The Trade Specificities between Turkey and Poland

The general consensus among policymakers and researchers is that in order to increase economic growth, it is necessary to diversify trade. The objective of this paper, therefore, is to analyse the dynamics of trade, specifically the export concentration of products between Turkey and Poland from 1995 to 2015. Despite a historically complicated relationship, these two countries have significantly strengthened economic ties and political cooperation. The last two decades in particular, have witnessed the manifestations of such close cooperation between these two countries. By measuring the export product concentration using the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI), we found higher export concentration from Turkey to Poland in the majority of products traded, in contrast to Poland's exports to Turkey. The analysis carried out also indicates the imperative for the two countries to consolidate their existing partnership by removing trade barriers that may hinder stronger economic relation and cooperation. Furthermore, reforms are needed in both countries to closely align production structures necessary for greater and more sustained trade partnership

Urban Crime Distribution in Isparta (Turkey): A Location Quotient Analysis

Crime is an inseparable part of society and for the fact that place, time and society are inextricably interwoven implies that the conceptualization of the spatial aspect of crime is imperative. By adopting crime pattern and social disorganization theories, while using neighborhoods as the unit of analysis, we examined how crime behavior varies in an urban context. This was achieved by using Location Quotient of Crime (LQC) to identify and represent robbery, assault and threat agglomerations, as well as neighborhood in risk areas. The result of our analysis suggest that most neighborhoods had a relatively higher LQC for robbery, assault and threat crimes as compared to the city as a whole with quite a significant proportion of assault incidence in neighborhoods located near educational facilities. This paper also shows the usefulness of LQC in understanding crime behavior pattern at a micro level. A strong linkage between robbery, assault and threat crime incidents and key land use types were also established

The Trade Specificities between Turkey and Poland

The general consensus among policymakers and researchers is that in order to increase economic growth, it is necessary to diversify trade. The objective of this paper, therefore, is to analyse the dynamics of trade, specifically the export concentration of products between Turkey and Poland from 1995 to 2015. Despite a historically complicated relationship, these two countries have significantly strengthened economic ties and political cooperation. The last two decades in particular, have witnessed the manifestations of such close cooperation between these two countries. By measuring the export product concentration using the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI), we found higher export concentration from Turkey to Poland in the majority of products traded, in contrast to Poland’s exports to Turkey. The analysis carried out also indicates the imperative for the two countries to consolidate their existing partnership by removing trade barriers that may hinder stronger economic relation and cooperation. Furthermore, reforms are needed in both countries to closely align production structures necessary for greater and more sustained trade partnership

Spatial Structure and Distribution of Manufacturing Industries in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

A key driving force and determinant of a country’s worth in the globalized world is inherent in its level of industrialization. Certainly, other dimensions are crucial and come into play, however, the infamous classification of nations into industrialized and non-industrialized has added substantial merit to the concept. Essentially, industrialization in Ghana was based on the premise of the production and processing of its vast natural resources from traditionally primary products to tertiary and finished goods. While the industry can boast of employment generation and a model of economic growth in the 1960s and 1970s, inadequate implementation of industrial policies has resulted in the consistent contraction of the manufacturing subsector. Manufacturing sector contribution to GDP declined from 36.69% in 2000 to 6.7% in 2012 and therefore is considered the weakest link in Ghana’s industrial drive. This paper examines the growth, spatial structure, and distribution of manufacturing industries in the Greater Accra region using districts as the unit of analysis. The Greater Accra region has traditionally been the focal point of Ghana’s industrial development accounting for 23.4% of all manufacturing establishment as of 2015, most of which are concentrated in the Accra and Tema Metropolitan areas due to obvious political, socioeconomic and mobility factors. Examining historical data from 1962–2010, we found that despite the overwhelmingly large localization of manufacturing industries delete in Accra and Tema Metropolitan areas, a relative spatial redistribution of manufacturing industries was evident in the peripheral district of the region. Furthermore, the change in distribution is reflected in the pattern of employment at the district level, which per our findings shows a relative diffusion from the core districts of Accra to districts located in the peripheries. The study also found that industrial policies, such as free trade zone initiative, decentralization policies, foreign investment and improvements in critical infrastructure, have resulted in the relative spatial diffusion of manufacturing industries. These findings are significant because they show how areas without previous manufacturing base have witnessed the emergence of some form of industry

Illegal Mining as Threat to Sustainable Development in Ghana: A Political Ecology Approach

Within the past few decades, Ghana’s mining sector specifically the small scale mining subsector has been marred by controversies mainly due to its threat to sustainable development. This paper provides some insights into the inextricable linkage between sustainable development and illegal gold mining popularly referred to as “galamsey” and examines the effectiveness of political response and processes at the local and national level. While acknowledging the incommensurable role of the mining sector in poverty reduction through employment generation, the adverse impact on the environmental, economic and social fabric of society cannot be ignored. Notwithstanding this hard evidence at hand, successive governments are handicapped to reverse the devastating effects partly due to the complicated and multifaceted nature of the small scale mining sub-sector. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in three illegal mining communities comprised 12 illegal miners and officials task to monitor mining activities. We also extensively utilized official government reports and relevant academic literature to draw attention to the multiplicity and diversity of illegal mining. By examining livelihood strategies and reviewing successive government policies on mining and sustainability, we discovered gaps in the area of policy implementation and systemic marginalization of majority of communities where illegal mining occurs. In this paper, we advocate for a broader multidimensional and sectoral collaboration as a fundamental approach to confront illegal small scale mining activities