Impact of Debt Servicing on Economic Growth

Impact of Debt Servicing on Economic Growth Abstract The external debt has become a key problem for Pakistan. Pakistan has huge debt to pay, which also entails interest payment on the loan borrowed. It adds burden to the economy of Pakistan. Government through different means try to pay these loans. In this paper we have analyzed the impact of debt servicing on economic growth, i.e. whether debt servicing positively or negatively affect the economic growth. The data collected for this purpose ranges from 1982 to 2008. We have use regression test and find out that debt servicing is positively effecting the growth of Pakistan. Key Words: Debt Servicing, Economic Growth, GDP, Human Capital, Labor Force Introduction Many researchers have focused on the relationship between external debt and growth, and what is the impact of external debt on economy. It also persists to attract considerable interest from economists and policymakers. A large amount of research has been carried out on this topic and substantial literature is also available, but few have conducted research on the impact of debt servicing on economic growth. The conditions and the interest rates on which the loan is provided can vary from donor to donor. Weak economies due to low revenue generation cannot meet their expenses and have to gain loan from international financial institutions or have to issue Treasury bills. Once they obtain loan they utilize it in the development projects and generate revenue, however on maturity, Government does not have to repay only the principal amount of loan but also have to pay amount of interest on it. International Financial Institutions like World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank are the leading donor agencies. They give loan on hard and soft conditions depending upon the credit rating of the country. The discussion is going on for a passage of time, whether debt acquired by the loaner country, helps it in boosting the economic growth or the conditions implied by the donor lowers the economic growth. The higher debt service payments can also have negative effects on the composition of public spending by minimizing the amount of resources available for infrastructure and human capital, which have negative effects on growth. If external debt service is minimized it could increase growth through public investment. (Clemets et al, 2003). (Cholifihani, 2008) discuss the relationship between Public debt service and GDP. He used a production function model which measured GDP as a function of debt service, capital stock, labor and human capital in which all data are represented by constant local currency unit. He comes up with the result that Indonesia faces a debt overhang problem in the long run since increasing the public external debt service slows economic growth. The objective of this research paper is to determine the impact of debt servicing on the economic growth of Pakistan; which needs to be reviewed as these dimensions are not studied before especially in the context of Pakistan. Research study will be carried on the basis of data available of the debt servicing and economic growth. Literature Review Developing countries face the problem of debt-servicing on the economic growth which creates extra burden on the economies. For countries who do not want to print money and have lo generation of tax revenue will opt for borrowing money. Like many other LDCs, Pakistan being one of developing country has accumulated large debt burden and continuously made debt-servicing payments to the lenders which ultimately affects the fiscal position of the country. Debt Borrowing have to speed up the economic growth particularly when domestic financial resources are not enough to meet and need the extra funds. Theory of Economic also states that reasonable levels of loan accelerate economy and beyond a certain level it affects the economy negatively. The key factor is that countries in early years of development have low levels of capital stock and also the investment chances are lower. Many researchers have often argued that borrowing countries if invest the funds into productive development programs, they certainly would enjoy Macroeconomic stability. This results in lowering the debt obligations and increase in the economic growth. (Blavy, 2006) conduct a research over Jamaica, in which he emphasis on channeling the debt into productive investment. He also states that high level of debt is directly related to low level of growth. (Krugman 1988) define debt overhang a situation in which the expected repayment on external debt falls short of contractual value of debt. If a countrys debt level is anticipated to increase the countrys repayment ability with some probability in the future, expected debt service is likely to be a boosting function of the countrys output level. Investment from domestic and foreign investors is depressed which results in slowing of the economic growth. In other words, Krugman hypothesis states that debt overhang is partly due to the burden of foreign debt and that investment will be slow resulting in poor growth performance. The most widely used indicator to express debt is percentage of GNP or debt servicing as a percentage of exports and fiscal deficit for both external and internal (S.P Gupta, 1994). Rising debt limits the ability of a country to finance vital imports and to initiate new development projects. Paper focuses on some countries because of their low per capita income dependence heavily on few primary commodities for export earnings. Most of the projects were designed to improve