Liverpool one shopping development Essay Example for Free

Liverpool one shopping development Essay Liverpool’s CBD needed regeneration for a variety of reasons. During WW2, it was bombed heavily, due to it being a major port for resources from the USA. During the 1960s, it was rebuilt too quickly and then fell into disrepair before 2000, when the design and infrastructure was outdated. Many parts of the city, especially the CBD suffered from urban decline, with its population dropping by 50% and 45% of its industry also leaving. In addition, Liverpool faced competition for shopping by nearby Manchester and Chester, as well as out-of-town shopping centres like the Trafford Centre. Therefore, Liverpool’s CBD needed regeneration to be more attractive to consumers, and regain its spot in the top 5 shopping destinations in the UK. Liverpool One, the project to rejuvenate Liverpool’s CBD was completed in 2008. It was opened in phases on 29 May and 1 October 2008, with the final residential lots opening in early 2009. In the same year, Liverpool was named as the European Capital of Culture. Its total cost is approximately ? 1billion, with 42 acres of Liverpool city centre being redeveloped. It includes 3000 parking spaces, 169 stores or services, as well as a 5 acre park, and 500 new apartments. It also contains a 14-screen cinema and a 36-hole adventure golf centre. Shops present include Debenhams, John Lewis, Ted Baker, Waterstones, Starbucks, Topshop and Caffe Nero. These are all mainly comparison, high-order goods which are chain stores. The area is indoor, yet also mainly open-air. It is of a modern design, and is two storeys tall. There are many cafes and food areas, with many benches. There are also electronic maps and information panels across the centre. The pedestrian areas are wide and escalators are available to proceed to the higher floors. There have also been other improvements in the CBD, such as the rejuvenation of the Docks and the introduction of the Merseytram tram line in the CBD. As well as this, many roads and smaller streets in Liverpool have been rejuvenated and rebuilt as part of the redevelopments. Areas such as Princes Dock and the Kings Waterfront have seen heavy redevelopments. These have been to attract more tourists and shoppers to the CBD. The project has overall been successful as of yet, with 83% of consumers thinking that the city centre has improved. 91% of people said they were likely to return to Liverpool, and enjoyed the experience. And now, 40% of the shops in Liverpool One are new to the city, showing the popularity of the area. The previously redeveloped Albert Dock has been receiving an extra 100000 visitors per week, with Liverpool One itself receiving over 120000 visitors in the first day, and 13 million in the first year. It is safe the say the rejuvenation of Liverpool’s CBD has been a success, and that Liverpool One has played a big part in reversing the effect of urban decline.

Samuel Seabury :: essays research papers

Born in Groton, Conn., Samuel Seabury was the son of the Reverend Samuel Seabury Sr. His Father was a pioneer of New England Anglicanism who followed the example of Samuel Johnson. Samuel Jr.,broke away from the Congregationalists and pursued Anglican ordination. He graduated from Yale in 1744 and received his B.A in 1748. He married Abigail Mumford and went abroad in 1784 to obtain consecration as an Anglican Priest. On December 23, 1753, Samuel Seabury was ordained a deacon and two days later a priest of the Anglican Church. He was licensed by the church to preach in New Jersey. He preached in various places, but none suited his fancy. A preacher in Westchester was charged with drunkenness and sexual assault, which opened up the preaching position. Samuel filled the position and preached in an uneventful ministry. He also ran a school in Westchester. As the tensions between Britain and the colonies grew stronger, Samuel stayed loyal to the crown. He viewed the American government as very primitive and dependent on the British government. When talk of the First Continental Congress arose, he began to voice his opinion. He tried to stop the election of the delegates by writing various pamphlets. His attempt proved futile and the delegates were elected and met together on that fateful day in Philadelphia when a new nation was envisioned. Now Samuel began to take more courageous steps in preventing the breaking away of the colonies. He wrote â€Å"Westchester Farmer† ,a compilation of five essays reasoning why the colonies should stay with the English. The five essays were Free Thoughts on the Proceedings of the Congress, The Congress Canvassed, Free Thoughts in the Full Vindication of the Congress, A View of Controversy, The Republican Dissected. Some of the writings were directed towards New Yorkers and local farmers. He beg ged the New York legislature to reject the laws of the â€Å"enthusiastic republicans† and was quoted as saying, †The Congress is in the power of a faction using a mob to carry out its purposes†. The other writings were a rebuttal or defense to Alexander Hamilton’s attack. Hamilton was a student at the time when the pamphlets came out and he wrote The Farmer Refuted, a pamphlet opposing Seabury’s loyalist views. The news spread like wild fire and four of the pamphlets were printed in newspapers across the colonies. Samuel was branded a loyalist right away and this unintentionally made him some enemies.

Information Privacy Security: TJX Data Breach Crisis and Lessons

Introduction Protecting the privacy of consumer personal information continues to pose significant challenges for organisations. The complexity is aggravated by consumers’ vulnerability that comes about when they are unable to control the usage of personal information they share with business organisations. Given the importance of information privacy, there has been a host of privacy research focusing on the organisational decisions regarding the use and reuse of consumer personal information (Schwartz, 2009; Greenaway and Chan, 2005). Culnan et al (2008) observes that the emerging decentralisation of technology environment has posed additional privacy challenge: data breaches. Currently, it is only the United States that requires organisations to give formal notice in the event of data breach (Morley, 2014). European Union and its member countries are yet to establish any legal requirements for organisations to notify consumers of any data breach, thereby leaving such eventuality at the f ate of an organisation’s management. Without any notification laws, data breaches remain private and under the discretion of the affected organization. Therefore, this paper focuses on one of the most prominent data security breaches that the world has ever witnessed: TJX data privacy breach crisis, in the context of, ethical principles and theories, legal, professional and social issues. . The Information Privacy Concept According to Xu et al. (2008), the concept of information privacy is multidimensional in nature and is largely dependent on the context as well as personal experiences. Although others see information privacy as full of definition ambiguity (Schwartz, 2009), others have defined consumer personal information as being made up of data generated when consumers conduct transactions. The problems of privacy often emerge from how this consumer information is stored, analysed, used, or shared (FTC, 2008). Information on how to address problems related to privacy management is limited due to minimal research in the area, particularly those issues dealing with management responsibilities on social issues. For example, there is limited research on how organisations should deal with consumers’ personal identifiable information, the role of managers in the protecting the consumer data and the moral duty of every party involved in the handling or accessing consumer data. Overview of TJX Data Breach TJX is a US-based off-price retailer operating over 2,400 stores in various countries and regions including US, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Europe. In the network of stores, the retailer collects and store customer information that would authorize purchases via payment cards, personal cheques , and processing of merchandise returned without a receipt. This violated the legal requirement that prohibits any business from retaining sensitive consumer card information, including the magnetic strips on credit cards (Smedinghoff and Hamady, 2008). In addition, the breach exposed TJX’s failure to observe basic ethical and professional principles. The revelation emerged when in 2007 TJX issued a press release stating that criminals had intruded their data system and stolen over 45 million consumers’ card information within a period of 18 months (FTC, 2008). Although the TJX filed Form 8-K disclosure statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission as required by the law, the company was widely held to be at fault for the breach. The company was accused of breaching the law by storing unencrypted sensitive consumer information, for their failure to limit unauthorised access to the massive data via their wireless network, and the inability to establish adequate security measures within its networks among other issues (FTC, 2008). The Legal and social Issues in the TJX Data Breach The current global data protection guideline is based on the Fair Information Practices (FIPs), which deal with individual rights and organisational responsibilities with regard to management of consumer data (Morley, 2014). In other words, how responsibly the data is used is a pointer to the social expectations with regards to consumer data use. FIPs attempts to put a certain level of balance between the competing business and individual interests in terms of legitimate use of personal information, which serves as the foundation for privacy laws and industry-specific regulatory programmes. In this respect, FIPs lays the foundation for organisations on how to be socially responsible in dealing with privacy issues. On the other hand, the adoption of these guidelines lays the foundations for evaluation by the external audiences on an organisation’s degree of responsiveness (Allen, 2011). There is a general consensus that responsible data management practice is paramount in every organisation (Morley, 2014). However, there is no consensus about how the implementation of individual principles should be carried out. Schwartz (2009, p.1) observes that in most parts of the world, â€Å"fair information practices are implemented through omnibus laws.