Table of Contents
- Research Article
Impact of Inequalities on Economic Growth: Case of the Developing Countries PDF Sirine MNIF Our work deals with the relationship between inequality and economic growth. In particular, we are interested in the impact of income inequality on growth rates. Moreover, this impact can be positive or negative and this through multiple channels of transmission. Econometrically, we verified the nature of the relationship between inequality and growth based on the technique of unbalanced panel data. An estimate by the method of dynamic panel seems more relevant and a negative relationship ranging from inequality to growth seems to be confirmed for 59 developing countries. - Research Article
Purchase Frequency of Fresh Fruit in Trinidad and Tobago: A Binary Logit Analysis PDF C. W. Ardon Iton The retail sector of many Caribbean countries is being transformed as supermarkets and traditional outlets fight for market share. In Trinidad and Tobago of particular interest in this regard is the proliferation of roadside retailers, especially fruit and vegetable stands. As the Caribbean continues to succumb to the pressure of Non-Communicable Diseases innovative strategies are being sought to rectify the problem. However, very little empirical work appears to be undertaken in fresh fruit retailing. Traditionally, fruit formed a major component of the diets of Caribbean people as they were readily available and in many cases free. Today, things have changed and the consumption of fresh fruits might be strongly linked to purchase ability, education, ethnicity and other demographic factors. This study analyzes the frequency of fresh fruit purchasing by women in Trinidad and Tobago using a Binary Logit Model. The results of the study show that of the seven demographic variables analyzed, only two were statistically significant "“ age and marital status. The results are helpful as retailers strive for market share and nutritionists and others attempt to reduce the health care costs of the Caribbean countries through the increased consumption of fresh fruit. - Research Article
On The Right Path towards Benefiting From Tourism; A Compendious Debate on Sustainability PDF Hamed Rezapouraghdam, Omidali Kahrizi, Raheleh Hassannia If well planned, tourism is considered to transfer viable and valuable sources of positive impacts to the local destinations. There have been many debates on the issue of sustainability in recent decades and hundreds of tourism plans have been proposed out of which just a handful could entice the admiration of the scientific communities. The secrets behind those successful master plans are their holistic and comprehensive perspectives that not only consider the benefits of each single stakeholder engaged in the plans but elucidate how to achieve such extent of participation through the plans they propose. In this research it has been tried to focus on one of the most outstanding tourism planning debates to attract the attention of the communities where the viability of such prospects for the cognizance of the tourism inadequacies has been underestimated. Northern Cyprus selected as a research area and the planning status of Famagusta city of this small island illustrated accordingly. - Research Article
Employment Level and Economic Growth of Nigeria PDF R.O. Kareem This study is on the employment level and the economic growth of Nigeria. The objectives of this study were to describe the trend of employment level in Nigeria; determine factors influencing total employment level; determine the relationship between Total employment level and economic growth; Proffer recommendations based on research findings on the best way to improve employment generation potential in Nigeria.