domestic industry rather than increasing exports directly, concept was that national economies would grow over time and also the export production, and reasonable trends in export prices would allow the debt service obligations (Joshua Greene, 1989). .Most of the low income countries that face the problem of budget deficit have weak domestic structure. They get loan through International Financial Institutions like World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank and through developed countries. IMF providing the debt on certain conditions also asks them to export primary commodities. Due to the excess supply of primary commodities, prices gets low and revenue generated is low, which can cause problems like debt overhang for the debtors nation (Michael, 1998). (William Easterly 2002) states the reasons of poor countries becoming heavily indebted poor countries. He states that Governments who does not change discount rates have to obtain more loans to get debt relief for long term. The major issue faced by the countries while paying debt is the increasing inflation and low growth. Repayment of external debt has shown to entail a tradeoff between growth and inflation (Beatriz et al, 1994). Credibility of the country is also a key factor in obtaining the loan on soft conditions and low interest rates. Countries with the less creditworthiness had to pay large spread on external debt and also have to face harsh conditions for obtaining loans. The increase in debt will add to the country loss of credibility (Gupta, 1994). The credit rationing effect arises, when debtors are not able to repay the debts. Countries increase their interest rates to enhance savings which lead to shorten the saving investment gap, which negatively affect investment and hurts economic growth. (Wijeweera et al, 2005). Like every country Pakistan also took measures to limit the inflationary pressure and to protect the competitiveness of its exports. In fact there is a time frame to work their way through economy, growth can be effected if the effectiveness is not done on time (Afxentiou and Serletis, 1996). Ogunmuyiwa, 2011 carry out a research in Nigeria, in which he measures the relationship between external debt and growth. He comes up with the result that causation between debt and growth in Nigeria is weak and insignificant, and changes in GDP cannot be forecast with changes in external debt Methodology The equation has been adopted by the Indonesian paper, in this equation we will be taking GDP as a function of Human Capital, labor force and Capital stock. Y=A+B1x1+B2x2+B3x3 Y (GDP) = ÃŽ ± + B1 (Human Capital) +B2 (Capital Stock) + B3 (Labor Force) + â‚ ¬ At first, we will be checking the relation of the variables to the GDP. How much they are explaining and are affecting GDP. In Second equation, we will be checking the relationship between GDP and external debt servicing. Equation is; Y=A+B1x1 Y (GDP) = ÃŽ ± + B1 (External Debt Servicing) + â‚ ¬ For this study, we have covered a period of 1982 to 2008. The data has been collected from World Bank Catalog. The variables used in this study are GDP, Capital stock, labor force, human capital and debt servicing. Data sources are taken from key indicators of Asian Development Bank, World Development Indicators published by the World Bank. Almost all monetary units of variables are in US dollars, while labor is expressed by number of people. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a dependent variable, whereas, capital stock, labor force, human capital are determinant factors of GDP (Cholifihani, 2008). Variable of income is represented by real GDP at 2000 constant prices as GDP better reflects the independent productive capacity of the country (Cordella, 2005). Capital stock is represented by real fixed capital stock. GDP and fix capital stock are taken from World Development Indicators (WDI) published by the World Bank. Labor force is defined as employed people. Total people working i.e. employed labor force in jobs are collected from key indicators published by Asian Development Bank (ADB). Human capital in this case is represented by education expenditure per year. Human capital is important as it enhances the economy since this variable includes general skills and ability of labor to do a job. External debt service is defined as Total the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in foreign currency, goods, or services on long-term debt, interest paid on short-term debt and repayments (repurchases and charges) to the IMF (World Bank Catalog). Results Model Interpretation Significance R Square Standardized Co-efficient BETA Significance .000 .98 .163 Human Capital .104 Human Capital -.193 Capital Stock .038 Capital Stock 1.014 Labor Force .000 Labor Force In first equation we want to check the effect of all variables on GDP. -47090.6 is a fixed value which will come in each scenario. The coefficient of Human Capital is .163, means that increase in human capital will lead to increase in GDP. In other words it can be said that one unit change in human capital, GDP would also be increased by .163 units. The result is 0.104 which means it is less significant. The coefficient of capital stock is -.193, that if there is an increase in capital stock then GDP would be decreased. In other words we can say that Capital stock does not play a significantly role. The result is 0.00 which means it is negatively significant. The coefficient of labor force is 1.014, meaning if there is increase in labor force then GDP will be increased. The result is 0.00 which means it is positively significant. The R Square tells us about