Life And Health Insurance In Malaysia Economics Essay

Life And Health Insurance In Malaysia Economics Essay INTRODUCTION Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) took over the supervision of the insurance industry in 1988. The primary reason for the move was to enable an integrated approach in the regulation and supervision of major financial institutions, in view of the growing convergence of crossholdings and integration of interests between banks and insurance companies. The economic environment may have a profound effect on the growth of the insurance industry. In Malaysia, the performance of the insurance industry in 1998 was affected by an economic downturn. The total and non-life premium income declined by 2.1% and 9.7% respectively whereas the life premium income experienced a lower positive growth rate of 4.6% in 1998 (1997: 13.5%) (BNM, 1999-2000). In line with the sustained economic recovery, the life insurance industry rebounded strongly to register an impressive double-digit premium growth in 1999, soaring well above pre-crisis levels. The performance of the insurance industry showed an improvement in 1999 following the recovery of the Malaysian economy. The combined premium income of the insurance industry recorded a growth of 8.5% (1998: -2.1%) to reach RM11,829.9 million (1998: RM10,902.9 million). The life sector has been the major contributor accounting for RM7,152.7 million (1998: RM6,217.2 million) or 60.5% of the premium income, while the remaining balance of RM4,677.2 million (1998: RM4,685.7 million) represented premium income generated from the general sector. Premium income of the industry as a proportion of nominal gross national product (GNP) increased to 4.2% in 1999, compared with 4.1% in 1998. BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH In Malaysia, BNM Annual Report that been issued yearly regularly indicate policies and development of insurance market in Malaysia. to implement policies and measures to prepare the industry for the challenges posed by the new requirements of the new economy and the increasingly more liberalised market environment. Several measures were initiated directed at improving market penetration through the promotion of new life insurance products and in order to do that the process of formulating and identifying strategies need to be done to enhance the marketing channel for life insurance business so that it can achieve the desired penetration level and raking in all the advantages given by positive economic environment. In order to do that, first step that need to be taken is to identify which macroeconomic variables that really positively significant to the demand of life and health insurance market and from there on best formulation and strategies can be initiated to create accurate resu lt on the demand of life and health insurance market. Efforts were also made by Bank Negara Malaysia to enhance the discipline and standards of conduct amongst life insurer in Malaysia. Problem Statement Statistical data from BNM has shown that due to economic downturn in 1998, the performance of insurance industry in Malaysia reportedly experienced negative growth of -2.1%. Generally, it shows that economic environment may possibly have direct influence on the performance of insurance industry in Malaysia as a whole. The combined premium income of the insurance industry recorded a growth of 8.5% in 1999 following the economic recovery situation. The life and health sector has been the major contributor accounting for RM7,152.7 million or 60.5% of the premium income, while the remaining balance of RM4,677.2 million represented premium income generated from the general sector. However, despite the vast potential for growth given the relatively low market penetration in Malaysia, domestic premium income to GNP was comparatively lower than that observed in more saturated markets. This research need to done so that it can specifically identified which macroeconomic variables that really effect the growth of life and health sector in Malaysia in order to ensure that it can contribute clearly to developing pricing strategies to achieve a specific sales target for life and health business. Macroeconomics is the study of the behavior of the overall economy and economic models normally consist of variables such as real GDP, inflation, price and population density. This study attempts to examine the relationship between macroeconomic variable to performance and demand of life and health insurance industry in Malaysia by using the LS analysis to prove that certain key macroeconomic environment may have a profound and significant effect on the growth of the life and health insurance market. As in the context of Malaysia, few studies has been carried out to seek evidence of the relationship between macroeconomic variables and performance of life insurance industry from Malaysia perspective but various studies comes out with various results as they are using different period of data and did not include health insurance data like this research and also holds different and various macroeconomic variable. Study by Lim and Haberman (2002) indicate major findings of this study that the savings deposits rate and price change in insurance are two important macroeconomic variables associated with the demand for life insurance in Malaysia. Study conducted by Rubayah and Zaidi (2000) indicate that income has a positive relationship with life insurance demand. Life insurance becomes more affordable when income increases. They examine two types of income variable in their study, namely GDP and income per capita. Income per capita is defined as the GDP divided by the size of the popul ation but on the other hand, their finding also show an insignificant positive relationship between inflation rates and the performance of life insurance. Economists use these type of data and variables to measure the performance of an economy and the focus on macroeconomic variables in this paper are, price of the life and health insurance product, inflation rates, income per capita and population density. This study is to further examined the direct linkage between these economic environments and whether each one of key variables (price of the life and health insurance product, inflation rates, income per capita and population density) has direct influence on the performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia. Research objective The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of various macroeconomic variables towards performance of life and health insurance market in Malaysia.. The specific aims of this study are: To determine which various macroeconomic variables that might have influence on the performance of life and health insurance market in Malaysia To examine the relationship of each macroeconomic variables ie price of the product, income per capita, inflation rates and population density with the performance of life and health