Economic Conditions and Development
79 theses under this subject heading
Trade Liberalization and Economic Growth: A Time Series Approach for Nigeria
ABSTRACT: The relationship between trade liberalization and economic growth of developing countries has constituted a substantial debate for decades. Findings from some researchers opine a negative effect of trade liberalization policy on the LDCs. Hence, this research work focused on a country case study for Nigeria in investigating whether trade liberalization lead to long run economic growth over a period of 50 years. Using annual data for the period of 1960-2010, a vector error correction model (VECM) is estimated in analyzing the dynamic behavior of economic variables capturing both the short and long-run relationship among them, namely, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), fiscal and monetary policy variables (G) and (M1), and the openness measure for trade liberalization. The findings reveal that trade openness is highly significant in determining economic growth in the long-run while its impact is negligibly small for the time period of the study. On the other hand, the main determinant of long term economic growth is evidenced to be the monetary policy variable and that the largest response comes from the fiscal policy in correcting for any previous deviation from the long-run equilibrium path of the economy. This may suggest that both monetary and fiscal policies may play a greater role in the long-run economic growth of Nigeria rather than trade openness. Keywords: Trade Liberalization, economic growth, Vector Error Correction Model(VECM). …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Economic Impacts of Educational Tourism on Host Community. A Comparative Study in Famagusta and Lefke, North Cyprus
Educational Tourism plays an important role in the lives of host community. There are three types of impacts which affect their lives. Such as: economic, socio-cultural and environmental. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the hosts' perceptions on Educational Tourism development and to achieve broadened perspective of Edu - Tourism on economical concern of the host community of two regions of North Cyprus – Famagusta and Lefke. By comparing these two locations and level of impacts in each of them we will gather in-depth data which will help us to understand the path in which “younger” destination – Lefke will develop in future for educational tourism. To measure the impacts of Educational Tourism in Famagusta and Lefke, North Cyprus, data was collected from 24 host residents who lives in these regions. So, the sampling of our study was local people from different regions of Famagusta and Lefke, North Cyprus who lived there for more than 20 years, because in our opinion, those people are the ones who noticed the effects of development of educational tourism better than those who lived here smaller period of time. Qualitative data collection was used to collect the information via semi-structured interviews and face-to-face interactions with locals. The findings of our study revealed that most of the respondents benefit from Educational tourism development, although there are some negative impacts that were mentioned by interviewees. Most of the findings of this study are supported by the results of previous studies which were mentioned in literature part of the research. Keywords: Educational tourism, Economic impacts, Famagusta, Lefke, Northern Cyprus, Resident attitudes, EMU, EUL
Racial Capitalism and Difference: Structuring Exploitation and Expropriation of Resources through Differences in Nigeria
Nigeria is a colonial creation and has diverse identities. These identities range from linguistic, ethnic, gender, class, spatial and religious forms. This thesis aims to analyze differences in Nigeria by drawing on the racial capitalism framework developed by Cedric Robinson. Differences in Nigeria are often analyzed by referring to class, ethnic divisions or civic/primordial dualism. Robinson made a novel contribution with his racial capitalism framework because he does not understand racialism in terms of differences in skin color but he explains racial capitalism as capitalism using differences (racial, gender or other forms of differences) to structure exploitation and expropriation of resources. The analysis conducted in this thesis is original because racial capitalism theories are often used to explain North American and Caribbean development yet they had not been used to explain African development in general and Nigeria in particular. This thesis will analyze racial capitalism in Nigeria by focusing on the recent history of differentiation and dispossession in the Niger-Delta region. It will engage itself with these questions: How are identities produced in the colonial period? How have these identities been reproduced in the subsequent post-colonial era in the Niger-Delta areas? How are these identities employed to structure exploitation of people and expropriation of resources to support capitalist accumulation? This thesis will also discuss land dispossession and pollution as dimensions of capitalist exploitation in the Niger Delta and examine the rise of community-based social movements in resistance to oil exploration and exploitation. Keywords: exploitation, expropriation, racial capitalism and difference
Determinants of Financial Development in South Africa: The Role of Monetary Policy and Rule of Law
The aim of the thesis is to investigate the determinants of financial development for the case of South Africa between the period of 1996-2017 by adopting quarterly data. Johansen Cointegration test results suggest that there is a long run relationship among financial development, monetary policy, foreign direct investments (FDI), stock market capitalization, economic growth, and rule of law. Fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) regression results indicate that monetary policy, rule of law, economic growth, FDI, and stock market capitalization have positive impacts on financial development. Results of the thesis reveal that monetary policy, FDI, stock market capitalization, economic growth and rule of law are the long run determinants of financial development in South Africa. This thesis can be a guideline for other emerging countries to create effective policies around financial development. Keywords: Financial development, rule of law, monetary policy, South Africa.