Secondary data source from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) were used for this study. The study adopted regression analysis and causality tests for the study to achieve the stated objectives. However, the augmented dickey fuller (ADF) test was conducted to determine the stationarity of macroeconomic variables. (Gross domestic product (GDP), Inflation, Foreign direct investment (FDI), Interest rate). Result shows the RSquare 0.72 means that 72 percent of the variation in the dependent variable is explained by (Gross Domestic Product, Foreign Direct Investment, Interest rate and Inflation).The results further shows that foreign direct investment, inflation, interest rate have positive relationship with Employment level (Y).The result of granger causality also shows that GDP granger cause Inflation at 1% level of significant, FDI Granger cause GDP with a 5% level significant, Interest rate Granger cause GDP at 10% level of significant, FDI Granger cause Interest rate with a 10% level of significant. The result concluded that Gross domestic product (GDP), interest rate were factors that contributed to those Employment level in Nigeria. The research recommended that government should evolve appropriate economic policy so as to reduce the policies associated with interest rate and low output production (GDP). - Research Article
Food Security in the Midst of Our Mined Lives: Perspectiveson Food Security and Mining in the Asutifi District of Ghana PDF Jones Opoku-Ware, Nicholas Kutor Mining inevitably impacts the livelihoods of mining communities in a number of ways. Effects on food production and ultimately food security have been argued variously in the literature. In this study, the mining operations in the Asutifi district and its relationship with supply of foodstuffs in the local district markets as well as food insecurity areanalysed. Using quantitative techniques, semi- structured questionnaires were distributed to 150 respondents in the Asutifi district and responses analysed using frequencies, Cross tabulation, Chi-Square (χ2) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The study found out that crop yield has reduced since mining started and residents largely attributed it to fertility loss from mining activities. Respondents also noted that the reduction in crop yields have affected the supply of foodstuff to the local markets in the district. However, using a Chi-Square (χ2) to test the relationship between mining operations and supply of foodstuff to the local markets, there was no statistically significant association between mining operations and reduction in supply of foodstuffs to the market. Any reduction in supply of foodstuff was largely due to chance. The ANOVA test as well the Tukey HSD Comparison test in variations in the views of respondents on mining operations and food insecurity in future in the district showed a no statistically significant variations or differences in the views of the respondents when grouped according to their respective occupations. All occupational groups agreed that mining operations in the Asutifi district poses a significant threat to food security in the future. - Research Article
The Importance of Fresh Fruit Attributes in Trinidad and Tobago in the Purchase Decision of Women PDF C. W. Ardon Iton As consumers become more sophisticated their basic requirements change, and issues of product quality and food safety increase in importance while shopping for food and other products. Consumers may no longer be price focused in their purchases. Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) has been transitioning from a low income country to a high income country in the last decade. What attributes are sought by the contemporary T&T female fruit shopper is of vital importance to both Traditional and Modern food retailers. This study attempts to identify the attributes of fresh fruits that are important to female shoppers in the contemporary produce market. The analysis focused on the importance placed on a selected number of fresh fruit attributes in an attempt to identify if they were different between Traditional and Modern outlet shoppers. The results suggest "quality of fruits" is most important to female shoppers, while price ranked 5th in the list. Quality of fruits, appearance of fruits and nutritional value of fruits were statistically different between Traditional and Modern outlet shoppers. Armed with this information retail fresh fruits operators should be better positioned to develop their marketing strategies. - Research Article
Potential Impact of CANIRIV on Socio-economic Activities in Rivers State, Nigeria PDF Prince Ch. Mmom, Otu Anthony Ekpenyong There has been a growing increase in the range of cultural festivals and events globally and as the range grows over the years, their impacts have increasingly come under the scrutiny of funding agencies as well as, policy-makers and planners. It is encouraging to read how successful festivals are, not just in terms of the economy, but also in making people proud of where they live and the community-based feelings, which are rekindled through such events. This paper shows how far Rivers State as a people, have come and gives an indication of how it can build on this success to truly make Rivers State the home of festivals and hospitalities .To this extent, the main goal of this paper is to assess the potentials of Port Harcourt city festival, CARNIRIV, in impacting on the socio-economic activities in Rivers State, Nigeria as that would have implications for tourism development in the state. - Research Article