insurance market in Malaysia To identify which macroeconomic variables that influence the performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia the most. To suggest the most suitable and appropriate strategies that can be used to improve the performance of life and health insurance market in Malaysia by using all the advantages given by positive economic environment Research Question How to determine which macroeconomic variables that influence the performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia? Is there any relationship between each macroeconomic variables ie price of the product, income per capita, inflation rates and population density with the performance of life and health insurance market in Malaysia Which macroeconomic variables that influence the performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia the most? What are the most suitable strategies that can be suggested to improve the performance of life and health insurance market in Malaysia by using all the advantages given by positive economic environment? Significance of Research/ Contribution to the body of knowledge There is no unique and integrated theory for life insurance demand. Research on the impact of macroeconomic variables towards performance of life and health insurance industry in Malaysia very scanty at best. Very little (if at all) is understood about the. urgent need for research focusing on the Malaysian industry and the Malaysian economic environment, which is unfamiliar to most readers. Hence, important impetuses for this research are established. 1. The Government This research is important for the government to formulate policies, acts and regulations for the improvement on the best strategies available in a suitable economic environment in order to develop and guide healthy demand on the insurance industry as a whole. 2. The University/ Academician This study will be used for reference and information for the students and academician who learn on insurance area, risk management or other related fields. Students and lecturers can have an extra knowledge on information provided by the researcher. 3. Management team of Life insurer in Malaysia This research is important for the management team Life Office especially if changes or corrective actions are required due to the changes in various economic environments occur in Malaysia or globally. Hopefully, this research can help the management team of Life insurer in Malaysia able to implement and generate new strategies with regard to the suitable current economic environment. 4. General Public Public must know the factors that influence their purchase decision of life and health policy offered in the market. Besides, they also need to be alert and aware on the coverage offered by Life insurer in Malaysia. This research will help them to really identify the needs to buy life and health product and there is also a growing awareness among Malaysians of individual responsibility in financial planning hence it directly will affect the demand of the said industry. 5. The Researcher By completing this research, the researcher has experienced and being exposed to view the economics side on the insurance industry as a whole and specifically on life and health sector which the researcher have never attempt before. It is a researcher attempt to view as a macroeconomists attempt in order to explain the economic side of this sector and to devise policies to improve its performance as economists use different models to examine different issues. Thus, other researcher might need the information to make their research in the future. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW The performance for insurance is influenced by many factors and economic factors might be one of them. For example, inflation rate, income per capita and price of the product may affect the performance for insurance in a country. A number of studies have examined the effects of macroeconomic factors on the performance for life and health insurance. Among them are the studies conducted by Cargill and Troxel (1979), Babbel (1985), Browne and Kim (1993), Outreville (1996) and Rubayah and Zaidi (2000). The macroeconomic factors investigated in these studies are highlighted and discussed in brief below. Financial Development. The findings of Outreville (1996) indicate that the level of financial development directly affects the development of life insurance sector. However, the findings are not statistically significant. Two different proxies have been used as a measurement for financial development. The first one is the ratio of quasi-money (M2-M1) to broad money (M2). This is an indicator for the complexity of financial structure. The second one is the broad definition of money (M2). It is an average value over four years. M2 is regarded as an adequate measure for the financial development in developing countries because banking is the predominant sector in the financial market of developing countries. Income. Lewis (1989), Hakansson (1969), Fischer (1973), Fortune (1973), and Campbell (1980) have shown that the demand for life insurance is positively correlated with income. As income increases, life insurance becomes more affordable. In addition, the need for life insurance increases with income as it protects dependents against the loss of expected future income due to premature death of the wage earner. According to prior research (Beenstock, Dickinson, and Khajuria (1986), Browne and Kim (1993), Outreville (1996) the ability to pay insurance premium has been argued to be related to the level of income. This is because, when there is an increase of income levels, there follows a need for a financial instrument to absorb the individualà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s surplus funds and to enable them to accumulate wealth. This shows the income level significantly affects the demand for life insurance. Two different measures have been used for disposable personal income in the study of Babbel (1985). The single-year income is used as a proxy for human capital and the three-year moving average income is used as a proxy for permanent income. The income variables are the real amounts of aggregate disposable personal income. The nominal income values are deflated by the yearly average indices of personal consumption expenditure deflator to render the nominal values in constant dollar terms. . The conclusion from Cargill and Troxel (1979), Babbel (1985), Browne and Kim (1993), Outreville (1996) and Rubayah and Zaidi (2000) verified that life insurance demand has a positive relationship with income. It shows when income increase, it can create more opportunity the life insurance becomes more affordable for people. In the study of Browne and Kim (1993), disposable personal income refers to the national income. It is defined as when the depreciation (capital consumption) and indirect business taxes have been taken away from GNP. National