RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Managing Natural Resources, Politics and Governance in LDCs: Implications on the Nation's Economy- Nigeria as a Case Study



Table of Contents

Introduction1

Literature Review2

Purpose of the Study3

Aim and Focus3

Research Methodology and Analysis4

References5

Managing Natural Resources, Politics and Governance in LDCs: Implications on the Nation's Economy- Nigeria as a Case Study

Introduction

The condition of the economy of a country defines whether the country is going towards development or decay (Marshall, 2006-07, p.31). It is the economic conditions of countries that divide the world into developed, developing and under-developed countries. Different indicators that measure the economy of a country include gross domestic product, inflation, unemployment, income distribution, and interest rates (Currie, 2011, p.32). The major concern for nations and countries today is the health of their economy as it decides how the country is doing in the world in terms of society as a whole. Throughout history, economists have worked on finding out factors that affect the economic conditions of a country and ways to improve the economy of a country.

Marshall (p. 44) identifies different factors that affect the economic activities of a country and thus overall economy. These include economic development, human capital development, technical development, development of natural resources, infrastructure, agricultural development, industrial development, level of economic liberalisation, religious liberalisation and the condition of politics. However, some of these factors may not always be applicable to all economies or countries in the world. This is because every country has its own strength. For example, America's and some other developed countries' strength may be considered as their service industry and thus it can be considered as immensely contributing towards the economy. On the other hand, countries that are developing or least developed countries such as Africa may have natural resources and the agricultural sector as their strength and thus also play an important part in their economy. Some of the factors mentioned above may be applicable to all countries and can include the infrastructure, technologic development, the political condition and the state of governance in the country.

Literature Review

LDCs or least developed countries are countries that have been identifies by UN as having low Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, weak human resources and high economic vulnerability (SESRTCIC, 2006. p.61). Agriculture is the most important economic activity in LDCs and contributes a great deal to the GDP as compared top countries in developed economy (SESTRCIC, 2006, p.55). Moreover, according to Collier(2011, p.1) LDCs are ...