Role Of Transportation And Communication In The Economic Development

The Role Of Transportation And Communication In The Economic Development (PDF/DOC)

Abstract

This research work was designed to survey the role of transportation and communication to the economic development of Nigeria. In carrying out this researcher visited Oredo Local Government Area to carry out research about topic considered. Interviewed and questionnaire were used to collect data and these were analyzed in form of table, figure and using percentage.

Therefore, from the data collected and analyzed it was observed that transportation have contributed a lot to the economic development of Oredo Local Government Area, it was also reveal that transportation has employed over eighty (80) percent of the individual in Oredo Local Government Area and this is a good economic benefit to the people it has created job opportunity for.

Based on the finding, the following recommendation were made, the government should improve on the repair of road nationwide most especially in Oredo Local Government Area. Also, in the area of power supply, which is necessary for every modern society, it will be very important to improve on the distribution to enhance effective communication in the city and also improve the business communication.

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

The role of transportation and communication cannot be over emphases in the economic development of Nigeria, because the fundamental purpose of transportation and communication and their various needs in the form of material facilities and service. However, transportation and communication facilities are vital infrastructure of a modern economy transportation system comprises of several models including road, rail, water ways etc. and communication system includes post office, courier service wireless, and electronic media. According to a report from environmental news on Nigeria transportation and communication, Nigeria transportation network was one of the best in Africa in 1990, featuring an existence system of paved high way, rail road, airports and ports. During the oil boom of the 1990s, however, most government funds era-marked (assigned) for transportation were applied to the construction of new roads and maintenance of existing facilities was ignored.

As a result the transportation system was plague with congestion and a deteriorating infrastructure. Like many economic activities that are intensive in infrastructure, the role of transportation sector is an important component of the economy impacting on development and the welfare of population. When transportation system are efficient, they provide economic and social opportunities and benefits that results in positive multipliers effects such as better accessibility to market employment and additional investments, when transportation system are deficient in terms of capacity or reliability, they can have an economic cost such as reduced or missed opportunities.

Transportation also carries and important social and environmental load which cannot be neglected thus, form a general stand point, the economic impact of transportation can be direct and indirect. The direct impact is related to accessibility change where transportation enables to save time and costs. Indirect impact is related to the economy multiplier, effect where the price of commodities goods or services drop and /or their variety increases. (News watch Nigeria social infrastructure Edo State.

On the other hand, according to Wikipedia, transportation links together the factors of production in a complex wed of relationship between producers and consumers, the outcomes is commonly a more efficient division of production by an exploitation of geographical comparative advantages as well as the means to develop economics of scale and scope. The productivity of space, capital and labour is thus enhanced with efficiency of distribution and personal mobility. It is acknowledge that economic growth is increasingly linked with transportation developments, namely infrastructures but also managerial expertise is crucial for logistics.

Moreover, the article published by environmental news, on Nigeria’s transportation and communication stresses that early modern communication took place in three modes, spoken words manuscripts writing especially letters and prints, oral communication was the oldest of these three and in many orays, early modern society was still primarily on oral society. Although literacy increased enormously during this period, most people, especially among the lower classes, possessed limited reading and speech for preserving and transmitting information. Furthermore, as a result of a major expansion of one of the best domestic Tele communication system in sub-Sahara Africa in 1990, about 11,000 telephones were put in places in Nigeria at the end of the 1980s about one third of the were in the capital.

Also a domestics satellite system with nineteen ground stations, along with coaxial cable and a micro wave network linked all major urban areas most localities could received at least one of the society-five amplitude modulation (AM) radio stations, more than a dozen cities had frequency modulation (FM) radio stations short wave broadcasts from six transmitters were directed at remote rural areas, broad cast were in English, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and twelve other languages. Most urban areas also had television service.

In 1990, the country had an estimated ten million radio and ten million televisions. However, international telecommunication were modern and provides the high quality links to the rest of the world, in coordination with international telecommunication Satellite Corporation (intelsat), Atlantic Ocean and India Ocean satellite, three ground stations made live television broadcasting, and direct telephone dialing was possible between Nigeria was the terminus of an undersea coaxial cable linking the West Africa countries with France and capable of carrying nine hundred and sixty simultaneous long distance telephone calls. (Wikipedia: Finnish Transportation Safety Agency).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Transportation and communication is a key factor in economic development be it air, sea or road transportation courier services, post offices, wireless electronic media etc. it is required for movement of goods, personnel and services, broadcasting, transmitting and dissemination of information, without which there will be economic stagnation.

For to long, the transportation system has suffered abandonment in the hands of previous administration, resulting in regrettable dilapidation of infrastructures the quality of the roads has also constituted death traps and nightmares to motorists and commuters.

Neglected by both public and private organization in Nigeria, and in consistency in government policy and implementation can be huge problem to transportation, however, communication can play a vital role in the economy, it there is adequate coordination of infrastructural planning and the problem of lack of equipment standardization which created problems of spare part stocking in been tackled, so therefore, there is need for this research work to based on the role transportation and communication both play in the development of Oredo Local Government Area in order for these problems stated above not to emerge.

1.3 Objectives of Study

The primary aim of this study is to examine the role of transportation and communication the Gross National Product of Nigeria.

Specific objectives include;

1. To examine the extent to which transport and communication are given priorities in the economy.

2. To examine the policies used in measuring the impact of transport-communication in Nigeria.

3. To examine the degree of responsiveness of a change or log in the communication sector to that of the transportation sector.