income is a more accurate measurement of disposable personal income for a country than GNP or GDP because national income is the income earned by the various production factors; it is refer to Browne and Kim (1993). Meanwhile, Outreville (1996) relates the income variable in his study as the real disposable income per capita. GDP is used as the basis for the disposable personal income. The income variable is expressed in linear form and in logarithmic form. On the other hand, Rubayah and Zaidi (2000) identified GDP and income per capita have been the two types of income variable in their study. Income per capita is defined as the GDP divided by the size of the population. In the initial stage, both the GDP and income per capita are found to have a positive relationship with the demand for life insurance but are not significant. It is only when stepwise regression analysis is applied in the later stage that GDP appears to have a significant positive relationship with the demand for life insurance but income per capita has been aborted. This is because income per capita contains the element of GDP and therefore multicollinearity exists because the two income variables are highly correlated. Inflation. If income has a positive relationship with demand for life insurance, it is different when Browne and Kim (1993) and Outreville (1996) did their research to find relationship for inflation. From their research, it shows that inflation has a significant negative relationship with life insurance demand. Inflation gives a diminishing effect on the amount of insurance purchased in a country. Consequently, it makes the value of life insurance eroded. As the result, it leads to the situation where insurance become less desirable good. High inflation tends to cause the purchasing of life insurance to be less attractive because of the rising cost of living. Meanwhile, Cargill and Troxel (1979) and Rubayah and Zaidi (2000) have revealed different result. Their findings are not in line with the findings of Browne and Kim (1993) and Outreville (1996). Measured up to between these two research, it has found Cargill and Troxel (1979) comparatively defined savings model (i.e. the model that takes into account the changes in policy loans besides the changes in life insurance reserves/savings and dividend accumulations) produce a significant result with the expected negative sign for this variable. It shows a week relationship between life insurance savings and price expectation. Meanwhile different with the findings of Rubayah and Zaidi (2000) it shows between inflation rates and the demand for life insurance has a significant positive relationship An average inflation rate for the last eight years, Browne and Kim (1993) has used an average inflation to represent the expected inflation rate. Meanwhile, Outreville (1996) uses a weighted average of realised price changes over the last five years as a measure of anticipated price change. Therefore, in Cargill and Troxel (1979) the price expectation in the study refers to the percentage changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over a period of 14 months. Moreover, Rubayah and Zaidi (2000) used in the same way apply the CPI as a basis for the anticipated rate of inflation in their study. A part from the research, in Cargill and Troxel (1979) the price expectation in the study refers to the percentage changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over a period of 14 months based on the data contained in the Livingston Survey that have been revised by Carlson. Similarly, Rubayah and Zaidi (2000) use the CPI as a basis for the anticipated rate of inflation in their study. Interest Rate. The findings on the relationship between interest rates and the demand for life insurance are questionable. Cargill and Troxel (1979) examine two kinds of interest rates in their study: the competing yield on other savings products and the return earned by life insurers. The findings on the competing yield are inconsistent. However, the competing yield tends to be negatively related to life insurance savings. A higher interest rate on alternative savings products tends to cause insurance products to become less attractive as a savings instrument. The yield on newly issued AAA utility bonds is used to represent all the competing rates of return on alternative savings products. Cargill and Troxel (1979) include the current and twelve-quarter distributed lag variables of competing yields in their study. The lag variables are included to reflect the delayed reactions of savers towards new information regarding interest rates on savings because changes in interest rates are assumed to produce a lagged response. Likewise, the findings on the return earned by life insurers are mixed. However, the return earned by life insurers is frequently positively related to life insurance savings. Life insurers earning a higher rate of return tend to attract individuals to purchase insurance from them. The yield on industrial bonds placed privately with a representative group of life insurance companies is used as a proxy for the return earned by life insurers. It is the new money rate of return earned by the life insurers, not the average rate of return on the invested funds. Similar to the competing yield, the current and twelve-quarter distributed lags of the return earned by life insurers are included in the models to investigate the immediate and lagged responses of changes in interest rates on life insurance demand. Outreville (1996) has shown that the demand for life insurance has not determined by the interest rate such as the real interest rate and the lending rate. The real interest rate is obtained by subtracting the anticipated inflation from the current bank discount rate. For the meantime, there are three types of interest rated, which are the personal savings rate, short-term interest and current interest rate has been identified by Rubayah and Zaidi (2000) The personal savings rate and short-term interest rate are found to influence significantly and negatively the demand for life insurance, despite the fact that the current interest rate is found to have no significant effect on life insurance demand. The personal savings rate refers to the interest rate offered by banks on normal savings, the short-term interest rate refers to the interest rate on three-month Treasury Bills, and the current interest rate refers to the base lending rate on bank borrowings. Price of Insurance. From Babble (1985) and Browne and Kim (1993), the findings reported with respect to the effect of price on the demand for life insurance are consistent in the both studies. The price of insurance is significantly and inversely related to the demand for life insurance. A high insurance cost tends to discourage the purchasing of life insurance. The various insurance price indices in the study of Babbel (1985) are the net present cost per 1000 present-valued unit of insurance