Trade Facilitation and Economic Welfare in the Major Trading Regions of Latin America
Border procedures around the globe can act as barriers hindering international trade. Another impact of these procedures relates to their economic resource costs. In this thesis, using a microeconomic framework of international trade, the potential economic gains are estimated for reductions in trade administration costs related to trade in the three Latin American trade blocs as well as for the increase in import and export trades that are stimulated as a consequence of the reduction in trade administration costs. Excess economic cost of the current trade administration procedures is measured in the studied blocs with respect to two benchmark levels of trade administration costs, namely those for Chile and Singapore. International trade policy history and trade facilitation journey of the regions are reported. Our results suggest that improving the trade administration cost levels to match those of the reference countries will enable CAN, CARICOM and MERCOSUR to enjoy substantial economic resource savings, corresponding to a significant amount of their gross domestic product. Given the current trade environment of the studied nations, relevant policy and reform options are suggested. The key policy recommendation is to improve the electronic single window system for trade administration and in particular, the interconnectivity of information flows between the member countries of the blocs. Maintaining the port infrastructure is also critical for the delivery of efficient services for the movement of goods.
Human Development and Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis from the Nigerian Economy (1970-2011)
ABSTRACT: This study investigates the long run relationship between human development and economic growth in Nigeria between 1970 and 2011 through the application of Johansen Cointegration technique and Vector Error Correction Methodology. The origin of the human development index can be traced back to the work of an Indian economist Amartya Sen (1990) and a Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq (1995). They identified three major components for measuring human development level namely education, health and income. Our cointegration analysis suggests a long run relationship between these variables and economic growth. The findings also show that the greatest proportion of the variations in the real GDP can be attributed to the shocks in educational component among other identified human development components in the study. Though there are mixed evidences on the impact of income inequality on economic growth, our findings suggest that increasing income inequality and high mortality rate have a significant negative effect on the real GDP in the case of Nigerian economy. Keywords: human development, economic growth, cointegration, principal component analysis (PCA). …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The impact of foreign Aid on economic growth in Palestine Economy: Evidence from an ARDL model
This Thesis examines the link between Physical capital, saving, aid and Economic Growth for the Palestinian Economy. Bounds testing approaches as well as ARDL techniques are conducted for analyzing a growth model over the period 1993Q1-2013Q4. The results suggest that the physical investment is an important driver for economic growth in both the long and short- terms of the Palestinian economy. The findings also display that saving and aid don not have any impact on output growth in either the long or short- term periods whereas labor force has positive influence on economic growth in the case of the Palestinian Economy. Keywords: Economic Growth, Aid, ARDL, Corruption, Palestinian Economy
The Relationship between Inflation, Bank Credit, and Economic Growth: The Case of Uganda
This thesis explores the relationship among inflation, bank credit, and economic growth in the case of Uganda using data obtained from the World development indicators from 1983- 2015. The variables used are Gross Domestic Product for economic development, consumer prices as the annual percentage of the GDP for inflation rates and domestic credit to the private sector by banks for bank credit. The thesis applies the unit root tests (Augmented Dickey-Fuller, Phillips – Perron and the Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin test) to test the stationarity of the variables, cointegration test to investigate the long run relationship between the variables, Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to determine the short run and long-run relationship and lastly the Granger causality to determine the direction of Inflation, Bank credit and Economic growth. VECM results indicate a negative long-run relationship between inflation and economic growth and also a long run negative relationship between bank credit and economic growth in Uganda. This adds to the available literature on the study of inflation, bank credit and economic growth in the world and its uniqueness in the results of the negative relationship between bank credit and economic growth which is a rare case. Also, the results would enable the policymakers in Uganda to make the right decisions to enable the development of the country as well as ensure that the negative relationship between bank credit and economic growth does not adversely affect the country‟s economy. Keywords: Inflation; bank credit; economic development; Uganda
