CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Over the past two decades, world output has been expanding and many countries are benefiting from increased cross-border trade and investments. Many others suffer because economic regimes are inefficiently managed, and this weakness reduces their capacity to successfully compete globally (Schneider & Enste, 2002).
According to Abubakar (2001) economics is essentially the study of a process we find in all human societies – the economic problem. “It is simply the process of providing for the material and well being of society.” (Anya 2001) Thus, economic history focuses on the central problem of survival and how mankind has solved that problem. Man, generally, is an economic animal who is constantly engaged in activities that would improve his economic situation Mittleman (2000). The countries of the globe have faced the challenges of improving the economic realities in their domains over time. These challenges have been seen in the development realm.
Development can be understood from the point of continued advancement of man towards good living standards.
Modern concept of development has its roots from the emergence of industrialization in Western Europe in the mid 18th century. By 1945, after World War II, scholarly interest in development economics heightened. This made it possible to explore the economic conditions / development levels among nations on the globe. Thus, scholars were able to establish that economic development is not even world over. Other countries or societies are more developed than others. At first, scholars looked at macro-economic issues in determining the development of societies;
2
however, as time went on, in the 1980s, scholars approached in assessing the development level of a society shifted to micro-economic issues. Thus, the human development index, which basically is concerned with individual‟s poverty levels, became a major concern of development scholars, wishing to determine the level of development of individual societies on the globe (Ninsin, 2000)
Through this approach, it became apparent that there exist two major economic worlds on the globe: the wealthy and the poor worlds, respectively.
In this essay, it is my desire to draw a distinction between these two economic worlds using few variables to include levels of productivity, population growth and dependency burden, agricultural production, exports, and international relations.
The focus of this research is the rethinking of the global north/global south economic relationship and to examine the way forward for Nigeria to minimize the effects, while harnessing whatever its benefits for national development. Following the introduction, the paper examines the phenomenon of globalization and the multidimensionality of its conceptual usages. It then provides an overview of the two major contrasting paradigms that underpin discussions on the global north/global south economic relationship. This is followed by the analysis of the powerful forces that propel globalization in contemporary world environment. It also discusses the challenges that the current globalization poses for Nigeria.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The Global economic challenge between the developing nations living in the Southern Hemisphere and the industrial countries of the North has posed as a serious problem for the third world countries especially in Africa.
3
The countries of the world are coming seriously to terms with the growing material inequalities between the affluent nations in North America, Western Europe and Japan (which account for less than 18 percent of the world population but more than 60 percent of world income), and the scores of poor countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America which constitute the bulk of humanity but enjoy very little of the earth’s bounty. For more than a generation, the North-South asymmetric divide was central to the explanation of world inequality and poverty (Willy Brandt (1969). Being categorized as part of the “North” implies development as opposed to belonging to the “South” which implies a lack thereof. According to N. Oluwafemi Mimiko, The South lacks the right technology, it is politically unstable, their economies are divided, and their foreign exchange earnings depend on primary product exports which come from the North, along with the fluctuation of prices. The little control of imports and exports condemned the South to obey the imperialist system. The lack of the South and the development of the North further the inequality and end up putting the South as a source of raw material for the developed countries. (Mimiko Oluwafemi (2012). From the 1960s until the late 1980s, the image of a world split between the wealthy developed countries of the North and the poor developing countries of the South which fuelled the activity of policy makers and scholars of international political economy. In the diplomatic community, the global south countries that benefit less from this asymmetric divide are faced with a lot of problems as a result of this unequal relationship between them. Some of these problems are: Underdevelopment, low levels of productivity, population growth and dependency burdens, poverty, debts crisis, brain drain, inflation, and so on.
4
The events in the last decade in the global economy suggest a challenge; the utilization of the opportunity engineered by the global north/global south economic relationship while at the same time managing the problem and tension it poses, for developing countries particularly Nigeria. While some individuals such as Scholte (2000) Tandon (2000) and Salimono (1999) opine that the global north/global south economic relationship opens opportunities, others such as Awake (2002) and Garry (1998) express fear about it. It is in this context that the Nigerian Economy has remained dependent and vulnerable to the Global North Countries. The Global North being stronger than the Global South especially due to the emergence of Globalization, the unequal strength between the two is manifested not only in the dominant power of the Global North to control the pattern of international trade and agreement regulating it but also in their ability often to dictate the terms whereby technology, foreign aid, and private capital are transferred to Global South. This has acted as a factor in contributing to the persistence of low levels of living, rising unemployment, and growing income inequality in the Global South compared to the Global North. Thus, the urgency of establishing a new framework for them becomes the basis of this project. In line with the above statement this article therefore attempts to understand these problems and proffer possible solutions for the Nigerian Economy in dealing with these problems.
