Economic Reform and National Development: a Comparative Analysis of Nigeria and China, 1999 - 2010

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Economic Reform and National Development: a Comparative Analysis of Nigeria and China, 1999 - 2010 ECONOMIC REFORM AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NIGERIA AND CHINA, 1999 - 2010 BY ONWUCHEKWE JOSEPH NDUBUISI PG/MSC/09/51164 SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.SC) DEGREE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE (INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS) DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA SUPERVISOR: PROF. JONAH ONUOHA MARCH, 2011 i ABSTRACT Economic reforms are the different macroeconomic and microeconomic policies designed by the government to redress the distortion in the economy of any nation. It is important to mention that Economic reform is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. Almost all countries the world over have undertaken different forms of economic reforms at one time of the other. The contents and strategy of reforms have varied from country to country depending on the circumstance of each country. One of the countries that have consistently implemented economic reform policies in recent time is China. The rapid rise of China as a major economic power within a time span of about 30 years is often described by analysts as one of the greatest economic success stories in modern times. The Nigerian government over the years has embarked on several economic reforms aimed at bettering the lives of its citizenry but these policies have always failed to live up to their projections. This study attempts to answer the following questions; has the economic reforms impacted on National Development in Nigeria and China? Policy inconsistencies and policy consistency is implicated in the economic reforms failure in Nigeria and success in China? The Political economy approach as propounded by Karl Marx was employed as our theoretical framework. The Marxian political economy approach also known as dialectical materialism places emphasis/primacy on material or economic conditions of society. It is premised on the belief that man is dominantly motivated by economic needs. Using this approach, this study attempt to look at the factors which made the economic reforms in China to be successful and has led to national development, while the same attempt by Nigeria to carry out economic reforms have always met with failure. Methodologically, the study adopted Ex-post-facto research design, field observation technique which invariably led to the sourcing of data through primary and secondary sources and our data was analyzed using content analysis. Findings revealed that due to policy consistency and strong leadership, China economic reform led to economic growth that impacted on national development. Chinese elites adopted an inward looking, ‘trial and error’ method or what can be called gradualism. The reform process in Nigeria was marred by policy inconsistencies. Aside this, the reform process has also been dodged with problems and controversies. We recommend that the government of Nigeria should be consistent with making and implementing economic policies that will impact on national development. The Government of China has to make sure that huge amount of revenue pouring into the country is not restricted to few individuals as it is obtainable in Nigeria, rather the Chinese leadership should make sure that these revenues get down to the masses through a trickledown effect in the form employments and incentives to boost private initiatives. ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Communist Party of China (CPC) National People's Congress (NPC) Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Kuomintang (KMT) Republic of China (ROC) People's Republic of China (PRC) Purchasing power parity (PPP) Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Regionally Decentralized Authoritarian (RDA) iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page ….. ….. …… ….. ….. i Approval Page….. ….. …… ….. ….. ii Dedication ….. ….. …… ….. ….. iii Acknowledgement ….. …… ….. ….. iv Abstract ….. ….. …… ….. ….. v List of Tables ….. ….. …… ….. ….. vi List Figures ….. ….. …… ….. ….. vii List of Abbreviations ….. …… ….. ….. viii Table of Contents….. ….. …… ….. ….. xi CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction ….. ….. …… ….. ….. 1 1.1 Background to the Study ….. …… ….. ….. 1 1.2 Statement of Problem ….. …… ….. ….. 6 1.3 Objectives of Study ….. …… ….. ….. 9 1.4 Significance of Study ….. …… ….. ….. 9 1.5 Literature Review ….. …… ….. ….. 10 1.6 Theoretical Framework ….. …… ….. ….. 35 1.7 Hypothesis ….. …… ….. ….. 39 1.8 Methods of Data Collection and Analysis …… ….. ….. 39 1.9 Data Analysis ….. …… ….. ….. 40 1.10 Research Design ….. …… ….. ….. 40 CHAPTER TWO 2.0 HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC REFORMS IN NIGERIA AND CHINA ….. ….. ….. 43 2.1 History of Economic Reforms in Nigeria ….. ….. 43 2.2 History of Economic Reforms in China ….. ….. 50 CHAPTER THREE 3.0 ECONOMIC REFORMS POLICIES IN NIGERIA AND CHINA ….. 55 3.1 Economic Reforms Policies in Nigeria ….. ….. 55 3.2 Economic Reform Policies in China ….. ….. 61 CHAPTER FOUR 4.0 THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC REFORMS IN NIGERIA AND CHINA… 70 4.1 The Impact of Economic Reforms in Nigeria ….. ….. 