† Curiously, the United States has no comprehensive laws that compel organisations to observe fair information practice, but instead developed sectoral laws and regulations to consumer privacy protection with laws being enacted in response to issues arising from specific industries. The challenge that comes with this approach is that there is uneven practice in terms of operations and implementations. Moreover, the TJX issue exposed some glaring weaknesses in the implementation of FIP laws and regulations based on the principles of notice, choice, access, security, and sanctions for noncompliance (Culnan, et al., 2008). The effectiveness of data privacy management for organisations that collect, store, and use consumer personal data is curtailed by other issues including unclear law or policy, varied jurisdictions, and differences in data type. The challenge may be further aggravated by conflicting regional or state laws (Allen, 2011). The breaches in the TJX case involved unauthorised access to consumer personal information, which resulted in a variety of risks towards consumer personal information. Nevertheless, there is a general agreement within the statutory laws and regulations that every organisation should ensure there is duty of care with regards to information they collect and store based on consumer’s vulnerability and the actual possibility of harm (Allen, 2011). Allen (2011) observes that although organisations that comply with government regulations are considered legitimate, and readily accepted by their external environment, including partners, this milestone is not easily achievable given the above challenges. For example, the term ‘reasonable procedure†™ as stated in most sectoral data protection regulations does not specify what is actually ‘reasonable’, which may vary depending on the nature and size of the organisation, the types of information it captures and stores, the security equipments and tools in the possession of the organisation, and the nature of risk at display. There has been criticism in regards to the prevailing laws and regulations because they are seen as reactive and outdated at the time when they are enacted (Morley, 2014). The other complaint is that most of privacy violation issues are only detected after the damage is done, thus doing little to reverse the loss on the affected consumers. The Moral Issues and Responsibilities Information ethics is based on the collection, use, and management of information (Morley, 2014). As technology becomes increasingly complex, it is evident that ethical problems related to these developments continue to increase. However, the normative theories (stockholder, stakeholder, and social contracts) used to address the prevailing challenges remain less developed, with many institutions only relying on bare legal minimum requirements in relation to consumer data protection (Culnan, et al., 2008). Morley (2014) observes that these theories are distinct and incompatible with regards to the obligations of a business person. Taking into consideration the large social and financial impact of privacy breach as observed in the TJX case, there are mainly two aspects of moral issues that are central to the data privacy: vulnerability and harm avoidance. The concept of vulnerability highlights most of society’s moral intuitions, with the inherent scenario where one party is at disadvantage with regard to the other party in terms of data collection and use. This situation emerged because one party lacked the capacity to control the information givento the other party. Solove (2007) observed that the root cause of large-scale privacy invasions is embedded inthe lack of information control by the giver. In the case of TJX, consumers suffered outright vulnerability, although they expected TJX to protect their card information with a proper mechanism in place. On the other hand, avoiding harm involves the need for managers to avoid using consumer data to harm the vulnerable consumer socially and financially. Many have argued that it is the responsibility of the managers to take a minimum moral standing to ensure no harm is done in the treatment of consumer information (Culnan, et al., 2008). Conclusion Information privacy is an important issue in the modern business environment. In order to protect consumer information, managers must learn to strike a balance between consumer privacy and business interests by constantly adhering to the principle of protecting the vulnerable consumer and not causing harm to them through their personal information. It is important to note that TJX caused harm when their consumer personal data were stolen by a third party intruder. Although TJX violated industry rules, it is more significant to highlight that the company’s failure to observe moral responsibility in the protection of consumer data should be viewed as more detrimental to the company. Businesses are expected to follow basic ethical principles in managing business activities. While we can argue that the TJX data breach saga received the attention because of the United State’s comprehensive formal notice requirements within the laws on privacy data management, it is also appa rent that personal data protection is beyond the laws and regulations and requires ethical foundations within the organisations. The need to integrate ethical reasoning into the privacy programmes of every organisation is paramount (Xu et al., 2008). We can argue that integrating moral responsibility within organisations will not only establish ethical standards for the organisations, but is growingly becoming a necessity considering the challenges surrounding the implementation of legal requirements. Furthermore, considering that consumers are vulnerable and are unable to control how businesses use their personal information, it is the moral responsibilities of every organisation to go beyond bare minimum legal compliance. That is, each organisation needs to take reasonable precaution when handling consumer data and ensure no harm is caused with this kind of data. References Allen, A. (2011). Unpopular Privacy: What Must We HideOxford: Oxford University Press. Culnan, M. J., Foxman, E. R., and Ray, A. W. (2008). â€Å"Why ITExecutives Should Help Employees Secure Their Home Com- puters,† MIS Quarterly Executive (7:1), March, pp. 49-55. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). (2008). â€Å"Press Release: Agency Announces Settlement of Separate Actions Against Retailer TJX, and Data Brokers Reed Elsevier and Seisint for Failing to Provide Adequate Security for Consumers’ Data,† March 27(available at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/03/datasec.shtm; accessed November 29, 2014). Greenaway, K. E., and Chan, Y. E. (2005). â€Å"Theoretical Explana-tions of Firms’ Information Privacy Behaviors,† Journal of the Association for Information Systems (6:6), pp. 171-198. Morley, D. (2014). Understanding Computers in a Changing Society. Chicago: Cengage Learning. Schwartz, M. (2009). â€Å"Europe Debates Mandatory Data Breach Notifications.† The Privacy Advisor (9:2), p. 1. Smedinghoff, T. J., and Hamady, L. E. (2008). â€Å"New State Regula-tions Signal Significant Expansion of Corporate Data SecurityObligations,† BNA Privacy and Security Law Report (7), October 20, p. 1518. Solove, D. (2007). â€Å"The New Vulnerability: Data Security andPersonal Information,† in Securing Privacy in the Internet Age, A. Chander, L. Gelman, and M. J. Radin (eds.), Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 111-136. Xu, H., Dinev, T., Smith, H. J., and Hart, P. (2008). â€Å"Examining the Formation of Individual’s Privacy Concerns: Toward an Integra-tive View,† in Proceedings of the 29th International Conference on Information Systems, Paris (available at http://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2008/6; accessed October 29, 2014).

