small business can’t plan around.
Say you’re a software developer. You already do software freelancing but you’d like to hire a friend and grow your business into your own agency. You need a couple laptops with more DDR than you can find locally, but you find a $400 model online. Officially, it will cost you $200 in import duties, but when you ship the package, it doesn’t arrives because customs employees extorts recipients with claims of under declared value or unpaid taxes, then confiscate the contents for themselves. Other packages may arrive without an issue, until you open them to find the contents have been substituted for some worthless ballast. The first time this happens the online retailer may refund you, but at some point your money is lost. If customs notices that you’ve ordered several laptops to your home address they may accuse you of running an undeclared business (which you’re not doing yet since you lack the equipment) to extort you for an order of magnitude more fees.
Or one time, your package might arrive. You can’t predict it. Which makes it impossible to save/plan, especially on a shoestring budget.
Customs corruption kills small business ambitions and upward mobility in the cradle.
