Contiguous Countries Research Articles

Nigeria’s Foreign Policy and the Major Geographical Drivers

The thinking in the literature is that states develop different foreign policy interests and priorities depending on their geographical endowments. That is, the foreign policy of a state is sensitive to its geography. This article examines the defining role that geographical descriptors have played in the conduct of Nigeria’s foreign policy. Relying on data generated from major ranking bodies/platforms and other secondary sources, this paper contends that geographical factors have always shaped Nigeria’s foreign policy towards the coterminous or contiguous countries, Gulf of Guinea, ECOWAS region, and African continent. While Nigeria has leveraged its size, location, natural and human endowments to launch itself into global relevance, there are major constraints. These include the ineffective governance of Nigeria’s land and borders and occasional border disputes with the adjoining states, poor demographics in terms of nutrition, health, education and work, and the mismanagement of the proceeds from the country’s natural resource endowments. These problems must be addressed if Nigeria is to harness the full benefits of its geography.

The direct and indirect economic consequences of climate damage in poor countries

AbstractThe predictions of the adverse effects of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change are now accepted. Somewhat less attention has been given to the economic, social, and political consequences. The three interact: the former will have social and political effects, which in turn will harm economies and economic well-being. This analysis of poor countries draws on much recent evidence and various projections. Climate damage contributes to internal political instability and conflict. There is a risk that poor countries will be driven down economically, so reducing the capacity of their governments: some will become fragile states. Internal migration is likely to become a central policy issue. However, international migration will also grow. Climate damage will drag countries into both cooperation and conflict with each other. The effects on sending countries, contiguous countries, and destination countries are examined. This scenario presented is predictive but should be taken as a warning.

Copula based trivariate spatial modeling of childhood illnesses in Western African countries

Acute respiratory infections (ARI), diarrhea, and fever are three common childhood illnesses, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigates the marginal and pairwise correlated effects of these diseases across Western African countries in a single analytical framework. Using data from nationally representative cross-sectional Demographic and Health Surveys, the study analyzed specific and correlated effects of each pair of childhood morbidity from ARI, diarrhea, and fever using copula regression models in fourteen contiguous Western African countries. Data concerning childhood demographic and socio-economic conditions were used as covariates. In this cross-sectional analysis of 152,125 children aged 0–59 months, the prevalence of ARI was 6.9%, diarrhea, 13.8%, and fever 19.6%. The results showed a positive correlation and geographical variation in the prevalence of the three illnesses across the study region. The estimated correlation and 95% confidence interval between diarrhea and fever is 0.431(0.300,0.539); diarrhea and ARI is 0.270(0.096,0.422); and fever and ARI is 0.502(0.350,0.614). The marginal and correlated spatial random effects reveal within-country spatial dependence. Source of water and access to electricity was significantly associated with any of the three illnesses, while television, birth order, and gender were associated with diarrhea or fever. The place of residence and access to newspapers were associated with fever or ARI. There was an increased likelihood of childhood ARI, diarrhea, and fever, which peaked at about ten months but decreased substantially thereafter. Mother’s age was associated with a reduced likelihood of the three illnesses. The maps generated could be resourceful for area-specific policy-making to speed up mitigation processes.

A Smart Decision Support Framework for Sustainable and Resilient Supplier Selection and Order Allocation in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Supplier selection and order allocation (SS-OA) are two of the most important strategic decisions for supply chain network design and operation. If sustainability and resilience criteria are taken into consideration together and a holistic sustainable and resilient SS-OA is carried out, it may enable the supply chain network to perform better when subjected to disruption scenarios. In this research paper, a novel comprehensive multi-phase, multi-period sustainable, and resilient SS-OA decision support framework has been proposed. This framework integrates fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques with a fuzzy multi-objective mixed integer nonlinear programming (MOMINLP) mathematical model to optimize triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability and resilience criteria simultaneously for a multi-modal, multi-echelon supply chain network. The proposed framework has been implemented using real-time data collected from the pharmaceutical industry. The results show that among the TBL sustainability criteria, product price, past business, innovative capability, and information disclosure rank as the most significant sub-criteria for the DMs in the pharmaceutical industry, while robustness and flexibility are considered the most valued attributes for potential suppliers as far as the resilience criterion is concerned. An assessment of the results has revealed that transfer cost and custom clearance cost together comprise more than two-thirds of the overall cost of the supply chain network. It has also been noted that inland transportation of goods is dominated by rail as the most preferred mode of transport. Transportation by rail is particularly preferred by suppliers located in geographically contiguous countries.