Institutional Quality, Bilateral Trade and Global Value Chains in Africa
The importance of trade and institutions as drivers of economic growth and development has been established in both theoretical and empirical literature. Moreover, global value chains (GVC) propels substantial expansion in international trade across the globe over the last two decades. However, the institutions-GVC link and institutions-bilateral trade nexus in Africa suffers complete neglect in international trade research. This is despite the dismal performance of the continent in institutional quality, bilateral trade and GVC participation. Therefore, this thesis evaluates the effect of institutional quality on bilateral trade and GVC participation in Africa. In the first part, Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood with High-Dimensional Fixed Effects estimator (PPMLHDFE) is applied to estimate Structural Gravity Model for the evaluation of the impact of both political and economic institutions on bilateral exports, imports and aggregate trade. A sample of 37 Sub-Sahara African countries with 124 of their trading partners for the period 2000-2018 was used for the analysis. The second part investigates the impact of institutions on backward, forward and total GVC participation as well as GVC position (upstreamness) in Africa using system-GMM estimator for a sample of 47 African countries over the period 2000-2018. The findings reveal that both political and economic institutions are significant determinants of bilateral trade and GVC participation in Africa. However, the popular submission of previous studies that institutions generally have positive impact on international trade does not apply in this case. The effects of the institutional factors are heterogeneous depending on the components of institutional quality, bilateral trade, GVC participation and income groups of the countries. Thus, this thesis offers appropriate policy recommendations on the appropriate institutional framework to adopt for the improvement of bilateral trade and GVC participation in the continent. Keywords: Institutional quality, bilateral trade, global value chains, Africa.
An International Finance Perspective to AfCFTA: The Relationship between Financial Development, Foreign Direct Investment, and Trade Liberalization with Economic Growth in Africa
While protectionism is on the rise around the world, 54 of 55 African countries signed an agreement called the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in July 2019, to integrate the economies of countries in Africa, and drive it towards peace and prosperity. This research used the FMOLS/DOLS tests and Dumitrescu-Hurlin Panel Granger based Causality technique to illustrate the long-term effects of some significant international finance elements on economic growth in Africa, particularly financial development, FDI, and trade liberalisation. The intention is to draw attention to how these elements may affect the free trade agreement's goal from the outset. The results obtained confirm that the proxies of trade liberalization, financial development, and FDI have a positive and significant long term influence on economic growth. Also the Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel Granger based Causality test point towards a bidirectional relationship between economic growth and FDI, and financial development and economic growth in Africa. The Granger Causality relationship between trade liberalization is unidirectional, flowing from trade liberalization to economic development.
The Effects of Gender Inequality on Economic Development in Nigeria
This paper’s purpose is to identify if labour market gender inequality exists in Nigeria and how it affects the Nigerian economic growth. The objective of this study is to explore the impact of gender inequality in the labour market on economic growth of Nigeria for the period between 1991 and 2019 using time series data from World Development Indicators (WDI). The Augmented Dickey Fuller test and Phillip Perron test were carried out to test for the stationarity of the variables and examine the unit root property of the series. The autoregressive and distributed-lag bounds test was used to test for co-integration and also test for the long run relationship between the variables. The ARDL error correction mechanism was also carried out to test for the short run relationship between the variables. The results reveal that gender inequality exists in Nigeria’s labour market and we can conclude from the analysis provided using the equal opportunities and conditions approach, that fertility and female unemployment which represent gender inequality both have negative significant relationships with economic growth in Nigeria for both short run and long run periods and we can also conclude that female vulnerable employment and female wage and salaried workers’ rate have negative relationships with economic growth in the short run period and positive relationships with economic growth in the long run period. At the end of this study, we concluded that our results align with the feminist theory that was used for this study and gender inequality does indeed affect the economy negatively in terms of growth and development.
