Oluyemi Oyenike Fayomi

Financial Development, Trade Costs and Bilateral Trade Flows: Connecting the Nexus in ECOWAS

Financial Development (FD) in both exporting and importing countries would be required to fund production and consumption, respectively. However, the extent to which this affects Economic Community of West African States-ECOWAS intra-regional trade, has not been empirically investigated, which motivates this study. It examines the pattern of trade, provides the level of FD and influence of FD in ECOWAS. It utilises the augmented gravity model of trade to empirically examine the effects of FD on bilateral trade flows in ECOWAS. To achieve the objectives, descriptive and econometric methods of analysis were engaged. Among the findings is that the FD of both exporting and importing countries are significant determinants of bilateral trade flows in ECOWAS. This suggests, among others, that more credit available to the private sector will significantly boost bilateral trade flows.

The Resilient Informal Economy in the Milieu of African Development

This chapter examines the economic and institutional factors supporting the informal economic setting that weakens formal economic operations in an African context. In carrying out the research that underpins the chapter, a panel regression was employed among selected countries from Southern Africa, West Africa and the East and Central Africa subregions. In this approach three estimation techniques were utilized: pooled regression, fixed effect regression and random effect regression with the Hausman test of significance. The findings from this study suggest that unemployment, governance and a low level of education have significantly contributed to the proliferation of informal economic settings in African economies while retarding formal economic development. This chapter posits, therefore, that considerable government attention should be given to the transformation and development of informal economic operations through socially inclusive policy strategies. This will stimulate and facilitate the rapid development of African economies.

Political Participation and Political Citizenship

This chapter discusses the various definitions of political participation and political citizenship, as they encompass many activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. It also highlights the importance of political participation and citizenship, and how participation extends beyond parties and citizens’ involvement in certain aspects of the electoral process through independent action. The chapter affirms that more people participate in politics by voting than by any other means. Yet there are many other ways of taking part in politics, which involve varying amounts of skill, time and resources. It concludes that if the issue of citizenship is not tackled, the ethnic crisis will continue unabated. As one cannot accomplish a task at a distance, there is a great need to get involved, as citizens’ participation is paramount in influencing governmental policies.

The Impacts of Remittances on Nigeria’s Economic Growth: A Study of Nigerian Diasporas in Ghana

The paper investigates the activities of Nigerian diasporas in Ghana from the perspective of the money remitted to Nigeria for its economic growth. There are complexities and dynamism in patterns of migration, remittances and its attendants’ implications to economic growth within the sub-region of West Africa. The study made use of primary data with the aid of questionnaire instrument and a population size of 326 respondents living in Ghana. The analysis which employed both a non-parametric (chi-square) and a linear regression estimator shows that remittances from the Nigerian diasporas in Ghana are significant to the economic growth of Nigeria. Also, the result revealed that remittances have significantly supported savings and investment in Nigeria including community-based developmental projects and charity support activities. Consequently, there is a need to provide adequate infrastructures for attracting more remittances from the diasporas into the economy through a better formal financial and high interest reward investment scheme.

The Internal Migration and Livelihood Strategies of the Benue Children and Youths in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States in Nigeria Due to Ripple Effects of Global Economic Downturn

Benue state is named after the River Benue, one of Nigeria’s two principal rivers. It is located in the North-Central geo-political zone in Nigeria. It is bordered on the North by Nasarawa state, the East by Taraba state, and the West by Kogi state and in the South by Cross River, Enugu and Ebonyi states. The Cameroonian border is located on the Southeast. As with most central states, Benue is a boiling pot of ethnic groups dominated by the Tiv and Idoma people. Other ethnic groups indigenous to the state include Igede, Etulo and Abakwa. Benue state is a rich agricultural region that produces crops such as yam, rice and cassava, and fruits such as oranges and mangoes, with yam and cassava being the main crop. The state also has a vibrant fishing community. According to the 2006 census the Benue state is home to over 4 million people and has 23 local government areas (LGAs) with the capital located in Makurdi LGA. Most people in Benue State live in rural areas. Farming is the key livelihood activity in Benue State for male heads of household living. Sources of livelihood diversification include agro-processing, trade and crafts, which are linked to access to urban centres and market places. Migration to urban areas or rural areas elsewhere in Nigeria, such as cocoa plantations in the South, is another important livelihood strategy. Households and individuals employ hired labour on their farms if they have the means to do so. Most women do not own land, but are given access to fields by male relatives and in-laws to cultivate their own crops, in addition to their work on the family fields. Compared with men, women have fewer assets and are less likely to cultivate cash crops. Female-headed households rely more on trading and agro-processing to make a Nigerian average income per capita was estimated at US