Globalization And International Trade Theory - 1203 Words

International trade plays a big role in every person’s life. The credit should go to every economist who has contributed to the development of international trade theory. Trade is the consequence of the human â€Å"propensity to truck, barter, and exchange one thing for another† (Smith, 1776). Different people have different propensities for trading, so do different economic periods have different economic conditions, which require different international trade theories. This could be the material cause for the development of international trade theory. Mercantilism was the dominant school of thought in Europe from the sixteenth century to the eighteenth century. â€Å"It refers to the central policy prescription that the state should act like a merchant, augmenting the wealth of the nation by maximizing the surplus from trade with other nations† (Sandelin, 2014). It measured a country’s wealth by the amount of rare metals it owns. The country with more precious metals is better off than others. It aimed at making many exports and few imports to get positive trading balance. Mercantilism was dominant in France and England. Governments’ power were growing and they had big demand for lands at that time. This theory could be closely related to the wars during that period. â€Å"At the same time the rise of more powerful European states with burgeoning bureaucracies, frequent dynastic wars that required larger and more expensive armies, and more lavish court expenditures exacerbated thisShow MoreRelatedTheories of Libralism and Realism1055 Words   |  4 PagesLiberal theories of international relations have made a number of contentions on the basis of economic development and its effect on the belligerence between countries. These claims have presented evident when analyzing the post-Cold War era’s increase in the globalization of trade and investment. Globalization is the process of international economic development, enabling financial and investment markets to operate internationally in the trade and investment markets. Liberalism encompasses a worldviewRead MoreInternational Trade And Gender Wage Inequality1426 Words   |  6 PagesInternational Trade and Gender Wage Inequality Motivation for the Research: In recent years, globalization and international trade has become a significant issue for countries. Consumers tend to use more goods and services and due to the lack of resources, the need to trade with other countries seems to be inevitable. Assuming that globalization would occur, labor factors become noteworthy. 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Organizations can no longer stand still while their competitors grow stronger. This causes organizations to seek out new markets. Survival is a key indicator for an organization to enter into a global market place. What would our nation do without globalization and international trade? 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The first theory is protectionism, which is a philosophyRead MoreShareholder Theory Or Stakeholder Theory1325 Words   |  6 Pages#1 Shareholder theory or stakeholder theory â€Å"There is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.† (Friedman) Friedman’s word perfectly defines the shareholder theory. However, stakeholder theorists, like John Mackey or Edward Freeman, argue that business has an ethical obligationRead MoreGlobalization And The International Political Economy1530 Words   |  7 PagesGlobalization the International Political Economy Globalization is a major factor in our international political economy. Globalization comes in many forms, some of which will be explained herein in more detail. According to Kegley and Blanton (2014), due to globalization, the number of questions about how changes in one country s economics and politics influence trends in the word politics and the global economy (p. 328), has resulted in an area of scholarly study being coined, to wit: internationalRead MoreThe Impact Of Management On The Globalization Of Business900 Words   |  4 Pagesmanagement in the globalization of business. The multinational corporation The impact of globalization on international business International business refers to a wide range of business activities undertaken across national borders. Along with rapidly increasing globalization, international business has become a popular topic and has drawn the attention of business executives, government officials and academics. International business is differ ent from domestic business. At the international level, the

The Stranger By Albert Camus - 1807 Words

Albert Camus’ novel, The Stranger, follows the story of a young man living in Algeria and his apathetic relation to the world and his life. In the book, the main character and narrator, Meursault goes through his life focusing more on the physical aspects of the world instead of the emotional part of social life. In relation to his own feelings (if he has any), he usually gives bleak descriptions of anything involving social interactions and seems confused by others’ emotions, while giving more elaborate imagery of the physical, such as the experience of his body, the environment, and the weather. Out of the physical elements that Meursault seems to attend to, the sun plays a critical role in the novel by affecting his actions and behavior. Throughout the book the sun acts as not only as a prompt for his actions, but also as a symbol of the universe’s indifference towards humans and the earth, while also acting as a reflection of Meursault’s similar attitu des towards the world around him. His relationship to the sun and the heat it creates is first seen at the very beginning of the book with his mother’s funeral. During the day of his mother’s funeral, Meursault pays more attention to the nature and weather, he enjoys the nice scenery and pleasant elements even though it is supposedly a sad occasion. As the funeral procession goes on, he appears to express no sadness or grief over his mother, and instead finds the harsh heat of the sun bothersome and unbearable. TheShow MoreRelatedThe Stranger By Albert Camus1391 Words   |  6 PagesThe Stranger â€Å"The Stranger,† written by the Algerian writer Albert Camus, is a novel about Meursault, a character who’s different and even threatening views on life take him to pay the highest price a person can pay: his life. This was Camus’ first novel written in the early 1940’s, in France, and it reflects the authors belief that there is no meaning in life and it is absurd for humans to try to find it places like religion. The main themes of the novel are irrationality of the universe and theRead MoreThe Stranger By Albert Camus1495 Words   |  6 Pages Albert Camus said, â€Å"Basically, at the very bottom of life, which seduces us all, there is only absurdity, and more absurdity. And maybe that s what gives us our joy for living, because the only thing that can defeat absurdity is lucidity.