expected to be in force over any arbitrary time horizon selected based on the published policy values for a male of age 35. Specifically, the price index refers to the ratio of the present value of expected premium cost, net of dividends and accumulations of cash values, per 1000 present-valued unit of indemnification benefits expected to be received, in excess of the actuarially fair cost. Two different discount rates, namely the yields of 10-year prime grade municipal bonds and double-A-rated corporate bonds, are used to discount the expected future cash flows from the policies. Browne and Kim (1993) use the policy loading charge as the price measure. It is the ratio of the life insurance premiums to the amount of insurance in force. In fact, it is the cost per dollar of life insurance coverage. Theoretical Framework INDEPENDENT VIARABLES (IV) Income per Capita Performance of Life and Health Insurance in Malaysia Price of the Product DEPENDENT VARIABLE (DV) Inflation Rates Population Density Figure 1.6.1: Theoretical Framework Sources: Adapted from Shimp, T.A (2003); Pitta, et. Al. (2006); Rowley, (1998); Ndubisi, N.O., and Chew, (2006) Hypotheses Ho : Income per Capita is not significantly related with the performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia. H1 : Income per Capita is significantly related with the performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia. Ho : Price of the Product is not significantly related with the performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia. H1 : Price of the Product is significantly related with the performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia. Ho : Inflation rates is not significantly related with the performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia. H1 : Inflation rates is significantly related with the performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia. Ho : Population density is not significantly related with the performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia. H1 : Population density is significantly related with the performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY All data in this study are secondary in nature. Secondary data is used in finding the resources for this study. Secondary data are statistic not gathered for the immediate study at hand, but for some other purpose. The data related to the demand for life insurance are obtained from the following annual reports: the Annual Report of the Insurance Commissioner and the Annual Report of the Director General of Insurance. The researcher has gathered the external information from various types of annual reports: Monthly Statistical Bulletin, Economic Report, Annual Insurance Report of the Bank Negara Malaysia. Materials obtained online are gathered from the official websites of BNM and Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). Besides, the sources like books, newspapers, journals and internet that were relevant to the research topic were used. All the sources have been referred throughout the findings and analysis of the research. Researcher will analyze the data gathered to proof the evidence that various macroeconomic factors influenced the growth and performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia. Scope of the study Basically the scope of this study focuses on the macroeconomic variables ie income per capita, inflation rates, price of the product and population density that effect the performance of life and health insurance in Malaysia. There are lots of other macroeconomic variables that can be contributed to the economic growth of Malaysia but this research shall only involved four key factor as for the remaining balance of variables can be included in the future studies as an extension from this research.The research area for this study is from Malaysia perspective only and the time frame shall be from 1998 to 2008 only. Data Analysis E Views version 6.0 applications were used by the researcher to analyze the data that have been gathered throughout the research process. The data need to be analyzed in order to obtain accurate answer for the question. The Multiple Regression Model will be used to predict the relationships in the construct. The Regression assumptions with respect to autocorrelation (independent of residual), normality (residual is normally distributed), homoscedasticity of error terms, multicollinearity of independent variables will be verified before making any interpretation of the statistical results.

Agriculture industry

Agriculture is an art, science and industry of managing the growth of plants and animals for human use. In broad sense, agriculture includes cultivation of the soil, growing and harvesting the crops, breeding and raising livestock, daring and forestry. Modern agriculture is engineering and technology based. Therefore, mechanization has eased much of the back breaking toil to the farmer. Agriculture is the backbone of economy of most of the countries of the world.About 48 percent of world's labour force is engaged with agriculture. For some countries, agriculture is the major source of foreign exchange for example Sri Lanka depends upon tea, Denmark specializes in dairy products and Australia in wool. Nations depends on agriculture not only for food but for national income and raw materials for industry as well, trade in agriculture is a constant international concern. Agricultural scientists are of opinion that, about 40% of 37 million acre land of the world may be considered cultiva ble.Today, only 5. 5 million sq miles (10% to 11%) of the land surface is actually cultivated. It is fact that nature sets the outer limits of man’s potential resources, because physical limitation, like temperature, rainfall, soil character and physiography, fix up the outer limit of cultivable land. Factors Governing Agriculture: Today, agriculture has become an industry. Therefore, like all other industries, its development depends upon multiple factors.Basically, physical environment imposes limits on the distribution of agricultural activity but cultural environment at the same time has its own importance for this activity because, agricultural patterns in the world are the result of interaction among the influences exerted by the physical, economic and social factors. The factors of agriculture can be divided into following classification. I. Physical Factors II. Human Factors / Non Physical Factors A. Economic Factors B. Political Factors C. Social / Cultural Factors P hysical Factors of Agriculture:Man’s agricultural activities depend on the physical environment in which he lives although he often has tried to minimize the restrictions imposed by the natural conditions. Nature in its diverse manifestations provides man in different areas with a variety of possibilities for development. To examine the agricultural activity of man in the world, it is necessary to know about the natural and physical factors of the