Impact of Investment Incentives on Employment in TRNC
After 1974, North of Cyprus became a unique country, and the markets in the country faced various obstacles due to its international unrecognition and controversial property regime. TRNC governments have developed various incentive programs to eliminate market failures, increase investment attractiveness and eliminate geopolitical problems. The Investment Incentives Law (47/2000), which is operated under the State Planning Organisation, is the most comprehensive and widely used of the implemented programmes. Although a priority sector has not been determined within the scope of this law, the main beneficiary sectors are tourism and industry. The Law provides investors with various tax breaks and exemptions, as well as land allocation, subsidized loans, and other exemptions. This study examines the relationship between investment incentives given in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus since 2002 and employment in the country. The main research point of the study is to what extent investment incentives affect domestic employment and sectoral employment. In line with the results obtained, it has been concluded that investment incentives given to the industrial sector affect domestic employment, while tourism investment incentives affect more of foreign employment. In addition, industrial investment incentives positively affect employment in the industry sector and service sector investment incentives positively affect employment in the services sector. It has also been determined that industrial investments affect employment with a lag of one year and tourism investments with a lag of two years. Keywords: Investment, Incentives, Employment, Northern Cyprus
Financial Development and the Shadow Economy: Evidence from South Africa
South Africa is one of the fast-developing nations in African continent. Financial sector development is observed to be faster and wide spread compared to other countries in Africa. But the level of shadow economy is still a problem in this country. The research investigates the links between financial development and shadow economy in South Africa for the period of 1970-2009. Financial development data is obtained from the World Bank Economic Indicators and South African Reserve Bank whereas shadow economy data is obtained from Elgin and Öztunalı (2012). Time series econometrics is employed for the analysis of the case. The results are indicative for other African countries.
Impact of Inflation on Economic Growth: Case Study of Nigeria (1970-2013)
ABSTRACT: This study investigates the impact of inflation on economic growth of Nigeria. Typically, this relationship has been analyzed using simple correlations and deterministic models. In this analysis, a tri-variate vector autoregressive (VAR) model is used, incorporating unemployment rate into the framework for analysis, we capture the policy trade-off between managing inflation at a low rate and targeting low unemployment as described by the Phillip curve hypothesis. After checking the series for unit root, we identified that all the variables are stationary at first difference, that is I~(1). In the model, one cointegrating vector that describes the long run interaction of these variables is also estimated. In addition, we estimate the vector error correction model and the result indicates there is convergence among the variables in the long run and that takes about 5 consecutive years. The dynamics of the relationship within the system suggest that there is a one-period temporary shock to consumer price level, which shows that there is a slow positive short run contemporaneous impact on the real GDP of Nigeria. However, this dissipates into a negative and permanent shock after 5-6years. This conforms to the neo-classical theory of sticky prices and short run economic disequilibrium. Keywords: Inflation, Economic Growth, Vector Error Correction, Cointegration, granger Causality and Nigeria. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Capacity Utilization in Manufacturing Industries: Evidence from Nigerian Firm Level Data
ABSTRACT: This thesis examines the determinants of Capacity Utilization among manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Using manufacturing firm level survey conducted by Enterprises Survey under the auspices of the World Bank, we attempted to identify these determinants within the framework of an economic model, using two separate cross-sectional data garnered from surveys in 2010 employing the robust Quantile Regression technique. Our analysis and findings provides evidence that the duration of power outages in Nigeria accounts for a large chunk of capacity under-utilization among manufacturing firms. The percentage of skilled production workers that a firm has also plays an important role in its utilization of capacity. Recommendations to improve and build upon the existing capacity among firms were made, this is inspired by the important functions that manufacturing industries play in any economy, which determines to a large extent, the flexibility of that economic system to meet future requirements for the objective of being productive, efficient and competitive. It is hoped that the policy suggestions therein would help make Nigerian industries better equipped to face challenges amidst global competition. Keywords: Capacity Utilization, Quantile Regression, Nigerian Manufacturing, Enterprises Survey. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Impact of Financial Liberalization on Economic Growth in Iran: An Empirical Investigation
ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis is to investigate the impact of financial liberalization on economic growth in Iran through Johansen Cointegration tests by using time series data from 1965 to 2005. While testing for the impact of financial repression on the economic growth in Iran, the thesis also investigates the determinants of economic growth in Iran. A financial liberalization index is used in econometric models along with the conventional theoretical determinants of economic growth as suggested by the existing economic growth theories such as Solow growth model, Endogenous growth model, Cobb-Douglas production function and the Export-Led growth hypothesis. The results suggest that financial intermediation, capital, research and development, and financial liberalization have positive and statistically significant impact on economic growth. In addition, reserve requirement ratio has a negative but statistically insignificant impact on economic growth. Likewise, exports have a positive but statistically insignificant impact on economic growth. On the other hand, the results suggest that labor shows a negative impact on economic growth in the case of Iran, which suggests that labor force in Iran is not effective in promoting economic growth on the contrary of what the existing theories suggest. This can be attributed to low productivity of the labor force. Keywords: Financial liberalisation, economic growth, Iran. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Determinants of FDI in Selected Asian Countries
This thesis aims to examine the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 20 selected Asian countries in the time period of 2013 to 2017 by using panel data model. Fixed and random two types of panel data techniques have used during the analysis for the classical eight determinants of FDI, to see whether they are also relevant in the case of Asian countries. The determinants tested are GDP as representative of the market size, GDP per capita, labor force, inflation as macroeconomic stability, fuel exports as natural resources, domestic credit to private sectors as financial development, trade openness and economic growth rate. The findings show that economic growth, GDP, trade openness and labor force are the significant determinants of FDI in the sample Asian countries. While, GDP per capita, inflation, fuel exports, domestic credit to private sectors have no significant impact on FDI. Based on these results, policy recommendations are put forward to the 20 Asian countries. In order to increase FDI, additional improvements should be made in GDP, labor force, trade openness and economic growth. Keywords: FDI, GDP, GDP per capita, trade openness, fuel exports, labor force, economic growth, inflation, Asian countries
Relationship between Education and Economic Growth: A Case Study of Nigeria
The discovery of oil has led many economies to rely heavily on the oil sector and neglect other sectors of the economy. Education is widely accepted to be among the leading instruments for stimulating economic growth, it plays a vital role in developing human capabilities. The main objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between education and economic growth in Nigeria using annual time series data from 1980-2015. This study uses an econometric model to examine the contributions of primary education, secondary education and tertiary education (proxied by school enrolments at various levels) and the government expenditure on education to economic growth of Nigeria (proxied by GDP per capita). This research paper employs a Johansen cointegration technique and the Vector Error Correction method (VECM) is employed test for long-run relationship among our variables of interest and the speed of adjustment among our variables is found to be 27.7% while the block exogeneity test is employed to test for causality. Keywords: Education, Economic growth, VECM, GDP per capita, Block exogeneity
Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria: An Empirical Investigation