† In other terms, Camus is indicating that absurdity affects us all even if it’s hidden all the way on the bottom, but it’s the joy that comes from absurdity that makes us take risks and live freely without any thought or focus. Camus also specifies that the onlyRead MoreThe Stranger By Albert Camus1411 Words   |  6 PagesThe novel The Stranger, written by Albert Camus, encompasses contemporary philosophies of existentialism and absurdism. Existentialist and absurdist philosophies entail principles regarding that one’s identity is not based on nature or culture, but rather by sole existence. The role of minor characters in The Stranger helps to present Camus’s purpose to convey absurdist and existentialist principles. The characters of Salamano and Marie are utilized in order to contrast the author’s ideas about contemporaryRead MoreThe Stranger by Albert Camus720 Words   |  3 PagesAlbert Camus’ portrayal of the emotional being of the main character in The Stranger is an indirect display of his own personal distress. The use of symbolism and irony presented throughout this novel is comparable with the quest for such that death itself would be nonetheless happy. Camus’ irrational concept is based off the exclusion of any logical reasoning behind the events in the text. Meursault’s first impression given to the reader is that of ignorance and a nonchalant behavior to indifferenceRead MoreThe Stranger By Albert Camus1345 Words   |  6 PagesAbsurdism is a philosophy based on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless and that the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe. Albert Camus’s novel The Stranger is often termed an absurdist novel because it contains the elements of Camus’s philosophical notion of absurdity. Mersault, the protagonist, is an absurd hero that is emotionally detached and indifferent form society. Neither the external world in which Meursault lives nor the internal worldRead MoreThe Stranger By Albert Camus Essay1591 Words   |  7 PagesThe Stranger was written by the French author Albert Camus, and was first published in 1942 in its indigenous French. It’s described as being the most widely-read French novel of the twentieth century, and has sold milli ons of copies in Britain and the United States alone. It’s known by two titles; the other being The Outsider. The backstory to this is very interesting but, more importantly, the subtle difference in meaning between titles suggests certain resultant translative idiosyncrasies whenRead MoreThe Stranger By Albert Camus1628 Words   |  7 PagesAlbert Camus’s novel â€Å"The Stranger† revolves around a young man estranged from society. This man, Monsieur Meursault, lives the majority of his life fulfilling his own physical needs and social obligations, but has little emotional connection to the world around him. Throughout the book Meursault attends his mother’s funeral, begins a serious relationship with his former co-worker Marie, kills a man without motive, goes through trial, and is sentenced for execution. His lack of emotional responseRead MoreThe Stranger by Albert Camus1115 Words   |  4 PagesIn the novel, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, the point lessness of life and existence is exposed through the illustration of Camus’s absurdist world view. The novel tells the story of an emotionally detached, amoral young man named Meursault. Meursault shows us how important it is to start thinking and analyzing the events that happen in our lives. He does this by developing the theme of conflicts within society. Albert Camus’s novel The Stranger portrays Meursault, the main character, as a staticRead MoreThe Stranger By Albert Camus1365 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout The Stranger, Albert Camus uses routinesituations to demonstrate how the protagonist, Meursault is not just another ordinary individual. Camus depicts Meursault as an independent being, disinterested in his surroundings, contrasting him with the majority of his peers. Meursault traverses the entire novel, exhibiting little to no emotion. Instead, he displayscharacteristics synonymous to someone suffering from psychopathy. Regardless of the situation, Meursa ult refrainsfrom assigning meaningRead MoreThe Stranger By Albert Camus Essay1844 Words   |  8 Pagesof the novel, The Stranger, written by Albert Camus, multiple debatable topics have risen. Does Meursault have a heart? Is he an existentialist? Why does he seem to not be phased by his mother dying? This novel is definitely on the more controversial side, which is somewhat strange because although it seems like a novel about almost nothing, everything seems to have a much deeper meaning than it puts off. However, one topic that seems to be overlooked is the fact that The Stranger relates highly to

Symbolism and Irony in The Tell-Tale Heart Essay - 2249 Words

Symbolism and Irony in The Tell-Tale Heart In Edgar Allan Poes short story The Tell-Tale Heart, the author combines vivid symbolism with subtle irony. Although the story runs only four pages, within those few pages many examples of symbolism and irony abound. In short, the symbolism and irony lead to an enormously improved story as compared to a story with the same plot but with these two elements missing. The Tell-Tale Heart consists of a monologue in which the murderer of an old man protests his insanity rather than his guilt: You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded . . . (Poe 121). By the narrator insisting so emphatically that he is†¦show more content†¦. . (121). The disease in this case is obviously a severe case of emotions, nervousness among them. Thus, even in the story the narrator realizes that he is overcome by emotions, and as such he must confess the repulsive murder of an unarmed old man. William Bittner mentions how Poe fancies the agony of conscience that leads the murderer to confess (180). It is neither the police nor a witness that dooms the narrator; it is the narrator himself who instigates his own demise. How ironic, and terrifying, it is that a madman who has no need for reason finds it impossible to carry on without justice. In the same sense, The Tell-Tale Heart is a study of terror. Poe formulates the story so that the madman narrator paints a vivid and remarkable picture of the fright of his victim: Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief--oh, no!--it was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night . . . the terrors distracted me. (122) This leads Arthur Hobson Quinn to surmise that the intense picture of terror was so graphic because the narrator himself suffered causeless terrors in the night. Quinn further infers that the narrator has a deep sympathy for the old man, even though the narrator is scheming to kill the old man (394). The study of terror is Poes style throughout the shortShow MoreRelatedRole of Realism in Edagar Allan Poe ´s The Tell Tale Heart and The Cask of Amortillado1014 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Tell Tale Heart† and â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† written by Edgar Allan Poe are dark short stories relevant to murder, revenge, and mystery. Poe writes both stories in a Gothic style in order to deal with ideas of realism. One may ask were the murders and punishments justifiable in either short story? One may also ask did Poe accurately depict realism in each story? Realism, defined as a technique in literature that accurately represents everyday life, is questioned in Poe’s works: â€Å"The Tell TaleRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe819 Words   |  4 Pagesthe Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe uses irony, imagery, and symbolism to show that a guilty conscience can greatly alter ones perceptions. Throughout the short story published in 1843 Poe successfu lly shows to what extent a guilty conscience and heart can do to someone. While trying to prove his sanity the narrator dives into the abyss of insanity itself. The narrator commits a heinous murder and is then driven to insanity by the ticking of the dead mans heart. Irony, imagery, and symbolism showRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allen Poe1703 Words   |  7 PagesIn â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart†, by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator both experiences guilt from killing the old man in which he cared for and also the constant plea of proving his sanity. The narrator one day decides that he should kill the old man in which he cares for, due to the fact that he had an evil eye. Though insane and bizarre, the narrator thinks that he is not crazy; he just has heightened senses that allow him to hear things that no human could ever hear. The telling of the story from whateverRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe707 Words   |  3 Pagesthe carnival season, Montreso r meets with Fortunato