I had thought about focusing on the war on terror and its consequences, but fuel prices appealed to more so I decided to stick with that. With specific reference to fuel prices, as I think about my home country Liberia, I do not believe all barriers to trade are intentional. Everything in that country as with most places around the world are driven by the prices of fuel. Many Countries are endowed differently oil is certainly Not one of liberia's natural resources. Taking Liberian into consideration, as a comparative advantage - Liberia is richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products, primarily raw timber and rubber and is reviving those sectors
Liberia focus mostly focuses on Agriculture sector where lots of timber logging and Rubber is done making up the overly stated 70% of GDP <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/li.html>. To make my point, The employment opportunities is never really taken into account when these numbers are reported. Although the industry requires high consumption of fuel, you would think the employment opportunites will measure up. Unfortunately it does not. 85% of the population still remains unemployed. What makes up these numbers are mostly the multinational firms like firestone. The rest are small family farms are in turn to have to sell to their rubber to firestone firestone. The point here is, fuel prices seems to be doing a lot to limit the expansion among these little firms and it leaves a huge window for monopoly among a few companies with huge capital investments. I consider this an unintensional barrier to domestic expension in the industry.
Secoundly, majority of the population is spread across the country. For a country that returning from civil war and slowly attempting to rebuild its infrastructure, access to education is nothing to write home about. Most people are forced to come to the capital. Yet again, fuel not being a natural resource or access to is a high expense for the nation own's fuel refining company thus pushing the prices up and putting an added burden on the population. Subsequenty, Access to education and or paying for education is incredibly high. The literacy rate is believed to be about 50% yet another unintentional barrier to trade. http://liberia.usaid.gov/stories_from_the_field/node/255 Not too many companies are willing to go in on that basis. This poses a profound barrier due to the inbalanced in a trained labor force
With 85% of the population unemployed and a country that is culturally built on a informal welfare system. It poses a huge barrier for investors especially since the political climate is still struggling with reforming an international image.
The prices of fuel also limits the number of employment opportunities in the over all local industries..The illiteracy rate limits the ability to establish industries that would turn these raw timber materials into finished goods. The Gas prices are only good enough to import finished goods since local industries do not have the capacity to export. The local thriving business are owned by few people with huge investment capital opportunities who in turn exploit local citizens since there is no local price control. See the link below for more details on the country <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/docs/notesanddefs.html#2012>
agriculture: 70%
industry: 8%
services: 22% (2000 est.)
Unemployment 85% (2003 est.)
Notwithstanding, I believe one policy that would dissolve these invisible unintentional barriers would be a need to invest more heavily in educating the younger population in critical areas of knowledge needs needed in the world I say particularly technology. The firms engaged in these mining rubber and timber industry should be required to subsidized standardized formal elementary through high school education for all within their locality. And scholarships in technical and professional areas that will over the long term improve the country capacity building in the long term and preserve plus create job opportunities.This brings me to the local oil refinery leadership being a highly politicized position in the country. This is only controlled by government and there has never been a discussion for a second refinery outside of a government owned one. On top of that, there is inside corruption activities where leadership in the ranks cross private deals for themselves, become enriched in the role up to the point where the appointments are confidents of the president. However, in defence of the monopolization o the oil resource, recent developments have suggest that oil have been found offshore 100 miles into Liberia atlantic waters. "The government has once again being in control of that resource signed a contract with chevron. " If approved, this three-year exploration project is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2010 and has a potential worth of US$10 billion. This agreement would create jobs for Liberians, increase the national income and help develop other sectors of the economy." > http://allafrica.com/stories/201009010484.html .. All though, I still feel these contracts may still lack a true element that should benefit the population more then they are now, hopefully this should shift the tide in reducing the abstract barriers to trade In favor of a policy that creates jobs for the less fortunate population