Effects of hydrometeorological and other factors on SARS-CoV-2 reproduction number in three contiguous countries of tropical Andean South America: a spatiotemporally disaggregated time series analysis

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused societal disruption globally, and South America has been hit harder than other lower-income regions. This study modeled the effects of six weather variables on district-level SARS-CoV-2 reproduction numbers (Rt) in three contiguous countries of tropical Andean South America (Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru), adjusting for environmental, policy, healthcare infrastructural and other factors. MethodsDaily time-series data on SARS-CoV-2 infections were sourced from the health authorities of the three countries at the smallest available administrative level. Rt values were calculated and merged by date and unit ID with variables from a unified COVID-19 dataset and other publicly available sources for May–December, 2020. Generalized additive models were fitted. FindingsRelative humidity and solar radiation were inversely associated with SARS-CoV-2 Rt. Days with radiation above 1000 kJ/m2 saw a 1.3% reduction in Rt, and those with humidity above 50% recorded a 0.9% reduction in Rt. Transmission was highest in densely populated districts, and lowest in districts with poor healthcare access and on days with lowest population mobility. Wind speed, temperature, region, aggregate government policy response, and population age structure had little impact. The fully adjusted model explained 4.3% of Rt variance. InterpretationDry atmospheric conditions of low humidity increase district-level SARS-CoV-2 reproduction numbers, while higher levels of solar radiation decrease district-level SARS-CoV-2 reproduction numbers — effects that are comparable in magnitude to population factors like lockdown compliance. Weather monitoring could be incorporated into disease surveillance and early warning systems in conjunction with more established risk indicators and surveillance measures. FundingNASA's Group on Earth Observations Work Programme (16-GEO16-0047)

African Union defense demand and spatial spillovers

The study of the determinants of African defense demand is of enhanced importance because of unique security challenges, growing defense spending, and changing African Union (AU) integration. From a political geographical vantage, this study presents the first analysis of AU members' demand for defense spending, which accounts not only for members' relative locations, but also for political considerations (e.g., state failure, coups, and armed conflicts). Our analysis marries the economics of alliances with spatial considerations that include members' contiguity, between-member distance, and contiguous threats. Given two-way causal concerns, we employ an appropriate defense demand estimator (i.e., two-step generalized method of moments) correcting for the endogeneity between a member's defense spending and that of the other allies. Evidence of defense free riding or relying on the defense spending of other AU members characterizes contiguous and nearby AU countries during 2002–2019. Defense spending is an income normal good, which generally increases with armed conflict. UN and non-UN peacekeeping troop contributions provide some free-riding opportunities within the AU. Given regional differences in armed conflicts and coups, the determinants of African defense demand are influenced by regional divisions.

Clash of Titans: Streamlining the Complementary Roles of the DPP and the AG in Kenya’s Extradition Procedure

Extradition encompasses both the administrative bodies and the judicial bodies. The Extradition (Contiguous and Foreign Countries) Act requires that an authority to proceed is issued once the Attorney General receives the extradition request. This is different from what is contained under the 2010 Constitution. Currently, the 2010 Constitution mandates the Director of Public Prosecutions to institute criminal proceedings as opposed to the Repealed Constitution which conferred it on the Attorney General. Hence, courts have interpreted the authority to proceed in extradition to fall within different ambits. For example, in the 2015 case of Samuel Gichuru v Attorney General, the High Court held that this authority fell under the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. This was overturned in the 2018 Court of Appeal case, Chrysanthus Okemo v Attorney General, where the authority was to be granted by the Attorney General. However, the Supreme Court in Director of Public Prosecutions v Chrysanthus Okemo (2021) upheld the High Court’s decision. Therefore, this paper sets out to determine and streamline the nature of extradition in Kenya, given that there exist overlapping mandates and lacunae that the law needs to address for a uniform practice of extradition in Kenya.