5
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The broad objective of this study is to examine the global north/south economic relationship and to examine the way forward for Nigeria economic development. Other basic objectives include to:
i. Examine the challenges Nigeria faces in terms of economic, political, social and technological development within the global arena.
ii. Investigate whether Globalization is a major factor that serves as a challenge to the Nigerian Economy
iii. Determine the Economic Implications of Globalization to the Nigerian Economy.
iv. Offer possible recommendations and suggestions for way forward to the Nigerian development in the global economy.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions are formulated to pilot this research work: Accordingly, this study seeks to answer the following questions:
i. What challenges Nigeria is facing in terms of economic, political, social and technological development within the global arena?
ii. What are the Economic Implications of Globalization to the Nigerian Economy?
iii. Is Globalization a major factor that serves as a challenge to the Nigerian Economy
iv. Are there way forward to the Nigerian development in the global economy?
6
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
While economic and social indicators describe the structural aspects of the North–South divide, a political analysis of the North–South conflict has to deal with the emergence of different coalitions and institutions, representing the interests of South or North in the domain of international politics. The history of the developing countries, like Nigeria, also plays an important role in this context since it was the experience of colonial subjugation and oppression which contributed to the formation of a common, anti-colonial identity in the South. This research makes use of both definitions of North and South: one of them describes the structural features of the North–South relationship and one relating to North and South as political forces, themselves shaping world affairs. This research therefore is relevant in helping interested populace to know where Nigeria falls in the divide and how the economic relationship between the two can impact on Nigeria economy as it affect all facets of our lives.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research is focused on and highly restricted to the global north/global south economic relationship and the way forward for third world countries like Nigeria in order to benefit from such relationship.
1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The study is concerned with the work is concerned with the work –– Rethinking theRethinking the Global North/Global south economic Global North/Global south economic relationship relationship –– and also to critically examine the challenges faced by Nigeria. and also to critically examine the challenges faced by Nigeria. Limitations in the study include:
7
i. Collection of Data: Data collection was one of the major challenges to the study. The respondents did not want to give answers to the questions put forward to them, while those who may want to give have limited knowledge of subject matter and may not give correct and reliable answers and thereby creating problems of data unreliability to the researcher.
ii. Finance: The cost of carrying out in a practical research due to transportation cost and other logistics is another major constraint to this research.
1.8 ORGANISATION OF CHAPTERS
This research work has been divided into five chapters. The First chapter is the introduction which discusses the background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, basic assumptions, research questions and operational definition of terms. Also included in this chapter is the scope of study and limitations. The Second chapter is devoted to literature review and theoretical framework with the aim of providing fundamental and historical background to the Global North-South relationship and also the challenges Nigeria faces economically.
The Third chapter covers research methodology taking cognizance of the research design, research population, sample and sampling technique(s), research instrument(s), validity and reliability of instruments, data collection techniques and finally the data analysis technique(s) employed in the research. On its part, The Fourth chapter discusses analysis, the assessment of data collected research findings. Finally, The Fifth chapter contains the summary and conclusion of research work, as well as recommendation on how problems raised can be tackled.
8
1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Global North: these are the richer and more developed region of the world which include North America, Western Europe and developed parts of Asia.
Global South: these are the poorer, less developed region which includes Africa, Latin America and developing Asia including the Middle East.
Globalization: Globalization is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas and the other aspects of culture (Al-Rodhan 2006)
Economic Development: the definition of economic development given by Professor Micheal Todaro is an increase in living conditions, improvement of the citizens self-esteem needs and free and a just society.
DISCLAIMER: All project works, files and documents posted on this website, UniProjectTopics.com are the property/copyright of their respective owners. They are for research reference/guidance purposes only and some of the works may be crowd-sourced. Please don’t submit someone’s work as your own to avoid plagiarism and its consequences. Use it as a reference/citation/guidance purpose only and not copy the work word for word (verbatim). The paper should be used as a guide or framework for your own paper. The contents of this paper should be able to help you in generating new ideas and thoughts for your own study. UniProjectTopics.com is a repository of research works where works are uploaded for research guidance. Our aim of providing this work is to help you eradicate the stress of going from one school library to another in search of research materials. This is a legal service because all tertiary institutions permit their students to read previous works, projects, books, articles, journals or papers while developing their own works. This is where the need for literature review comes in. “What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original.” - Austin Kleon. The paid subscription on UniProjectTopics.com is a means by which the website is maintained to support Open Education. If you see your work posted here by any means, and you want it to be removed/credited, please contact us with the web address link to the work. We will reply to and honour every request. Please notice it may take up to 24 – 48 hours to process your request.