Reviews: Aspects of Globalization: Roberts J. Timmons and Amy Bellone Hite, eds, The Globalization and Development Reader: Perspectives on Development and Global Change. Melbourne: Blackwell, 2007, 450 pp., ISBN 9781405132367, A

290 in 2001 (UNICEF), and as many as 65% of the people in Benue State were estimated to be living in poverty in 1996 (NCS-data, FOS 1999). Infrastructure and basic services are in a dilapidated state, and public investment in these sectors is limited. Moreover, over the past two decades farming in Benue has actually become more labour-intensive per unit of harvest because of declining soil fertility, poorly functioning input markets and worsening terms of trade. These developments increase the vulnerability of both households and communities, leading to migration of youths in search of good livelihoods in other parts of Nigeria especially Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States. Benue children of less than eighteen and a little over eighteen years work as housemaids, shop attendants and farm workers and other menial jobs in the case studies of Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States of Nigeria. Methodology: A community-based selection of respondents was used in Ikeja, Ota and Ogbomosho, Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States. Twenty-four (24) villages were randomly selected: two in each of the twelve (12) purposeful selected local government areas (LGA). These LGAs represent the variety of livelihoods in Benue State and the main ethnic groups since the Tiv, Idoma and Igede are living in distinct local government areas. Nine (9) selected LGAs are classified as rural and 3 as (peri)-urban. Data collection and analysis: The outline of the study design was developed in close consultation with stakeholders in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States and resource persons. The research questions were based on a review of other impact studies. Data collection focused on demographic trends, and reasons for migrating, livelihood strategies, and causes of vulnerability. These data were gathered at individual, household and community level, mainly through in-depth interviews and focus group discussion. Field workers who have the knowledge of local languages and also originated from Benue State were selected. They received a two and half-day training on participatory raid appraisal (PRA) and the specific research tools developed for this study. The study took great care to respect confidentiality and all data has been anonymised. At community level, local leaders were introduced to the objectives of the study and asked for their approval and cooperation in carrying out the study. Selected respondents were again informed about the objectives of the study and their oral consent to participate in the study was asked for. In each of the 10 study sites, a five-day qualitative research exercise was carried out between October, 2010 and January 2011. To gather the detailed data required by the study’s goals and questions, a triangulation of people and data collection methods, involving multiple sources of information (observations, interviews, documents, and audiovisual materials) were used People are more available and access to communities is easier. Over 120 respondents were selected for in-depth interviews based on socio-economic background, gender and the extent to which they had been affected by the global economic downturn that has a ripple effect on the Nigeria’s economy. Data were entered and analysed using SPSS. Comparisons were also made for variables between the different ethnic groups and wealth categories. Statistical significance was analysed using Chi-square tests for categorical variables. The results of the qualitative research and household survey were also triangulated. In this article, most findings are reported in an integrated way; data originating from the household survey are presented as percentages.

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214 Kendall, Woodward and Skrbis give the readers a nicely balanced picture of political, cultural and ethical conditions surrounding cosmopolitanism that many people experience in everyday practice. In stark contrast to the utopian vision of cosmopolitanism, which tends to regard the realization of cosmopolitanism as a necessary consequence of economic globalization, the authors’ sociological analysis of the political potential of cosmopolitanism is sober, cool and realistic. They pay close attention to the ambivalent relationship between the rise of economic globalization and the prevalence of cosmopolitan culture and sentiments, as well as the persistence of nation-centric indifference towards other cultures in the wake of recent sociopolitical phenomena that transcend local and national borders. As the title of the concluding chapter tells the reader, Kendall, Woodward and Skrbis recognize the significance of cosmopolitanism as ‘an intellectual and political project’. This leaves those who endeavour to clarify the political, cultural and ethical conditions of cosmopolitanism to engage in more empirical research of cosmopolitanism, based on the conceptual framework this book provides. Only a sociology that is both realistic in its empirical investigation and imaginative in its theoretical investigation can make clear which factors facilitate and which hinder the realization of ‘authentic’ cosmopolitanism.

Reviews: Gender Matters: Ayele Lea Adubra, Non-Traditional Occupations, Empowerment and Women: A Case Study of Togolese Women. New York and London: Routledge, 2005, 140 pp., ISBN 9780415973595, US

Tessa Marcus is a sociologist. Her research interests are the sociology of HIV/AIDS, development and knowledge. She is the author of several academic and popular books as well as peer-reviewed articles. She is currently involved in a research project on death and dying. Address: Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, PO Box 667, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. [email: tessa.marcus@up.ac.za]