world, which are as follows: 1. Terrain 2. Climate 3. Soils 4. Water Resources 5. Forest Cover 1. Terrain:Many agricultural geographers have analysed the influences of terrain on agriculture and it indeed plays a significant role in land-use variation. The three most significant aspects of terrain are: (i). Attitude (ii). Slope (iii). Drainage texture (i). Attitude: The primary consequence of altitude is decrease in air pressure with the increase in elevation. At the height of 3500 m and above the decreased atmospheric pressure caus es nausea and agricultural activities cannot be carried out despite conditions being favourable to numerous domesticated plants.Usually the rarefied air of the high mountains increased transpiration rates of plants, which unfortunately restricts growth. In tropics, altitude is of special significance for utilization of the land for agriculture. Modification in temperature and not infrequently in humidity conditions associated with increasing elevation make these areas habitable for farming communities. The important secondary consequences of increasing elevation, both agronomically and economically significant are decreased temperature, increased precipitation, increased wind velocity, poor soil and rugged relief.All these factors a negative role on agricultural activity and they minimize the agriculture and agricultural products. Even increase in precipitation on elevations are has significant role for agriculture because at those place moisture results in snowfall which makes agri culture very difficult. (ii). Slope: Slope of land is also one of the important physiographic aspects influencing the agricultural land use of an area. It is universal fact that with increase in steepness of slope the use of even very simple farm machinery becomes difficult. Steep slopes are generally avoided by farmers.Livestock farming may be equally effected by slope. It is difficult for animals to more on and graze in the pasture situated on very steep slopes. Accessibility is the most potent factor in agricultural land-use in mountainous regions at any slope or elevation, and inaccessibility at places can put all the development efforts in reverse gear. Easy access is essential specially for perishable agricultural commodities like vegetable and fruits grown in mountainous area, although technological developments have reduced its significance. Milk and meat cannot be kept for a long time and need quick transportation.Soil erosion is a major problem of almost every slope. Soil erosion affects the agricultural activity of that area moreover the arrangements of irrigation cannot be easily made on the hilly areas with slopes. Sunshine is another issue related with slpe. Agriculture is practiced only at sun facing slopes. The slopes which do not receive direct rays of sun are unable to grow crops. (iii). Drainage Texture: Drainage texture is expressed as the total length of streams per unit area, while its reciprocal is the distance between two adjacent channels.These are two important parameters by which one can estimate soil erosion. The critical value of drainage density per square km which may cause faster soil erosion. The heartland of water erosion areas satisfy almost all the requisites of soil erosion. Soil erosion from cultivated fields, grazing lands, forest areas and the catchment areas of big rivers affects a nation’s agricultural economy as a whole. Accelerated erosion produces abnormal quantities of sand, silt, and shingle that are carrie d from the field and stream system and deposited on the lower land, lessening its productivity.Excessive water erosion areas coincide approximately with the areas of confluence of many tributaries or areas of joints and cracks. 2. Climate: Climate controls agriculture more than any other factor. The pole-ward limit of agriculture is set by the isotherm for the warmest month. Particular climate suits particular crops. Temperature and rainfall are two main controlling factors of agriculture and some others are snow, wind, mist and fog etc. we can make a list of them as. (i). Temperature (ii). Winds (iii). Snow (iv). Humidity (v). Fog (vi). Sunlight (vii). Rainfall (i).Temperature: For plant growth certain upper and lower limits of temperature control the plantation in certain areas temperature of lower limit and temperature of upper limit, certainly control the agricultural activity in the world. While some plants grow in the high temperatures and like rubber, rice, banana, tea, date, oil palm etc. Some plants requires moderate or low temperatures like wheat, barley, almonds and oranges etc. Natural vegetation distribution regions clearly depict temperature control likewise, the agricultural regions and products follows the temperature control.(ii). Winds: Winds and atmospheric pressure exert direct and indirect influence on the agriculture. The zones of trade winds especially eastern corners of continents are not suitable for agriculture due to aridity. High winds generally act as deterrent to the growth of crops in various ways. * Unusual high velocities of winds may damage the standing crops. * Snow drifts and chilled winds may damage the crops. * Hot and dry winds may not allow to grow crops in their areas. (iii). Snow: Snow has its own bearing on livestock and cropping.Snow drift results in loss; and melting of large masses of snow creates floods and water logging. In general, there are two major places where snow falls, i. e. higher elevations and higher l atitude. When snow fall occurs heavily, it blocks the roads, tracks, foot paths. This retards the accessibility to field and markets. In general, it slackens all the agricultural activities of the area. Agricultural activities are resumed with the advent of summer season. Unfortunately huge losses often occur along the streams by sudden flooding caused by a large mass of melting snow.On the other hand, snow cover is advantageous to agriculture because it insulates the ground from extremely low air temperature and retards deep penetration of frost action. This make soil available for cultivation rather more quickly when the snow begins to thaw. (iv). Humidity: Humidity is one of the prominent elements of weather from the farmer’s point of view and plays a significant role in changing agro climatic conditions from place to place. Of the many possible beneficial influences of high atmospheric humidity on plant growth, following are most significant.