Transboundary pollution, land use and abatement policy

Transboundary pollution often affects natural resources in downstream countries. The harmful impact of upstream pollution on agricultural land use has been scantily studied. This paper models transboundary pollution and argues that in the presence of international trade between contiguous countries the polluter may find it incentive-compatible to abate pollution at the source. In particular, if the trade prospects in the upstream country depend on crucial inputs imported from the downstream, which gets affected by effluents, then the free-riding problem with abatement goes away. Further, if the upstream country cares about the welfare of its workers more than the owners of capital it would unambiguously enforce pollution abatement for its firms.

Spatial-temporal variations and trends of Internet users: assessment from global perspective

This study investigated the spatial-temporal variation and trend of the Internet user percentage (IUP) at the country level in the world from 1996 to 2017. Several methods were applied including kernel density estimation, global autocorrelations, sigma-convergence detection, and hierarchical clustering. The results demonstrated that the spatial distribution of IUP at the country level showed significant positive autocorrelations indicating clustered spatial patterns rather than dispersed or random distributions. In addition, the temporal variation of the distribution disparity of IUP showed a decreasing trend at the country level during the study period. Further, sigma convergence of IUP during this period was detected according to the coefficient of variation. Last, the similarity of the IUP variation at the country level presented the spatial clustering feature with spatially contiguous countries in the world. In sum, the finding in this study indicated that Internet penetration may show the promotion of the balanced development trend over time in the world and the spatial characteristics of Internet development should be considered in the future policy globally.

BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AND NIGERIA’S FOREIGN POLICY: A FAILURE OF DIPLOMACY, MULTILATERALISM AND SECURITY APPARATUS?

International terrorism became a major concern to Nigeria with the emergence of the Boko Haram Islamist group from around 2009, and the escalation of attacks on the country by the sect. The group has bases in neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger, and Cameroon. This made the governments of Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Mohammadu Buhari to be involved in negotiations, dialogues, shuttle diplomacy, and the usage of other tools of foreign relations with these contiguous countries. The Multinational Task Force (MNTF) was established in 1993 by Lake Chad Basin Commission and had to be resuscitated and invigorated by the governments of Jonathan and Buhari. However, the insurgency lingered despite these concerted efforts. This paper attempts to investigate why several foreign and security policy initiatives of the Nigerian government have failed to find lasting solutions to the insurgency. Secondary data, qualitative research methods, and content analysis were used as a methodology in this research. Findings showed that inefficiencies of government, poverty, and porous borders made it easier for Boko Haram terrorists to recruit members from these neighbouring countries. It was also revealed that this insurgency has made Nigeria lose foreign direct investment (FDI) because some Multinational Corporations (MNCs) relocated from the country. Therefore, the study advocates a wider approach that incorporates economic programs that would reduce poverty among the local populace and stronger border controls, among others.

Opportunities and challenges for savanna burning emissions abatement in southern Africa

Savanna fires occurring in sub-Saharan Africa account for over 60% of global fire extent, of which more than half occurs in the Southern Hemisphere contributing ~29% of global fire emissions. Building on experience in reducing savanna fire emissions in fire-prone north Australian savannas through implementation of an internationally accredited ‘savanna burning’ emissions abatement methodology, we explore opportunities and challenges associated with the application of a similar approach to incentivise emissions reduction in fire-prone southern African savannas. We first show that for a focal region covering seven contiguous countries, at least 80% of annual savanna large fire (>250 ha) extent and emissions occur under relatively severe late dry season (LDS) fire-weather conditions, predominantly in sparsely inhabited areas. We then assess the feasibility of adapting the Australian emissions abatement methodology through exploratory field studies at the Tsodilo Hills World Heritage site in north-west Botswana, and the Niassa Special Reserve in northern Mozambique. Our assessment demonstrates that application of a savanna burning emissions abatement method focused on the undertaking of strategically located early dry season (EDS) burning to reduce LDS wildfire extent and resultant emissions meets key technical criteria, including: LDS fine fuels tend to be markedly greater than EDS fuels given seasonal leaf litter inputs; LDS fires tend to be significantly more severe and combust more fuels; methane and nitrous oxide emission factors are essentially equivalent in EDS and LDS periods under cured fuel conditions. In discussion we consider associated key implementation challenges and caveats that need to be addressed for progressing development of savanna burning methods that incentivise sustainable fire management, reduce emissions, and support community livelihoods in wildfire-dominated southern African savannas.