Terrestrial Protected Areas and Poverty Reduction in Ghana: A Case Study of the Mole National Park and the Mognori and Murugu Communities PDF Ishak Mohammed The establishment of Protected Areas (PAs) represents one of the key strategies for biodiversity conservation. Their potential to improve livelihoods in adjoining communities however remains a source of increasing controversy in conservation literature. This essay examines the socio-economic impacts of the Mole National Park on indigenous livelihoods in Mognori and Murugu "“ two fringe communities in the West Gonja District of Ghana. It explores the ways through which local livelihoods are affected by the park and identifies the impacts of on-going pro-poor initiatives in the study communities. The study reveals that while the park provides job opportunities, it has been less effective in ensuring the fair distribution of these opportunities among locals. Similarly, even though the PA is expected to contribute to infrastructure provision and the provision of security against human-wildlife conflicts, evidence from the field suggests otherwise. For reasons beyond the control of the park, the prevailing compensatory mechanisms are hardly adequate in cushioning victims against damages to properties and assets. This study thus, provides partial support to conservation's poverty reduction claims. Consistent efforts to explore the areas of synergies between biodiversity conservation and livelihood enhancement are necessary if local relevance of protected area establishment is to be maximised. With appropriate and well-thought schemes, PAs can potentially contribute to the twin goals of ecosystem protection and local livelihood development. - Research Article
Investigation of the Effect of Bamboo Leaf Ash Blended Cement on Engineering Properties of Lateritic Blocks PDF N. F. Utodio, E. S. Ekandem, C. C. Egege, M. Ocholi, O.D. Atakpu, D.N. Nwaigwe Laterite is the commonly used building materials in rural Nigeria. It has been observed that it became the traditional building construction material due to its availability, low processing cost and ease of handling with little or no equipment and skill requirements. However, studies have shown that lateritic soils are generally weak in compression and tend to absorb moisture and become soften. Consequently, walling materials such as lateritic blocks has been the subject of investigation for decades; partly, to serve as an alternative to the conventional sand Crete blocks. Such effort is especially desirable as it is well known that the production processes of cement; which is the main binder employed in the production of sand Crete blocks is associated with huge energy consumption and emission of harmful gases such as CO2. This study investigated the effect of bamboo leaf ash blended with cement on some engineering properties of lateritic blocks. The bamboo leaves used for this study were collected in the campus of the University of Uyo and the laterite was obtained from a borrow pit in Itu L.G.A. of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The leaves were sun-dried, burnt in an open atmosphere and then heated in a muffle furnace at 600oC for 2hours to obtain the bamboo leaf ash (BLA). Tests on the physical and chemical properties of bamboo leaf ash blended with cement were conducted in accordance with BS 4550: 1978 and BS 12: 1996. The chemical analysis of the BLA showed that the combined Silica Oxide (SiO₂), Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) and Ferrous oxide (Fe₂O₃) content was above the 70% minimum standard requirement specified by ASTM (ASTM C 618, 2008) for pozzolanic materials. Varying levels of percentage replacement of cement with bamboo leaf ash was obtained at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%. A total of 72 blocks comprising of 12 blocks for each percentage replacement of the lateritic block size of 225mm x 113mm x 75mm of mix ratio 1:20 and water-cement ratio of 0.8 were cast, cured and crushed at 7, 14, 28, and 56 days curing respectively. Analysis of the compressive strength, moisture absorption resistance and the abrasion resistance of the lateritic blocks produced from cement blended with bamboo leaf ash (BLA) showed that the 5% and 10% cement replacements is suitable for load bearing outer walls whereas the 20% and 25% substitution was found more suitable for non-load bearing indoor walls. The 15% substitution was however found to be suitable for non-load bearing outer walls. - Research Article
The Effects of Marine Pollution on Nigerian Coastal Resources PDF E. I. Elenwo, J. A. Akankali The effects of marine pollution to coastal resources are extensive, impacting on the flora, fauna and entire ecology of the coastal environment. In most cases apart from direct impact on the living resources, marine pollutants tends to adversely alter or degrade the environment to extreme conditions that are beyond the tolerant or adaptation limits of the living resources therein. The destruction of aquatic life due to acute thermal shocks. Other effects of thermal pollution include normal physiological processes, such as growth and reproduction of aquatic species which has become severely impaired. Rampant discharge of hot effluents, untreated sewage, oil spills, plastics and other forms of debris into our coastal aquatic environment is quite common off the coasts of Lagos and major industrialized cities of the Niger delta region of Nigeria such as Warri and Port Harcourt. Also flaring of associated gas especially at the flare pits are a severe source of thermal pollution in the coastal environment of Nigeria. Within the Niger Delta region, there are so many flare pits. The scorching heat from such flare sites destroy wildlife over a considerable radius of the areas around and drastically distort the natural population density of nocturnal animals through constant illumination of the forest. The following measures are recommended to the government and relevant agencies; aggressive enlightenment and advocacy, economic empowerment of residents of coastal communities, strict enforcement of relevant laws concerning the abuse of the seas, and setting up of local scientific committees which will collaborate with such international committee to solve localized problems in the affected areas and re orientation and attitudinal change amongst coastal dwellers on the best global practice in reducing pollution of the seas.