4. To examine the relationship between the transportation-communication sector, and its effect on GDP.

1.4 Research Questions

1. What is the type of relationship that exists between transport and communication?

2. Can effective and efficient transport-communication service stimulate development?

3. What factors hinders the performance of transport-communication in Nigeria?

4. Can transport-communication if effectively deployed contribute significantly to the Nigeria GDP?

5. Can transportation and communication aid business in Nigeria?

6. How the influence of the government and the regulating authorities does affect the performance of the sector?

1.5 Statement of Hypothesis

Hypothesis 1

Ho: There is no significant relationship between communication and GDP.

Hi: There is a significant relationship between communication and GDP.

Hypothesis 2

Ho: There is no significant relationship between transport and GDP.

Hi: There is a significant relationship between transport and GDP.

1.6 Significance of the Study
The importance of this research is to discuss the role of transportation and communication play in the development of Oredo Local Government Area and the nation at large.

This research will also enable the government acknowledge the fact that transportation and communication is of great importance to the development of the economy and thereby enabling them provide solutions to the numerous existing problems.

1.7 Scope of the Study
This research will focus attention on the role of transportation and communication in Oredo Local Government Area and its contribution to the economic growth and development.

The scope of this study shall be broadly divided into chapters that will critically examine the role of transportation and communication in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State.

1.8 Definition of Terms
Transportation:
The means by which goods and services, people are moved from one place to another, using vehicles, road etc.

Communication:
This is the process of expressing ideas, and feeling or of giving people information.

Infrastructure:
The basic system and services that is necessary for a country organization for example buildings, transportation, water and power suppliers and administrative system.

Development:
The gradual growth of something’s so that it becomes more advanced in other words, it is the process of producing or creating something new or more advanced.

Economy:
The relationship between production, trade and the supply of money in a particular country or region.

Chapter Five

SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION

5.1 Summary of Major Findings

Empirical evidences on the link between transport-communication and economic growth for African countries and Nigeria cases have been very scarce in the literature. The study investigated, in the first instance, whether transport-communication development has contributed to the national income of Nigeria over the period 1980-2009.The analysis were performed and results from them highlight the importance of transport-communication as an element of the development in Nigeria. The result revealed that transport-communication has the average productivity level of overall investment. It is also observed that the explanatory variable as represented by FDI (Foreign direct investment), Government expenditure on communication, government expenditure on transportation, revenue from transportation and revenue from communication explained the variations in the dependent variable, gross domestic variable (GDP) to a large extent.
Furthermore, the evidence of this is seen in the high value of the coefficient of determination R2. A coefficient of determination of the value of 0.55210 implies that about 55.2% of variation in GDP is in explained by variation in the set of variables. The model also shows a good fit with an adjusted R2 of 0.427. This is poor, but good enough for a well-behaved model. All other parameters are within acceptable bout. For the individual variables, GET and TRANS are seen not to significantly influence by the GDPGR. Generally, it is expected that increase in gross domestic product growth rate should waved in a simultaneous increase in Investment, proxy by the GET and TRANS. This may also be explained by the fact that Nigeria is posed with relatively underdeveloped and a weak transport institution that tends to depend more on FDI compared to countries with better institutions.

5.2 Conclusion of the Study

It has been widely recognized that transport-communication infrastructure systems highly affect the economic development of a country or region. In particular, the quality and quantity of transport-communication infrastructure have a direct bearing on economic growth in developing countries. Therefore, it is challenging to allocate the infrastructure budget across a country so that economic growth as a whole will not be hampered by the lack of infrastructure in any local area. In this research, it was found that there are correlations between economic growth, capital investment and transport-communication infrastructure in Nigeria. These computed correlations and indicators are crucial for making financial decisions and investment policies on transport-communication infrastructure at a national level. Moreover, the study focus on simulating the correlations between economic development in terms of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and

the transportation-communication infrastructure and comparing the production and investment indicators based on the statistical data reported from Nigerian government agencies.

5.3 Recommendations of the Study

The policy implications are obvious. Ad hoc government spending cuts and neglecting infrastructure needs might have a deleterious effect on private sector investment and economic growth. It is a fact that, especially in developing country and small island state cases public finance is particularly limited and sustainable transport improvement usually comes at the expense of other investment projects which could be forgone as for instance, education or defense or social projects among others. Officials and planners have often been unable to make decisions regarding the use of limited public funds in transport and public infrastructure investment in the absence on solid empirical grounds. In addition, national plans, meant to address many of the inadequacy of transport-communication capital are often not adhered to during implantation. As a result, transport development, Nigeria Government has been driven mostly by ad hoc considerations having no explicit focus on long term requirements. This can explain the high volatility and the erratic pattern of investment expenditures in these types of investment along years. The results from the study might thus guide in better and more efficient government budget allocation instead of ad-hoc spending in transport-communication capital. It is recommended above all that government refrains itself in undergoing drastic cuts in public capital expenditure, even in difficult times. This is even more important in the case of transport capital projects. It is believed that the government would be better off in taking advantage of World Bank’s and other international institutions infrastructural and developmental loans instead
of capital expenditure cuts from the budget. Moreover, government should develop an integrated, efficient and affordable transport system which is sustainable from social, economic and environmental points of view. They need to take immediate action to formulate and adopt a long term vision and spell out the transport policies involving all stake holders. The long term plan should also incorporate the development of a land management regime to avoid misuse of land. This will regulate the physical framework in which transport-communication infrastructure, particularly future road development and improvement of the telecommunication network. Given government’s budget constraint and in the light of our empirical analysis, the case of private financing and joint public/private financing arrangements should be less ambiguous so long there is addition to the country’s stock of transport capital, no matter who is financing it. Recently in many countries (India and Latin America cases) private financing and concessions financing have been considered to set up and fund public infrastructure investment, particularly transport investment. Governments should ensure that the private sector have sufficient incentive to invest in transport-communication capital and in its services as well. To this end, the government needs to develop an efficient institutional framework.

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