and decides to implement his plan carefully through irony. Poe s story describes the murderer s mind which has lived as a memory of Fortunato s death for fifty years. Poe uses different types of irony and symbolism in the conversations between Montresor and Fortunato which are discussed in the following paragraphs. First, Poe uses dramatic irony in the story. For example, Montresor expresses concern about Fortunato s and says, Come, I said, withRead MoreThe Tell-Tale Heart - Critical Analysis1277 Words   |  6 PagesImagine the sight of an old mans eye, vulturous, pale blue, with a film covering it. Could this drive ones self so insane that one would murder a man because of it? This is the event that occurs in Edgar Allen Poes vivid tale The Tell-Tale Heart, from the book Designs For Reading: Short Stories. br brEvery night at precisely midnight, the narrator, who remains nameless and sexless, but for the sake of this essay I will refer to as he, ventured into the old mans room without making a soundRead MoreThe Casket Of Amontillado . Edgar Allan Poe’S â€Å"The Cask1680 Words   |  7 PagesThe Casket of Amontillado Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is a short story illustrating how pride leads to the downfall of two men. At the story’s heart is the tale of Montresor, the protagonist, getting revenge on a former friend, Fortunato. 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Nigerian Economy Macroeconomic Analysis Free Essays

sisNigeria – Country Report 2012 61310039 Indian School of Business 7/6/2012 Contents Economic Overview3 Gross Domestic Product (GDP)3 GDP Composition4 Inflation4 Shadow Economy5 Trade Overview5 Foreign Debt7 Labor Market Human Capital7 Population and Income Inequality8 Unemployment9 Currency10 Money Supply and Monetary Control10 Fiscal policy12 Exchange rates12 Interest Rates13 Foreign Direct Investment14 Globalization and Comparative Advantage14 Conclusion15 References16 Economic Overview Nigeria’s economy is estimated to be worth about $262bn, making it one of the largest economies in Africa. The estimates and analysis of various indicators is discussed in the later sections. The country has fared better than many other countries during the global economic downturn, but systemic problems in infrastructure and the labor market mean that its position in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s global rankings remains towards the bottom during the forecast period, at 75th out of 82 countries. We will write a custom essay sample on Nigerian Economy: Macroeconomic Analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now Efforts to create a significantly more attractive business environment are likely to produce only modest results owing to the slow pace of more fundamental reforms. Nigeria has taken steps to simplify trade by working on its tariff structure. However, there is still a protectionist sentiment in the country. Cross border smuggling is still a major concern and is liable to remain an important feature of the Nigerian economy. The capacity and efficiency of Nigerian ports (Trade) have improved following the implementation of an ambitious concessioning program that transferred management of terminals to private operators. However, although the reforms have improved port operations and ship turnaround times, there remains the problem of corruption in the customs service, which can complicate and delay the clearance of goods. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) The latest GDP projection data as brought out by World Bank is $ 268. 5 billion (2013 F) and the country population is projected at 175 million translating into a GDP/Capita to 2,213. The Real GDP Growth for Nigeria has been at 6. 8 %. However, considering the disparity in the country’s infrastructure viz-a-viz other Asian developing nations the growth rate is not enough for substantial improvement. Nominal GDP| 2007| 2008| 2009| 2010| 2011| 2012(F)| 2013(F)| US$ bn| 166. 5| 208. 1| 169. 4| 196. 3| 244. 2| 262. 4| 268. 5| N bn| 20,941| 24,665| 25,225| 29,498| 37,590| 42,877| 46,720| Real GDP growth %| 6. | 6| 7| 7. 8| 7. 4| 6. 4| 6. 9| Source: Economic Intelligence Unit| GDP Composition In Nigeria, the Investment component of the GDP as compared to the private consumption and government is very low, hovering at 17 % approximately. A developing market is required to invest around 40 to 50% of GDP in capital investment for successive number of years. However that is not seen wit h Nigeria. Hence, the prospect of Nigeria as an investment destination appears to be grim in the near future. | 2007| 2008| 2009| 2010| 2011| 2012 F| 2013 F| Private consumption| 6. 6| -34. 3| 6. 4| -26. 7| 11. 8| 9. | 10. 4| Government consumption| 90. 8| 4. 4| -8. 1| 17. 8| 12| 8. 5| 8| Gross fixed investment| 24. 5| -6. 8| 9. 1| -3. 6| 6. 5| 6| 6. 5| Exports of goods services| -11. 7| 43. 4| -30| 11. 4| 11. 9| 10. 4| 12. 4| Source: Economic Intelligence Unit| The graph below gives the GDP contribution – Industry wise for Nigeria. Crude is one of the major contributors to the GDP. Hence, and rate fluctuations in the price of crude oil have added volatility in the Nigerian GDP. Inflation Despite monetary tightening carried out by the CBN in 2011, the forecast for inflation remains negative. Inflation is expected to increase to 12. 7% in 2012. Fiscal laxity by the states is one of the main reasons for this. In addition, the payment of the newly instituted minimum wages and the injection of funds into the bailed out banks, inflationary pressure is bound to continue for the rest of the year. It is expected moderate only in 2014 as a result of moderation in commodity prices. The April 2012 inflation data as obtained shows a Month-on-month inflation to be (0. 13%), Year-on-Year (12. 9%), 12-Month Avg. Chg. (11. 1%). The inflation rate is exceedingly high and is detrimental towards investment in the country. The Consumer Price Index and Nigerian Inflation rate is shown below. Source: Economic Intelligence Unit Shadow Economy The untaxed and unregulated revenues – by some estimates – account for between 40% and 45% of gross domestic product (GDP). Nigerians make most of their living, as street hawkers, minibus drivers, money changers or market traders. In spite of the abysmal performance of the country’s economy, poor infrastructure and unfriendly business environment Nigeria has huge potentials to be tapped because of its huge deposits of Natural Resources nd population that can be gainfully employed. The black economy accounts for a large part of the Nigerian economy. Trade Overview Nigeria has considerable natural resources such as oils, and the revenue from oil exports forms a major chunk of the Government fund. Nigeria has recently started a sovereign wealth fund and the excess returns from oil exports viz-a-viz projected returns is directed to this sovereign fun d. This fund is building up at a slower pace as the revenue is being directed towards meeting government excess spending to meet the countries capital requirement. The country has been putting efforts to tighten the fiscal policy and the same has been reflected in their medium-term expenditure framework. The country has projected a year-on-year budget deficit of 1% of GDP. However, from the recent trends it appears that Nigeria will be able to sustain a year-on-year budget deficit of 2% given the prices of oil remain stable even though the current European turmoil and a slowdown in china can push oil prices down and lead to further increase in Nigeria’s Fiscal deficit. Nigeria intends borrowing from the international capital market for meeting its capital expenditure requirement in the near future. The total value of Nigeria’s exports in the first quarter of 2012 is at about USD 30 billion, the exports to India has reached USD 4. 2 billion, compared to USD 3. 