70 4.1.1 Political Elite and Economic Reforms in Nigeria ….. ….. 71 4.1.2 Reform Process under the Obasanjo Presidency (1999-2007) ….. 73 4.2 The Impact of Economic Reforms in China ….. ….. 76 4.2.1 Political Elite and Economic Reforms in China ….. ….. 77 CHAPTER FIVE: 5.0 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ….. 80 5.1 Summary ….. …… ….. ….. 80 5.2 Conclusion ….. …… ….. ….. 81 5.3 Recommendations ….. …… ….. ….. 84 Bibliography ….. …… ….. ….. 87 1 CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study Economic reforms are the different macroeconomic and microeconomic policies designed by the government to redress the distortion in the economy of any nation. It is important to mention that Economic reform is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. Almost all countries world over have undertaken different forms of economic reforms at one time of the other. The contents and strategy of reforms have varied from country to country dependency on the circumstance of each country (Kwaneshie, 2005). According to Essien (2005), economic reform can be classified into first generation and second-generation reforms. The first –generation reforms are geared towards opening the economy to foreign competition, giving market forces the leading role in a locally resources and reducing the public sector’s role in productive activities. The second generation reform, on the other hand, aimed at a complete transformation of the role of the state and the setting up of government institutions that will guarantee the rule of law, while supporting private sector initiatives and activities. The cry or demand for political and especially economic reform by the western or capitalist countries through their agents and some international agencies like the international Financial Institutions and Organizations is not new. The question that begs for answer is that have these reforms has being able to lead to or drive national development which the protagonists has been advocating? In some countries, especially the western nations where these reforms have been carried out, it seemed to have aided the development of their economies; while the developing and underdeveloped nations instead of improving, are rather losing the little progress they have made despite their following the instructions of the agents of these reform to the later. It is worthy to mention that the international political economy, which took a great turn in the early eighties commonly referred to as the “End of History” in Fukuyama’s parlance, made bold steps in trying to integrate the whole world. It is against this background that the regime of President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of both United States of America (USA) and Great Britain (UK) respectively endeavored to pull down the frontiers and “open up” domestic economies for easier trans- national monetary and trade exchange (Milner, 1998:11). This was term ‘globalization’ which involved free trade, opening up of national economies and borders, a cashless society where business can be transacted in a twinkle of an eye without bothering about the worrisome rules and regulations. 2 One of the countries that have successfully carry out the outward oriented and market friendly policies in recent time is China which seems to be the new bride in the international political economy through her emergence as a super power who can compete comfortably and even surpass other countries which has been major players in the global political economy for decades. Chinese economic reforms, which have been in flux for three decades, have more than doubled China’s economic growth, from an average of 4.4 percent annually before 1978 to an average of 9.5 percent after 1978. Even more impressively, the contribution of TFP to the growth has increased from 11 percent before 1978 to more than 40 percent afterwards (Perkins and Rawski, 2008). This process has transformed the world’s largest developing country from a centrally-planned economy into a mixed market economy, while simultaneously reducing poverty at a scale unparalleled in world history (World Bank, 2002). During the reform period the Chinese per capita GDP increased by almost eight-fold, and China has transformed from one of the poorest countries in the world into a major economic power. Today’s China is the world’s largest producer and largest consumer of many conventional industrial staples and high-tech products, such as steel, cars, TV sets, personal computers, cell phones and internet usage, etc. (NSB, 2005) and has the world’s largest foreign reserves. The current size of the Chinese economy, in terms of GDP, is larger than the sum of 83 countries in Eastern Europe, the CIS and all of Africa. The rapid rise of China as a major economic power within a time span of about 30 years is often described by analysts as one of the greatest economic success stories in modern times. From 1979 (when economic reforms began) to 2007, China’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an average annual rate of over 9.8%; in 2007, it rose by 11.4%. The Chinese economy in 2007 (in real terms) was nearly 14 times larger than it was in 1979, and real per capita GDP was more than 10 times larger (Morrison, 2008).
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