Geographical and cultural patterns in cross-border mergers and acquisitions: the role of experience

ABSTRACT We exploit temporal and spatial correlation in a cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) database with worldwide coverage to show that firms’ M&A choices are significantly influenced by experience effects related to knowledge accumulation. Our empirical strategy rests on the assumption that experience effects are expected to be at play in M&A directed toward culturally contiguous countries (arguably driven by knowledge accumulation) and not in M&A deals in geographically contiguous countries (arguably driven by transport costs). The analysis is conducted on a bilateral measure of cultural distance (encompassing linguistic, religious and genetic distance indicators), which is meant to capture the idea of the cultural heritage originated by historic linkages.

Copula geoadditive modelling of anaemia and malaria in young children in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda

BackgroundAnaemia and malaria are the leading causes of sub-Saharan African childhood morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to explore the complex relationship between anaemia and malaria in young children across the districts or counties of four contiguous sub-Saharan African countries, namely Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda, while accounting for the effects of socio-economic, demographic and environmental factors. Geospatial maps were constructed to visualise the relationship between the two responses across the districts of the countries.MethodsA joint bivariate copula regression model was used, which estimates the correlation between the two responses conditional on the linear, non-linear and spatial effects of the explanatory variables considered. The copula framework allows the dependency structure between the responses to be isolated from their marginal distributions. The association between the two responses was set to vary according to the district of residence across the four countries.ResultsThe study revealed a positive association between anaemia and malaria throughout the districts, the strength of which varied across the districts of the four countries. Due to this heterogeneous association between anaemia and malaria, we further considered the joint probability of each combination of outcome of anaemia and malaria to further reveal more about the relationship between the responses. A considerable number of districts had a high joint probability of a child being anaemic but not having malaria. This might suggest the existence of other significant drivers of childhood anaemia in these districts.ConclusionsThis study presents an alternative technique to joint modelling of anaemia and malaria in young children which assists in understanding more about their relationship compared to techniques of multivariate modelling. The approach used in this study can aid in visualising the relationship through mapping of their correlation and joint probabilities. These maps produced can then help policy makers target the correct set of interventions, or prevent the use of incorrect interventions, particularly for childhood anaemia, the causes of which are multiple and complex.

A micro-level analysis of the contagion effect: Evidence from the Kurdish conflict

The unit of analysis in almost all large-N studies on conflict contagion and diffusion is collective actors, such as states and ethnic groups or movements. Thus, contagion dynamics and processes at the individual level have been neglected. Using original data derived from a public opinion survey, this study examines the micro-level dynamics of contagion in the context of Turkey’s Kurdish conflict. The study suggests that transnational ethnic ties, and in particular, cross-border familial bonds and interactions, facilitate conflict contagion through several strategic and ideational mechanisms. First, transborder familial ties and interactions amplify the demonstration effect of ethnic-kin achievements in contiguous conflict countries. Second, cross-border familial bonds facilitate collaboration between cross-border co-ethnics. Finally, such ties to conflict zones with ethnic kin groups empower pan-ethnic identities. The empirical findings show that Kurds living in Turkey who have close relatives in nearby countries hosting conflicting ethnic-kin groups (i.e. Syria, Iraq, and Iran) have stronger ethnonationalist orientations and claims against the center. However, having close relatives elsewhere (e.g. Europe) does not generate the same impact. The Kurdish case evidences that contagion processes and dynamics might vary substantially across the members of a particular ethnic group. Hence, it is necessary to broaden the conventional focus on collective actors in conflict contagion research and pay greater attention to micro-level variables and factors.

Optimal Electricity Trading with Carbon Emissions Pinch Analysis

Many countries face the challenge of cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electricity generation while coping with increasing demand. This problem is especially pronounced in developing countries with growing energy consumption. Commitments to cut GHG emissions can be met by increasing the share of low-carbon sources such as renewable and nuclear energy, but rapidly scaling up the capacity of such sources can be difficult. In a region of contiguous countries with heterogeneous levels of GHG intensity, electricity trading can be used to reduce the need for new power generation capacity. A country with a low-carbon power mix can export to its neighbours and thus reduce the need for new generation capacity in those countries. In this work, a variant of Carbon Emissions Pinch Analysis (CEPA) is developed for optimizing regional electricity trading to meet GHG emissions cuts. The method is demonstrated with the case of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Cultural and Institutional Differences in Healthcare Quality Across Three North-American Nations