* Many a plant can absorb mois ture directly from an under saturated air of high humidity. * Humidity affects the photosynthesis in plants. * Most plants grow well in conditions of high atmospheric humidity because very often saturated air stops transpiration. (v). Fog: Fog, that is very thick mist, is really much like low hanging clouds and appears as a dense mass of small water drops in the lower layers of atmosphere. The negative aspect of fog manifests itself when it persists for several consecutive days, blocking the sun’s light. Consequently plant growth is retarded and plants are likely to be attacked by pests and diseases.On the other hand fog and mist are the sources of moisture supply in many areas like crops of tomatoes, peppers, beans and other vegetables can be grown in southern California where fogs are frequent without irrigation and even rainfall does not come in the growing season. (vi). Sunlight: Sunlight is a factor of great physiological importance to plants because it helps in the form ation of chlorophyll. The source of sunlight is the sun and its attribute depends upon the sunshine. The total amount of light that falls on the earth varies from place to place.The intensity, quantity and duration of the sunlight depend upon the latitude, altitude, season and the conditions of the atmosphere at a given place. On all the places on equator, the sun shines for 12 hours a day round the year. However away from the equator towards the poles the days become progressively longer during summer reverse is the case during winter when days are comparatively shorter. This seems to account for the fact that summer crops mature faster than the winter ones since the former can get the needed light and sunshine in the minimum possible period. (vii). Rain Fall:Rain fall is another climate element and major factor is mainly responsible for plant growth and distribution and certain areas for specific plants or agriculture practices etc. Rubber is the tree of the equatorial region, and requires high rain fall uniformly distributed throughout the year. It may be said that rain fall is the most important climatic factor as it determines the potential of any region in terms of crops to be produced, farming system to be adopted, the nature and sequence of farming operations to be followed, and the targets to be achieved in agricultural productivity.The cultivator are more optimistic about a bumper crop, in those seasons when moisture receipts are considerably above normal. In a region where rain fall is confined to a particular season and ground water resources are wanting, a drought will not be an unusual phenomenon. Sometimes the distribution of rain fall is so irregular, not only in amount but also in time and space, that it creates water deficiency everywhere. These variations may produce dry spells. Therefore, the emergence of way ward behavior of rainfall from year to year gives rise to different cropping patterns and imbalances in levels of agricultural produc tivity.3. Soils: Soils constitute the physical base for any agricultural enterprise. Farming is a business and good soil is the part of the farmer’s stock in trade. Together with their fertility and special qualities, soils influence the particular types of food, fibre, horticultural crops and olecultural crops. * Physical characteristics and properties of soil determines the types of the crops and their distribution. * Crop growth is determined to a considerable extent by the amount of nutrients in the soil. The three basic nutrients nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, contribute to soil fertility.* Differences in soil fertility have the greatest impact on agricultural land use throughout the world. Unenlightened farming may lead to the rapid soil exhaustion. Soil resources are very important, and these must be carefully husbanded, so that these are conserved and not exploited. Improvement in water supply to crops, use of chemical fertilizers, and high-yielding exotic seeds , accelerate the rate of cropping intensity but at the same time they may have very harmful effects on the soil. 4. Water Resources:Availability of water to the crops is very much important because without water crops cannot be survived and we cannot think about agriculture at all. On the other hand, sufficient and assured water supply to the farming systems would yield superior, stable, diversified and commercially profitable farming, and a vastly superior living standard to peasant proprietors. Many parts of the world use irrigation for the activity of agriculture. The major sources which are used for irrigation are: (i). Ground water (ii). Surface water (iii). Desalinated water (i). Ground water:Ground water is often called under ground water which occurs below the surface of the earth. On the whole ground water is very unevenly distributed beneath the surface of the land. Moreover, the behavior of such unique storage of underground water is not consistent. It varies from year to year and season to season. Ground water is a major source of irrigation. It can be used from simple Persian wells to modern tube wells. In ovrid areas it is used through Karez system. Judious tapping of ground water resources is the need of the hour for avoiding excessive over draft and depletion of ground water.Water table is also important for agricultural point of view. If water table is too low then (in the absence of surface water source), the area cannot grow crops. The very high water table causes the two dangerous disease of land; water logging and salinity means again the area cannot grow crops. (ii). Surface water: Surface water supply is controlled by several factors such as large quantity of water in the form of rivers, streams, lakes, glaciers, gentle surface gradient and soft land. These make possible the construction of a network of canals.For such schemes, ideal conditions are prevailed in the plains of Niles, Ganges and Indus etc. so that these all plains are inten sively irrigated. The main problems in surface water utilizations are: * Prevention from evaporation in dry lands is a major problem. * Intensive irrigation may invite water logging and salinity. (iii). Desalinated water: The ocean and inland seas are also the source of water. Containing about 93 percent of earth’s water but not usable because of salt and contaminations. It would be great value to areas along the coasts which are in need of supplementing the short supplies of agricultural water.Some attempts have been made to utilize desalinated water for agriculture but this process is no doubt very costly. It has been estimated that at present in the western part of United States desalinated water costs between between fifteen and twenty five times more than irrigation water obtained from rivers or wells. Now in this modern era the constantly expanding need for fresh water for various purposes, especially agricultural and industrial, requires technically and economically fe asible processes for desalination. 