ABSTRACT: This thesis examines the long-run determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria based on empirical evidence. The research covers a period between 1970 and 2009 and utilizes the Vector Error Correction Mechanism (VECM). Our result provide evidence which indicates that the size of Nigeria domestic market size, the liberalization policy and openness of the economy as well as a stable domestic currency are significant in attracting FDI. We found evidence for higher inflation in the long run. We present the result of the impulse response and the forecast error variance that is due to exogenous shocks of the variables in the VECM model. If we ignore the own shock, the shocks of the model in response to RGDP (Real Gross Domestic Product), INF (Inflation), REER (Real Effective Exchange Rate), OPP (Openness) are found to be significant and positive over the forecast period. Recommendations to strengthen the Nigerian investment environment by reducing the obstacle to doing business, improving Nigeria’s economic management, repositioning the Nigerian investment agencies and export promotion schemes are proffered as important and significant in attracting FDI in Nigeria and increasing her share of FDI as a percentage of world FDI stock. Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment, Impulse response, Vector Error Correction Mechanism, Nigerian investment agencies, export promotion, forecast error variance. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Impact of International Students on a Small Economy: Evidence from North Cyprus
In the recent years there has been a mass influx of international students to various education hubs across the globe. The resulting concentration of the students in their destinations of choice have increased the market share of the goods and services provided in such towns and economies. This thesis examines the empirical relationship between the enrollment of international students within universities in North Cyprus, and economic growth during the period between 1977- 2020. the Augmented model of Dobb Douglas production function is conducted to establish if international students kindle the expansion of the economy process. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) methodology is used to evaluate the model’s significance and the comparative relevance of various factors such as capital investment and labor force that could cause an effect on the Turkish Cypriot economy. On the basis of the findings, approximated, power of explication endorses the opinion that international students in the long and short run, it may be a helpful booster of the home economy. Additionally, there is a unidirectional flow from international students to economic growth in the long run.
China: Non-capitalist Market Economy or Neoliberalism with Chinese Characteristics
Neoliberalism became a mainstream concept in the field of international political economy for more than forty years. Starting from the 1970s, Western countries and later the rest of the world started to question the role of the state in the market. As a result, under the new ideas of neoliberalism, governments transformed from providers of public welfare into promoters of the free market and competition among individuals. Under neoliberalism, we are living in the world of free market and liberalization of trade and capital. Neoliberalism is associated with the Western countries and their ideology of democracy and freedom. Thus, the economic model of China that has experienced a spectacular growth after the 1990s was considered by a number of scholars as a more egalitarian and humane alternative to the Anglo-Saxon model of capitalism. The aim of the thesis is to analyze Chinese development path and compare it with the development path of the neoliberal model peculiar to the Western countries. The main hypothesis of the thesis is that the economic model implemented in China cannot be considered as an alternative to neoliberalism. The Chinese government implemented a number of neoliberal principles and ideas in order to achieve economic development and become part of the international economy. Thus, China did not create an alternative development model to Western neoliberalism. The main argument of this thesis is that Chinese development strategy should be understood as “neoliberalism with Chinese characteristics”. Keywords: Neoliberalism, Washington Consensus, China, Beijing Consensus, Globalization
Non-Performing Loans in Jordan
The issue of non-performing loans has been a major area of concern in Jordan. This study was focused on analysing a quantitative study in Jordan on non-performing loans, by deriving data from 12 banks in Jordan. The data used for the analysis were extracted from 2001 to 2019. Several objectives were analysed in this study. These objectives include; investigation of bank specific determinants of non-performing loans, the analysis of macroeconomic variables of non-performing loans and an overall analysis of non-performing loans in Jordan. The data were analysed using e-views, which were later interpreted. Moreover, results from the correlation matrix indicated that CAR, LD, NL, GDP, EMP have a negative relationship with non-performing loans, and ROA, LTOA, INF, CRED, and BUDG have a positive relationship with the dependent variable. In addition, regression results shows that among bank specific variables CAR, ROA, DOA, LD and LTOA were found to be statistically significant and that increases in these banks' variables would affect the non-performing loans negatively. Beyond that, it was determined that only inflation among macroeconomic variables would affect the non-performing loans statistically significantly and positively. Keywords: Non-performing Loans, Jordan Banks, Macroeconomic Factors.