The meaning of health service quality differs across cultural and institutional contexts. This poses a problem for different stakeholders—patients, healthcare providers, and hospital leaders—when it comes to understanding what constitute quality care and how to provide this care most effectively. Our study sheds light on this issue by empirically examining how country and technology integration influence patient care quality (PCQ) delivered in hospitals in the three contiguous countries of North America—the US, Canada and Mexico. We use survey methodology to empirically test a moderated mediation model, whereby country moderates the mediating role of technology integration on PCQ. The results support our proposed model. Our study has implications for operations, healthcare and international management literature by highlighting the important role of a country’ institutional and cultural attributes on PCQ as well as the role of technology integration and quality leadership in this process. Given the increase in globalization, travel and migration among both healthcare workers and the general population, the results imply that physician and nursing staff should be sensitive to cultural and institutional differences in healthcare stakeholder definitions of quality care, which may ultimately affect hospitals’ ability to provide care for all patients.

International Migration and Development: A Dyadic Analysis of the Americas, 1970-2010.

This paper assesses the migration-development nexus from a new, relational perspective, providing a closer test of existing theories of cross-national dynamics, including migration and development. Using bilateral data, we assess the relationship between migration (im)balances and wage differentials between pairs of countries in the Americas, from 1970 to 2010. The analysis reveals a positive feedback between international migration and cross-national inequalities. Migration responds strongly to wage gaps, which motivate more uni-directional, or imbalanced migration flows in country-pairs. This relationship is particularly strong in contiguous countries. Similarly, wage gaps respond to migration imbalances, which increase per capita income differences in country-pairs, although the effect of migration on wage differentials is smaller than the effect of wage differentials on migration. Together, the results suggest that the migration-development nexus is characterized by a strong internal momentum.

Stronger regional biosecurity is essential to prevent hundreds of harmful biological invasions.

Biological invasions often transcend political boundaries, but the capacity of countries to prevent invasions varies. How this variation in biosecurity affects the invasion risks posed to the countries involved is unclear. We aimed to improve the understanding of how the biosecurity of a country influences that of its neighbours. We developed six scenarios that describe biological invasions in regions with contiguous countries. Using data from alien species databases, socio-economic and biodiversity data and species distribution models, we determined where 86 of 100 of the world's worst invasive species are likely to invade and have a negative impact in the future. Information on the capacity of countries to prevent invasions was used to determine whether such invasions could be avoided. For the selected species, we predicted 2,523 discrete invasions, most of which would have significant negative impacts and are unlikely to be prevented. Of these invasions, approximately a third were predicted to spread from the country in which the species first establishes to neighbouring countries where they would cause significant negative impacts. Most of these invasions are unlikely to be prevented as the country of first establishment has a low capacity to prevent invasions or has little incentive to do so as there will be no impact in that country. Regional biosecurity is therefore essential to prevent future harmful biological invasions. In consequence, we propose that the need for increased regional co-operation to combat biological invasions be incorporated in global biodiversity targets.

Positions of China and the United States in Indo-Pacific Region

This article examines the main factors of the emergence of Indo-Pacific Strategy, the balance of powers between China and the United States in the Indo-Pacific Region, and their investment policy into contiguous countries of the region. Special attention is paid to contradictions between China and the United States in the region, as well as the impact of D. Trump’s Indo-Pacific Strategy upon U. S. relations with China. The article explores the main integration structures of Indo-Pacific Region, goals and tasks set before them. The novelty of this research is defined by fact that in incipient competition between the two countries for the leading positions in Indo-Pacific Region is traced in the advanced by China concept “One Belt, One Road” and U. S. strategy of “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”. The author comes to the conclusion that currently there is no unified integrated interregional authority that is capable of solving the entire range of problems faced by the countries of Indo-Pacific Region. However, the United States gradually lose its leading position in the region, yielding to PRC. China’s domestic reforms, aimed at improvement of interregional financial and economic ties, contribute to creation of a positive image of the country and strengthening of PRC’s position in the Indo-Pacific Region.

Deforestation and economic development: Evidence from national borders

Does economic development result in tree cover loss for poor countries, but not so for already more developed countries? Using a new subnational dataset and employing a quasi-experimental method, this paper addresses this question using tree cover loss data for 14 contiguous countries. The analysis uses geographical regression discontinuity (using national borders as discontinuities) and our findings show that Sub-Saharan Africa and low-income countries in general have the highest development-deforestation elasticity.