‘Transnational corporations (TNCs) only bring advantages to the host country.’ Do you agree with this statement? Justify your decision.

TNCs bring both advantages and disadvantages to host countries, this has a more profound impact in LEDCs, such as Nigeria. Nigeria has approximately 40 TNCs operating within it and one of the biggest is Royal Dutch Shell, an oil TNC. An economic advantage is that the extraction of oil has led to major contributions to the taxes and export revenue Nigeria. Additionally, another socio-economic benefit is to the Nigerian people. Shell employs 65,000 Nigerians directly and another 250,000 work in related industries. As a result, these employees have a higher disposable income, which increases the advantage of the TNC to the wider community. However, TNCs can bring disadvantages. In Nigeria, the disadvantages are largely environmental. Oil spills in particular impact agriculture and fishing industries via soil degradation and water pollution. From an economic perspective, the profits generated within Nigeria largely returns to the home nation (The Netherlands). Overall, through the evidence outlined above I must disagree with this statement as TNCs cause both advantages and disadvantages.