7 billion credited to the US in the period under review. Nigeria’s export to India is mostly crude oil and cashew nuts while India exports pharmaceutical goods, machinery, electronics and rice. The US was trailed by the Netherlands with USD 2. billion, followed by Spain with USD 2. 4 billion and Brazil which recorded USD 2 billion. Nigeria is a member of the WTO and does not impose permanent import restrictions however it has a huge banned list of import goods which coupled with ad valorem tariffs have given rise to increase in smuggled goods. As such the restrictions do not seem to have benefited the local industries. There are specially designated export processing zones which provide benefits from tax, duties, foreign exchange restrictions and import-export restrictions. The Nigerian Export Credit Guarantee and insurance corporation (Nexim) provides insurance under the government’s export guarantee scheme. This has helped exporters in raising funds at subsidized rates for refinancing. Nigeria figures 133rd on the Doing Business in Index among 183 world economies and 15th among the 46 sub Saharan African economies. The trade balance of Nigeria for period 2007 to 2011 and forecasted data for 2012 and 2013 is given below. | 2007| 2008| 2009| 2010| 2011| 2012(F)| 2013(F)| Trade balance| 37,748| 45,885| 25,342| 20,237| 34,528| 34,131| 28,778| Goods: exports fob| 66,040| 85,729| 56,121| 73,698| 103,847| 114,068| 111,836| Goods: imports fob| -28,291| -39,844| -30,779| -53,461| -69,319| -79,937| -83,058| Services balance| -16,902| -22,113| -16,479| -19,231| -24,761| -24,278| -25,914| Income balance| -11,747| -15,059| -14,404| -18,623| -22,905| -20,913| -24,624| Current transfers balance| 18,545| 19,366| 18,694| 20,092| 25,004| 27,387| 28,562| Current-account balance| 27,643| 28,079| 13,153| 2,476| 11,867| 16,327| 6,802| Source: Economic Intelligence Unit| Nigeria and its neighboring African nations have imposed strong continental Trade Barriers which is depriving the continent of new sources of economic growth, new jobs and leading to a sharp fall in poverty and other factors. However, many African countries are losing several billions of dollars in potential trade earnings every year, because of high trade barriers with neighboring countries. It is easier for Africa to trade with the rest of the world than with itself. The Policy progress in the nation has been restricted due to political instability and tussle between the presidency and senior economic team. Policies towards changes in exploiting the proceeds from fuel exports are always the concern restricting policy improvements. The country has huge limitation in the power sector and the government has initiated privatization program focused mainly on the power sector, However the progress has been slow as a result of private-sector reluctance, the various vested interests involved and strong union opposition. This is limiting foreign investments in Nigeria. Nigeria urgently requires Tax reform for attracting investments in the country and this policy reform is high on the political agenda. However due to conflicting interests and the fragile nature of the Nigerian administration reforms are expected to be slow. Foreign Debt Due to the economic slowdown public sector revenue and expenditure has contracted in the past 3 years. As a result of the budget deficit, infrastructure is facing acute shortage which is mostly financed by internal public borrowing while also seeking access to external funding. The Nigerian government has set on the path of prudent reforms to reduce total spending while improving funding for capital requirements for efficient spending that will translate to long term economic growth. The government also launched a Euro denominated bond in 2011 and expects to return to the international debt capital markets again in the next few years. Labor Market Human Capital The education system of Nigeria is in a poor state unable to meet the educational requirement of the country. There are currently only 46 tertiary institutions in Nigeria providing education covering all functional areas. Out of the 42m Nigerian children who ought to be in primary school, less than 24m are in school. Out of the 33. 9m children of secondary school age, only 6. 4m are in secondary schools. The pass rate for JAMB examinations is about 20% – indicates poor quality of secondary school graduates. The educational system has not been tailored to meet developmental needs of the nation. Any foreign investment has to transfer both funds and human capital to the country. There are no improvements visible in the near vicinity. The Nigerian Labor market is marred with constraints and there appears little prospect in the near future of resolving many of the key constraints to improving the labor market in Nigeria. Most of the talented Nigerians prefer to move out of the country and the country is suffering from a ‘brain drain’. Nigeria has a large number of very capable professional and highly skilled workers in a range of sectors. Unfortunately for the country, large numbers, particularly in the medical profession, live and work overseas, and the restoration of civilian rule in 1999 has failed to bring an end to the brain drain’. Although labor law reform in 2005 weakened the capacity of the unions to organize political or sympathy strikes, the labor movement remains powerful, capable of organizing paralyzing national strikes. Value of indexa| | Global rankb| | Regional rankc| | 2006-10| 2011-15| 2006-10| 2011-15| 2006-10| 2011-15| 4. 4| 4. 6| 80| 80| 16| 15| a Out of 10. b  Out of 82 countries. c  Out of 17 countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, UAE, Angola, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Source: Economic Intelligence Unit| Population and Income Inequality The population in Nigeria is growing at a very fast pace, but given the poor state of the countries health care and educational system, this is only constraining the already dismal state of the country the growth rate is presented below, the high rate of population growth and the deteriorating state of infrastructure is not conducive enough for enticing foreign investment. Population (Million)| 2006| 2010| 2015| Total| 140. 4| 152. 2| 166. 7| Period averages (%)|   | 2006-10| 2011-15| Population growth|   | 2. 1| 1. 8| Labor force growth|   | 2. 4| 1. 9| Source: Economic Intelligence Unit| Poverty in Nigeria remains significant despite high economic growth. Nigeria retains a high level of poverty, with 63% living on below $1 daily, implying a decline in equity. There have been attempts at poverty alleviation, but the inequality has been rising. Income inequality worsened from 0. 43 to 0. 49 between 2004 and 2009. This is correlated with differential access to infrastructure and amenities. In particular, there are more rural poor than urban poor. This primarily results from the composition of Nigeria’s economy. Oil exports contribute significantly to government revenues and about 15% of GDP, despite employing only a fraction of the population. Agriculture, however, contributes to about 45% of GDP, and employs close to 90% of the rural population. This incongruence is compounded by the fact that oil revenue is poorly distributed among the population, with higher government spending in urban areas than rurally. High unemployment rates have rendered personal incomes even more divergent. The graph below gives a comparison of the population below poverty line in relation to the total  Nigerian population. Data Source: Economic Intelligence Unit Unemployment According to the ‘2011 Annual Socio-Economic Report’ released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, the total number of unemployed people have increased from approximately 7 million in 2006 to 16 million in 2011. In 2011, approximately 2. 1 million people were newly unemployed. The report has also predicted the new entrants into the unemployed pool to be around 8. 