1.1 Introduction
Internal trade is the trade that is conducted between parties within the political and geographical boundaries of a nation, while external trade is the trade that is conducted between two parties that are outside the nation's borders or between two countries. Internal and External Trade is an important indicator of economic condition of a nation. Both importing and exporting countries are benefited by external trade.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Economists have long been interested in factors which cause different countries to grow at different rates and achieve different levels of wealth. One of such factors is trade. Nigeria is basically an open economy with international transactions constituting a significant proportion of her aggregate output (Mike and Okojie 2012). The Nigerian government like many other developing countries considers trade as the main engine of its development strategies, because of the implicit belief that trade can create jobs, expand markets, raise incomes, facilitate competition and disseminate knowledge (Ogbaji and Ebebe 2013). Nevertheless, while trade between countries may generate growth globally, there are no guarantees that its aggregate benefits are distributed equitably among trading partners. There are winners and losers in any trading relationship. 1-lowever trading partners all may gain differing degrees. Many factors determine the extent to which a country may benefit from a trading relationship. These include the terms of trade a country faces vis –à -vis its trading partners, the international exchange rate among the traded goods and the market characteristics of the country’s exportable goods (Eravwoke and Oyovwi 2012).
This has been the experience of Nigeria since the 1960s even though the composition of trade has changed over the years. Foreign trade has been an area of interest to decision makers, policy makers as well as economists. It enables nations to sell their locally produced goods to other countries of the world. The word trade has been defined in the Oxford Advanced Learner dictionary as the activity in which people are buying and selling or exchanging the goods and services between countries”, international trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders. Zahoor, Imran, Anarn, Saif-ullaha, Ashraf (2012) said it is a system where the goods and services are advertised, sell and switched between two or more than two countries through import and export.
The role of internal and external trade in economic development is considerable. The classical and neoclassical economists attached so much importance to foreign trade in a nation’s development that they regarded it as an engine of growth. Over the past several decades, the economies of the world have become greatly connected through international trade and globalization. Foreign trade has been identified as the oldest and most important part of a country’s external economic relationships. It plays a vital and central role in the development of a modern global economy. Its impact on the growth and development of countries has increased considerably over the years and has significantly contributed to the advancement of the world economy. The impact of foreign trade on a country’s economy is not only limited to the quantitative gains, hut also structural change in the economy and facilitating of international capital flow. Trade enhances the efficient production of goods and services through allocation of resources to countries that have comparative advantage in their production. Foreign trade has been identified as an instrument and driver of economic growth (Frankel and Romer, 1999).
The main thrust of this research is to take an objective view regarding the controversy of the role of international trade, in the progress of a country in terms of economic growth of Nigeria.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation reveals the problems of the Impact of Transportation on Internal and External Trade:
- Difficulty in Transportation and Communication: Dispatch and receipt of goods takes a longer time and involves considerable expenses. During the war and natural calamities, transportation of goods becomes even more difficult. Similarly, the costs of sending or receiving information are very high.
- Risk in Transit: Foreign trade involves much greater risk than home trade. Goods have to be transported over long distances and they are exposed to perils of the sea. Many of these risks can be covered through marine insurance but increases the cost of goods.
- Lack of Information about External Businessmen: In the absence of direct and close relationship between buyers and sellers, special steps are necessary to verify the creditworthiness of foreign buyers. It is difficult to obtain reliable information concerning the financial position and business standing of the foreign traders. Therefore, credit risk is high.
- Internal and External Restrictions: Every country charges customs duties on internal trade to protect its home industries. Similarly, tariff rates are put on exports of raw materials. Importers and exporters have to face tariff restrictions.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to investigate the Impact of Transportation on Internal and External Trade. In achieving this aim, the specific objectives were set out as follows:
- To ascertain the impact of internal trade on the Nigerian economy
- To determine the impact of external trade on the Nigerian economy
- To examine the relevance of internal and external trade on the Nigerian economy public sector.
1.4 Research Questions
The following are the questions of the research work;
- Does external trading transportation system impact Nigeria economy?
- Does internal trading transportation system impact Nigeria economy?
- To what extent does export impact on economic growth in Nigeria?
- To what extent does import impact on economic growth in Nigeria?
1.5 Research Hypothesis
Hypothesis One
- H0: External trade does not have a significant positive impact on the Nigeria’s economic growth.
- H1: External trade has a significant positive impact on the Nigeria’s economic growth.
Hypothesis Two
- H0: There is no significant impact of internal trade on the Nigerian economic growth.
- H1: There is a significant impact of internal trade on the Nigerian economic growth.
1.6 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Impact of Transportation on Internal and External Trade in Nigeria.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this institution to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.8 Significance of Study
Internal and External Trade is an important indicator of economic condition of a nation. Both importing and exporting countries are benefited by external trade. This research work will be of immense importance to the researchers, since it is a practical requirement for the award of Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Science Technology of the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu.
Besides, the study will serve as reference material for subsequent researcher in the field or related topics.