5. Forest Cover:In the beginning, agricultural development benefited from forests by the use of natural species to breed more resistant varieties of cultivated crops. In addition to this forest also satisfied man’s material and socio-economic needs. Forest are also important for environmental balance and for charging the ground water. They are also important for providing water for irrigation in terraced we lands in mountains. Forests are badly effected by the agricultural activities of man in many areas of the world but their preservations are very important.A recommended and balanced extent and density of forest cover has to be maintained, so as so keep an ecological balance between man, agricultural land use and natural vegetation cover for achieving an optimum efficiency in agricultural land use at minimum level of hazards and costs in an area. Human / Non Physical Factors: No doubt that Agriculture depends on physical environment but th e socio cultural forces can not be neglected at all. Agricultural activities depend upon interrelated physical and non-physical factors.Non physical factors can be classified as follows: A. Economic Factors B. Political Factors C. Social / Cultural Factors A. Economic Factors: Agriculture provides employment for 48% labour force of the world’s population. Therefore, its economic importance and development needs proper investment for certain facilities to improve its yields for economic welfare of the farmers and food requirements of the growing world population. The factors of agriculture that need money are known as economic factors of agriculture.(i). Capital (ii). Agricultural Machinery (iii). Transportation (iv). Market (v). Cold storage (vi). Irrigation (vii). Pesticides / Herbicides (viii). Fertilizers (ix). High yielding verities (i). Capital: The capital or investment is the basic requirement for the agricultural activity. To practice the agriculture on modern grounds , a large investment is required. (ii). Agricultural Machinery: To keep pace with changing nature of agricultural process, modern agricultural machinery is required.Now a days combined harvester, threshers, sprinkled irrigation are necessary to gain a handsome productions. (iii). Transportation: The role of faster means of transportation cannot be forgotton in agriculture fruits, vegetables and dairy products are perishable items and they can only bring to the market in the presence of faster means of transportation. The advancements of transportation methods reduces the expenditure and wastage of the agricultural products. (iv). Market: Market place is a very important factor in agriculture.The markets for perishable agricultural products must be located near to the farms to deliver products to consumers as rapidly as possible. (v). Cold storage: Now a days storage / cold storage are too much necessary for agriculture point of view because whole yield of crops cannot be consumed at once. Grain crops required a proper storage in this way, they can be consumed throughout the year for example wheat, vegetables like peas, tomatoes, potatoes required cold storage for preservation. (vi).

One Of The Most Destructive Wars - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 608 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/05/02 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: War Essay World War 1 Essay Did you like this example? World war I One of the most destructive wars in human history World war I was in the late 19th century early 20th century, the capitalist countries to its ultimate stage, namely the imperialist transition which is caused by a wide range of irreconcilable contradictions, Asia, Africa, Latin American colonial is basically to dismember, both old and new colonialism and imperialism economic development imbalance, order under the background of unequal division, to carve up the world and for the global hegemony and the outbreak of a world imperialist war. The war was one of the most destructive in European history. About 65 million people went to war, more than 10 million were killed and 20 million wounded. The war caused heavy economic losses. This war brought grave disaster to mankind, but objectively promoted the development of science and technology. In the World War I, various new weapons such as aircraft, poison gas, tanks and long-range artillery were successively put into war, which was an important stage in the development history of weapons. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "One Of The Most Destructive Wars" essay for you Create order The contradiction between France and Germany is very sharp. France, defeated in the Franco-Prussian War, lost its dominant position in Western and Central Europe, and all classes in the country unanimously demanded revenge. In order to prevent France from recovering, Germany greatly expanded its armament. The contradiction between Russia and Austria is manifested in the struggle for the Balkans. Over the years, under the banner of greater Slavic doctrine, Russia has expanded to the Slavic areas in the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula, and the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, which is located in Central Europe, is also expanding to the northwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula. They feared that the Slavs under their own rule would become independent from the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Proceeding from its traditional foreign policy, Britain endeavoured to maintain the balance of power on the European continent. It did not want Germany to be too strong or Russia to expand too much in the Balkans. With the aggravation of the conflict on the colonial issue, the contradiction between England and Germany began to intensify and gradually became the principal contradiction between the imperialist countries. World War I lasted more than four years, more than 30 countries, 1.5 billion people were involved in the war, it caused great material and spiritual damage to mankind. The great result of the first World War was that it seriously weakened the imperialist forces and destroyed the Russian Empire, a Christian Orthodox country located in the eastern part of Europe, and the Protestant German Empire, a Protestant Christian country in the middle of Europe. The ancient feudal empires of Europe, such as the Protestant Catholic dualistic monarchy, Austro-Hungary, located in central Europe and the northwestern Balkans, Britain, France, Italy, and other imperialist countries have been weakened, and Islam, which once straddled the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, has been weakened. The Ottoman Empire, which taught feudal military empires, also broke up. In the latter part of the war, the Russian proletariat, located in the eastern border of Europe, opened a weak link in the imperialis t chain and won the victory of Russias October socialist revolution. The proletarian revolutionary movement in capitalist countries and the national liberation movement in Asia, Africa and Latin America have seen a new upsurge. The first World War was a war between unjust imperialists, which brought heavy disasters to the peoples of the world, and at the same time brought great advances in science and technology, the politics, economy and science and technology of all countries. Cultural and military aspects have been greatly strengthened, and World War I has accelerated the realization of human rights.