5 million in 2015. The increase is also interestingly explained by the tendency of Nigerian university graduates to stay away from labor intensive work. They are now ready to wait for a white collar job thus resulting in the entry of new university graduates into the unemployment pool. The total number of employed labor force has remained fairly constant from 2006 to 2011 at around 51 million. However, 10 million new people have been added to the labor force during 2006-2011. The increase in labor force could be explained by the steady increase in the number of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. While the enrollment in universities and polytechnics has decreased from around 460,000 in 2006 to 340,000 to 2011, enrollment in colleges of education has increased during the same period. Whereas the enrollment in state and federal institutions has decreased during 2006-2011, enrollment in private institutions has increased steadily. According to the report, the increase in unemployment rate has been kept in check by Nigerian government’s employment policies. The unemployment rate in rural areas was 25. 6% and 17. 1% in urban areas. The total national unemployment rate was 23. 9% in 2011. Total unemployment rate amongst males was 23. 5% in 2011 while the same rate amongst females was 24. 3%. The report explains that married women who previously stayed out of the labor force have now started entering the market for jobs due to a raise in claim for financial independence. More women are also now forced to enter the labor market because of the need to supplement the income of males in families. The unemployment rate has been consistently growing in Nigeria due to lack of industries, political stability and a myriad of other reasons. Unemployment is leading to crime and shadow economy which is further hindering investments in the country. Data Source: Economic Intelligence Unit Currency The Legal Tender followed in Nigeria is the Naira (sign:  ? ;  code:  NGN). The Central Bank of Nigeria referred as CBN is the sole authority responsible for issuing and maintaining the volume of the currency in the Nigerian economy. The currency was adopted by Nigeria on 1st Jan 1973 replacing the pound that was being followed since the colonial days. Money Supply and Monetary Control The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the central bank of Nigeria. Since the global financial crisis of 2008-09, maintaining adequate liquidity and averting a total collapse of the banking system has been the main focus of the CBN. The CBN uses the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to anchor short term money market rates and other interest rates in the economy. Open market operations conducted through the Treasury Bills auction is the major instrument of monetary policy. The CBN also uses discount window operations (including standing lending and deposit facilities, repo and reverse repo operations) and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) in monetary management. The banking crisis of 2009 and the subsequent reform initiated in the banking sector has complicated the monetary policy. The central bank also ensures that there is sufficient lending in key sectors such as agriculture. Since 1977, Nigeria has had an Agric Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS) under the management of the central bank. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is responsible for maintaining a balance between its objective of managing inflation and the government’s aim of reducing the cost of borrowing by the private sector to encourage investment in productive activities. The CBN is currently pursuing the former objective, having increased its prime interest rate six times during 2011: the Central Bank is attempting to counter what it sees as high inflationary expectations embedded in the system. As the forecast period progresses and the inflation outlook improves, the focus of the CBN will return to easing monetary policy and boosting lending to productive sectors. Nevertheless, this has been complicated by the banking crisis of 2009 and the subsequent reform program put in place by the Central Bank, which is likely to mean that risk aversion among the banks persists into the first part of the forecast period at least. Below is the summary of the key Monetary Indicators for Nigeria. Monetary indicators| 2007a| 2008a| 2009a| 2010a| 2011a| 2012b| 2013b| 2014b| 2015b| 2016b| | Exchange rate N:US$ (av)| 125. 8| 118. 5| 148. 9| 150. 3| 153. 9| 160. 7| 174. 0| 172. 0| 174. 0| 176. 0| Exchange rate N:US$ (year-end)| 118. 0| 132. 6| 149. 6| 150. 7| 158. 3| 170. 8| 173. 0| 173. 0| 175. 0| 177. 0| Exchange rate N:â‚ ¬ (av)| 172. 44| 174. 33| 207. 46| 199. 42| 214. 19| 209. 71| 224. 46| 217. 58| 215. 33| 221. 76| Exchange rate N:â‚ ¬ (year-end)| 173. 66| 184. 49| 215. 49| 201. 31| 210. 42| 221. 23| 222. 31| 215. 39| 219. 63| 223. 02| Real effective exchange rate, CPI-based (av)| 38. 05| 42. 32| 38. 59| 42. 11| 42. 74c| 46. 39| 46. 44| 50. 42| 53. 60| 56. 5| Purchasing power parity N:US$ (av)| 71. 31| 80. 30| 88. 60| 99. 68| 115. 8c| 120. 9| 121. 0| 123. 9| 129. 2| 136. 3| Money supply (M2) growth (%)| 58. 1| 53. 6| 20. 6| 3. 7| -0. 5| 8. 7| 20. 5| 19. 6| 17. 5| 18. 5| Domestic credit growth (%)| 358. 3| 55. 9| 41. 1| 14. 1| 28. 1| 7. 9| 21. 5| 20. 7| 18. 2| 17. 7| Commercial banks’ prime rate (av; %)| 16. 9| 15. 5| 18. 4| 17. 6| 16. 0| 16. 0| 14. 0| 1 3. 0| 13. 5| 13. 8| Deposit rate (av; %)| 10. 3| 12. 0| 13. 3| 6. 5| 5. 7| 6. 0| 5. 8| 5. 8| 5. 8| 5. 5| Money-market rate (av; %)| 6. 9| 8. 2| 3. 8| 3. 8| 8. 5c| 8. 8| 7. 0| 6. 5| 6. | 6. 0| a  Actual. b  Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts. c  Economist Intelligence Unit estimates. Source: EIU| Fiscal policy While Nigeria’s fiscal policy during the last half of the decade has been favoring expansive expenditure in the productive sectors, there is growing pressure to introduce tough, unpopular market reforms to tighten the fiscal policy. However it will be difficult to do so considering the different interest groups that the government needs to placate and wider legislature that favors greater government expenditure to counter the crippling infrastructure deficit. Even as investment in infrastructure remains critical, how the government manages to bring down the share of recurrent expenditures while improving the quality of capital expenditure is the key challenge. Another challenge for the government will be how it manages its dependence on oil prices, the key component of its revenue. A return to recession in Europe or a less than expected growth in China could bring down the oil prices. Exchange rates The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been responsible for managing the exchange rate and this was being done by auctioning of foreign currencies. The CBN sets the exchange rate. However, Nigeria’s currency fluctuations is correlated to fluctuations in the oil prices. In 2007, the Naira saw significant appreciation viz-a-viz the dollar due to increase in Global crude prices. Nigeria’s central Bank intends making the Naira exchange rates floating and policy decisions are being formulated towards this objective. The CBN also intends to make the exchange rate independent to the extent possible and aims at intervening only to meet defined policy objectives. The country has seen a huge depreciation of the Naira in the past 3 Decades, presently owing to the stable and strong crude prices the currency is considerably stable but is forecasted to slip further if the Global Economic crisis continues to deter. Source: http://www. exchangerates. org. uk/ Interest Rates The CBN kept its benchmark interest rate at 12%. The CBN will find it hard to balance its objective of managing inflation and the government’s aim of reducing the cost of borrowing by the private sector to boost investment. Nigeria has seen a slowdown in economic growth in its economy as a result of slackening in global economic activities. As the tight liquidity condition