Financial Development, Globalization and Income Inequality: Evidence from Selected MENA Countries
This thesis investigates the impact of financial development on income inequality for the 11 selected Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries during the period from 1990 to 2015. A pooled mean group estimation (PMGE) of the dynamic heterogeneous panels is implemented in order to inspect the relationship between the studied variables. Furthermore, we employed panel cointegration to test for the existence of a long-run relationship between the variables. Our findings show the presence of a significant linear long-term negative relationship between financial development and income inequality. The outcomes are hence consistent with the inequality-narrowing hypothesis offered by Galor and Zeria (1993), Mookherjee and Ray (2003), and Banerjee and Newman (1993). Hence, we conclude that financial development is an important determinant of inequality reduction for these countries. Furthermore, there is a long-run negative relationship between trade openness, political globalization, financial development, government expenditure, real GDP, and income inequality; while a positive relationship exists between economic globalization and income inequality. Keywords: Income inequality, Financial development, Globalization, MENA region, Pooled mean group estimation.
Analysis of the Economics of Terrorism in Nigeria: Boko Haram and Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta in Perspective
Nigeria has been making headlines in the last decade following the activities of Boko Haram and the Nigeria Delta militants due to their terrorist‟s attacks. The economic conditions of Nigeria most especially Poverty, unemployment and literacy level have not reduced commensurate with Nigeria‟s economic development. The rise of terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and Niger Delta militancy has been linked to the poor economic conditions of Nigeria that has persisted over the years. This research aims to find the relationship between poor economic conditions and terrorism in Nigeria. Data on terrorist activities and economic indicators of poverty, unemployment GDP per capita, inflation, and the literacy rate for the period 1970- 2013 will be analysed. A multivariate co-integration analysis will be carried out to determine the relationship between economic conditions and terrorism in Nigeria. The research is structured in five chapters; Chapter one is the introduction and set out the objectives,the research question and hypothesis for research, Chapter two reviews relevant literature in terrorism studies with a focus on the economics of terrorism. Chapter three centres on research design and methodology with particular emphasis on the methodology employed in the conduct of this research. Chapter four covers the data analysis and presentation of the result to test the hypothesis. The final and fifth chapter concludes the research with conclusion and recommendations.Öz:Boko Haram ve Nijerya Deltası militanlarının yaptıkları saldırılarla son on yılda, Nijerya terörist saldırılarını manşetlere taşımaktadır. Fakirlik, işsizlik ve düşük okuryazarlık düzeyi gibi önemli sorunlar Nijerya‟nın ekonomik kalkınmasıyla orantılı olarak değişmemektedir. Boko Haram ve Nijerya Deltası militanları gibi terörist grupların artışı yıllardır devam eden kötü ekonomik koşullarla doğru orantılıdır. Bu tez, Nijerya‟daki kötü ekonomik koşullar ile terörizm arasındaki ilişkiyi bulmayı amaçlamaktadır. Tez için 1970- 2013 yılları arasındaki terörist faaliyetler, ekonomik verilerle fakirlik, işsizlik ve enflasyon oranları ile okuma yazma oranları analiz edildi. Nijerya‟daki ekonomik koşular ile terörizm arasındaki ilişkiyi anlamak için çok değişkenli eş-bütünleşme analizi yapıldı.Tez beş bölümden oluşmaktadır. Birinci bölüm giriş bölümüdür. Tez sorusunu, tezin amaçlarını ve hipotezi içermektedir. İkinci bölüm terör ekonomisi üzerinde durarak terörizmle ilgili literatür çalışmalarından bahsetmektedir. Üçüncü bölüm araştırmanın yürütülmesinde kullanılan araştırma tasarımı ve metodolojik bilgileri içermektedir. Dördüncü bölüm analiz bölümüdür ve hipotezi test etmek için verileri sunmaktadır. Son ve beşinci bölüm ise araştıranın sonucunu ve önerileri içermektedir.