What Is Diaspora

Diaspora is a community of people from the same homeland who have been scattered or have migrated to other lands. While most often associated with the Jewish people expelled from the Kingdom of Israel in the 6th century BCE, the diaspora of many ethnic groups is found around the world today. Diaspora Key Takeaways A diaspora is a group of people who have been forced from or chosen to leave their homeland to settle in other lands.People of a diaspora typically preserve and celebrate the culture and traditions of their homeland.Diaspora may be created by voluntary emigration or by force, as in the cases of wars, slavery, or natural disasters. Diaspora Definition The term diaspora comes from the Greek verb diaspeirÃ…  meaning â€Å"to scatter† or â€Å"to spread about.† As first used in Ancient Greece, diaspora referred to people of dominant countries who voluntarily emigrated from their homelands to colonize conquered countries.  Today, scholars recognize two kinds of diaspora: forced and voluntary. Forced diaspora often arises from traumatic events such as wars, imperialistic conquest, or slavery, or from natural disasters like famine or extended drought. As a result, the people of a forced diaspora typically share feelings of persecution, loss, and desire to return to their homeland. In contrast, a voluntary diaspora is a community of people who have left their homelands in search of economic opportunity, as in the massive emigration of people from depressed regions of Europe to the United States during the late 1800s. Unlike diaspora created by force, voluntary immigrant groups, while also maintaining close cultural and spiritual links to their countries of origin, are less likely to wish to return to them permanently. Instead, they take pride in their shared experience and feel a certain social and political â€Å"strength-in-numbers.† Today, the needs and demands of large diaspora often influence government policy ranging from foreign affairs and economic development to immigration.   The Jewish Diaspora The origins of the Jewish diaspora date to 722 BCE, when the Assyrians under King Sargon II conquered and destroyed the Kingdom of Israel. Cast into exile, the Jewish inhabitants were scattered throughout the Middle East. In 597 BCE and again in 586 BCE, Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II deported large numbers of Jews from the Kingdom of Judah but allowed them to remain in a unified Jewish community in Babylon. Some of the Judean Jews chose to flee to Egypt’s Nile Delta. By 597 BCE, the Jewish diaspora was scattered among three distinct groups: one in Babylon and other less-settled parts of the Middle East, another in Judaea, and another group in Egypt. In 6 BCE, Judea came under Roman rule. While they allowed the Judeans to retain their Jewish king, the Roman governors maintained real control by restricting religious practices, regulating trade, and imposing ever-higher taxes on the people. In 70 CE, the Judeans launched a revolution which ended tragically in 73 BCE with the Roman siege of the Jewish fort of Masada. After destroying Jerusalem, the Romans annexed Judaea and drove the Jews from Palestine. Today, the Jewish diaspora is spread throughout the world. The African Diaspora During the Atlantic Slave Trade of the 16th to 19th centuries, as many as 12 million people in Western and Central Africa were taken captive and shipped to the Americas as slaves. Made up mainly of young men and women in their childbearing years, the native African diaspora grew rapidly. These displaced people and their descendants greatly influenced the culture and politics of the American and other New World colonies. In reality, the massive African diaspora had begun centuries before the slave trade as millions of Sub-Saharan Africans migrated to parts of Europe and Asia in search of employment and economic opportunity. Today, descendants of the native African diaspora maintains and celebrates its shared culture and heritage in communities around the world. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 46.5 million people of the African diaspora lived in the United States in 2017. The Chinese Diaspora The modern Chinese Diaspora began in the mid-19th century. During the 1850s to the 1950s, large numbers of Chinese workers left China in search of jobs in Southeast Asia. From the 1950s through the 1980s, wars, starvation, and political corruption in mainland China shifted the destination of Chinese diaspora to more industrialized areas including North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia. Driven by the demand for cheap manual labor in these countries, most of these migrants were unskilled workers. Today, the growing Chinese diaspora has evolved into a more advanced â€Å"multi-class and multi-skilled† profile needed to satisfy the demands of the high-tech globalized economy. The current Chinese diaspora is estimated to consist of some 46 million ethnic Chinese living outside China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. Sources Vertovec, Steven. The Political Importance of Diasporas. Migration Policy Institute. (June 1, 2005).†Ancient Jewish History: The Diasporaâ€Å" Jewish Virtual Library.†National African-American History Month: February 2017â€Å" U.S. Census Bureau.†Chinese Diaspora Across the World: A General Overviewâ€Å" Academy for Cultural Diplomacy.