persists, short term interest rates have been rising for the past couple of years. Another cause of concern for the CBN was the slowdown in interbank lending, which prompted the CBN to guarantee placements in the interbank market. This also helped bring down the interest rates in the short term money markets, such as the interbank call rates. The above table indicates the Monetary Aggregates and Interest Rates as obtained in 2010. Foreign Direct Investment Although the government will continue to welcome foreign direct investment (FDI), the level of FDI outside the oil and gas sector will remain low in relation to the potential size of the market. This reflects the complexities of the local business environment, together with the bureaucracy, corruption, low productivity, poor infrastructure and low income levels that restrict the potential market. The salient feature of the policy is enumerated. Full foreign ownership is allowed in all sectors apart from banking, although the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been more relaxed on the issue since the 2009 crisis in the sector and the subsequent need to recapitalize the affected banks. A new bill proposes to outlaw discretionary awards of oil and gas contracts, and stipulates that licenses must be given through â€Å"open, transparent and competitive† bidding processes. Nevertheless, a number of Asian investors, from China, India and South Korea in particular, who have shown keen interest in entering Nigeria on the basis that they concurrently develop local infrastructure, may still find themselves the preferred bidder on new acreage. There is also likely to be a continued bias towards policy favoring local business, as evidenced by the recent local content bill for the oil industry that gives indigenous firms priority in the awarding of oil concessions and requires foreign companies to employ more local staff. As a result, and with other countries set to improve more rapidly, Nigeria will slip in the global rankings from 67th to 71st out of 82  countries, and from 12th to 13th in the Middle East and Africa region. Value of indexa| | Global rankb| | Regional rankc| | 2006-10| 2011-15| 2006-10| 2011-15| 2006-10| 2011-15| 5. 1| 4. 6| 67| 71| 12| 13| a Out of 10. b  Out of 82 countries. c  Out of 17 countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, UAE, Angola, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Source: Economic Intelligence Unit| Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) in Nigeria was 2. 99 as of 2010. Its highest value over the past 40 years was 8. 28 in 1994, while its lowest value was -1. 15 in 1980. The below outlines the Annual inflows of FDI along with its percentage composition of the gross fixed investment. (US$ m)| 2006| 2007| 2008| 2009| 2010| 2011| 2012| 2013| 2014| 2015| Annual inflows of FDI| 4,854| 6,035| 5,487| 5,787| 3,000| 3,500| 6,000| 7,500| 7,250| 7,250| % of gross fixed investment| 40. 4| 39. 7| 32. 1| 35. 3| 13. 7| 14. | 20. 5| 20. 9| 16. 8| 14. 2| Source: Economic Intelligence Unit| Globalization and Comparative Advantage Nigeria has not benefited considerably from globalization due to mono-cultural export, inability to attract increased foreign investments and huge indebtedness. And the way forward for Nigeria is to focus towards diversification of exports, debt reduction and expand developmental cooperation. Nigeria got connected to the res t of the world with the arrival of British in the Year 1539 and by the 1800’s Nigeria was under complete control of the British Empire. And since then Nigeria’s trade has been heavily dependent on British trade. Nigeria has been a country rich in natural resources and traded these resources for weapons and tools. This asymmetric trade is the reason for the wide variance in the distribution of the nation’s wealth. The country received its independence in 1960 and during that time the Farm products was its major export. Post-independence, farm products constituted the major portion of Nigeria’s Trade. The six major agricultural products then were cocoa, rubber, palm oil, groundnut, cotton and palm kernel. And this constituted 69. 4% of its total GDP for the year 1963/64. The other contributor to exports was oil. However, during that period oil was priced low at $3. 8 per barrel and thus was not much lucrative. The 1970’s saw Nigeria’s fortune turn with the jump in fuel price by almost 4 times. Nigeria had high grade petroleum reserves and these reserves were easier to extract. The petroleum price rose to $14. 7 per barrel by January 1974 and rates continued to soar reaching a high of $38. 77 per barrel in 1981. Within the same period, total revenue from oil rose correspondingly. By 1978, oil contributed 89. 1% of Nigeria’s export and in the same year contribution from agriculture plummeted to 6. 8% of exports. The overdependence of the country’s economy on oil exports has seriously hindered the development in other spheres. Globalization poses a multitude of challenges on Nigeria. The countries very poorly on education, health, agriculture and industrial development and therefore it is imperative that Nigeria focuses on these area to fundamentally transform the nation. The country requires focusing on technological development and science and Technology are required to be central theme of their Developmental Strategy. The Country also requires focusing on basic Infrastructure such as power supply and telecommunications and these must exist regularly and uninterruptedly. Also, industrialization, including manufacturing and fabrication must be brought in at the center place. There is a need to revitalize agriculture by utilizing the technologies in the field and shifting to mechanized farming. Conclusion There is an element of risk of doing business in Nigeria even though the debt of the country is in a manageable state. A prolonged European crisis and a slowdown in China will lead to dip in oil prices and Nigeria will face difficulties in meeting its deficit requirements. The currency of Nigeria-Naira is currently seen stable and after depreciating by an average of 6. 3% per year in 2012-13 to N174:US$1, the naira is expected to moderate more gently in subsequent years, to N176:US$1 in 2016, though the currency has seen a continuous downslide when data is compared for the last three decades. After the Banking crisis of 2009, the banking sector is skeptical on lending to private sector, however the confidence is returning. The political risk of the country is seen as high due to factions in the government and the rise in Islamist fundamentalism. Piracy is also a major phenomenon in the Gulf of Guinea which makes Nigeria’s coastline a risky shipping port. Nigeria declared a state of emergency in January 2012 in the northern parts due to a recent spate of terror attacks; however no civil war or major instability is expected in the short run. The government has been accused of largely ignoring public grievances like unemployment, poverty, inequality in wealth and corruption. Unless the government steps up to address these issues and establish credibility there is risk of escalation. The President Mr. Good luck Jonathan has recently commissioned investigations into allegations of corruptions in the oil subsidies and replaced the Chief of the Police for failing to root out infiltration by the insurgents into the government offices. However the effectiveness of these measures will depend on their enforcement. The future of the Nigerian economy therefore depends on stabilizing governance and enabling the parliament to unlock major reforms in the Oil and Gas sector. References 1. Economic Intelligence Unit – (http://country. eiu. com/Nigeria) 2. CBN Monetary Survey 3. Exchange Rates – (http://www. exchangerates. org. uk/) 4. Shadow Economy Reference – (http://news. bbc. co. uk/) 5. Currency Reference – (http://www. cenbank. org/) How to cite Nigerian Economy: Macroeconomic Analysis, Essay examples