The Role of Politics in Economic Development is discussed in this article and we hope you find it informative and helpful for your research.
The Role of Politics in Economic Development
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Why do people often blame politics when they speak of the declining vitality of the economy? We hear the government did this, the government did that, it is the fault of our government” many Nigerians lament when they air their views oftentimes.
If you are trying to understand the relationship between the politics and economy of Nigeria, this article is for you. Politics is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as the activities of the government, members of law-making organizations, or people who try to influence the way a country is governed.
On the other hand, the economy, according to The Business Dictionary is the entire network of producers, distributors, and customers of goods and services in a local, regional, or national.
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From the above definitions, it is clear that the economy rests on the shoulders of the politics (i.e government) of any country.
That is to say, if the political atmosphere is not deliberate about making rules, policies, and laws to allow for vibrancy and vitality of the economy, there are only little the actors in any economy, such as the producers, distributors, and consumers, can do.
According to Economicshelp.org, “there is a strong relationship between economics and politics because the performance of the economy is one of the key political battlegrounds.”
In this article, an effort will be made to highlight the relationship between politics and the economy in the paragraphs that follow:
Politics is responsible for making the rules which regulate the economy. This makes the economy work in the same manner as does an electrical pressing iron, but with the prevailing politics acting as the thermostat to regulate the temperature.
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Some time ago, a ban was placed on the importation of certain products to enable the local substitutes of those items to sell in the country.
This was to ensure the promotion of local goods and this is just one example of the many ways the economy is regulated by the government.
Every political party in power often has a drive and a set of goals that forms the agenda of that government. The economic aspect that their agenda favors will flourish more, sometimes at the expense of the others.
Any economic strategy which is not in tandem with that of the ruling party is going to face a lot of hurdles and this will tire out investors, producers, and distributors of the product, goods, or services that the strategy sells or attempts to promote.
Politics and the economy of Nigeria and indeed every nation cannot be completely separated from each other. Like complementary goods such as a generator and petrol, they work hand in hand and cannot function independently.
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The economy of every country is so important that it is used to rate countries on a global scale and every political leader is working hard to not stay at the bottom of the rating. This is seen in the Human Development Index rating which is released annually.