the model fitness. In our case the model is fit i.e. 98.08 %, hence we can conclude that all variables used in this model explain it by 98.08 % and around 2% is not explained by these variables. We can conclude that the other variables which explain the equation are external and are not included. Model Interpretation Significance R Square Standardized Co-efficient BETA Significance .000 .45 .675 Debt Servicing .000 Debt Servicing In the second equation, we have investigated the relationship between external debt servicing and GDP. The R square is 0.455, which means that only 45% is explained by this variable and rest of 55% was explained by external factors. The coefficient of debt servicing is .675 that if there is an increase in debt servicing then GDP would also increase. The result is 0.00 which means it is significant. Limitations The limitation of this study is that data of debt servicing includes only represents external debt servicing and the internal debt servicing was not included due to non availability of data. The result could have given a exact picture of the impact of debt servicing on economic growth if both internal and external debt service would have been added. In start we try to collect data from 1970 to 2008, but data was available from 1982 to 2008. Conclusion The main focus of this study was to analyze the effects of debt servicing on economic growth. Within limited indicators we find out that debt servicing has positively affected the economic growth of Pakistan. Theoretically it is not possible because a big amount form received borrowings is used for debt return and its interest and it should negatively affect the economy But in case of Pakistan the amount of debt circulating in the economy is high. Estimated about 70% of the economy of Pakistan consists of debt. With the passage of time, the debt should have reduced but it has increased. It can be said that the debt should be invested in productive areas rather than wasted on less productive projects.

Criminology Gender Blind

‘’Is criminology â€Å"gender-blind† : women and crime’’ Brilly Amancio 04-10-2013 Criminal Justice 212 Criminology Prof: Christopher Geraghty Brilly Amancio Is criminology â€Å"gender-blind† : women and crime( by and against) Woman in Criminology has a really big change from back in the days till now. Before woman where not that involved in crime either if it was in the good side like being a cop, detective, lieutenant, or of it was in the bad side, as to being the one committing the crime. Criminology, as with all academic disciplines, was a male-dominated sphere.Men regarded the world through a very narrow lens, and the experiences of women rarely provoked serious interest. Back in the days woman where more likely to stay home, cook, take care of kids and wait for their husbands to get home, not even work. Woman were not much socialized with society other than other woman and did not spend much time in the streets as men did. Woman were no t viewed as a big factor in society rather than the male which was the man working to bring food home. There were not much activity for a woman to be out in the streets much as too like sports and obs. Very few of them would practice one of those options. Where woman were mostly considered as as a criminal was with prostitution. This was the most popular crimes for woman since it was hard to find a woman or a young girl being in a gang since back in the days there was more discipline with kids and woman depended on their husbands. Men were more involved in crimes since they were in the streets more, hanging out with friends, playing sports or working since women were not really able to work much or just believes were much different back then. Most police officers, etectives, judges or anything involved with law enforcement were men. Now a days everything is equal, there is as much woman involved in crimes and the law enforcement just like men. Ever since woman became more independen t they have been more involved in crimes as such as stealing, murdered, kid napping and a ton of different other crimes. When woman first started getting more involved in crimes was more with an influence of men. Either a lover or close friends. Now they make their decisions to be involved in crimes by themselves just like men do. Accordin g to www. ukdissertation. om and this is their explination of why there are more woman in jail right now ‘’ Carlen summarises the responses given as thus: (1) more women are committing violent crimes; (2) more women who would not have previously gone to prison are going due to increasing involvement with drugs; (3)more black women are going to prison so racism may be the key; or (4)prison is being used to incarcerate the same social categories for women that it always has – the destitute, the most obviously gender deviant, and the mentally disturbed – but the numbers of women presenting themselves in these categories ave increased with growing economic inequality (Carlen, 1998: 51). Another explanation is that women are becoming more violent, indeed the proportion of female prisoners under sentence for crimes of violence against the person was indeed (at 20 per cent) only two present less than the proportion of male prisoners. Fletcher (1975, in Carlen, 1998: 52) supports this view: ‘It is undoubtedly the case that the level of convictions of violence against the person has increased among women. ’ However, he also points out that, ‘the female prison population has †¦ risen steeply whilst serious convictions have actually allen’; suggesting that this may be due to longer sentences being served. As will be seen later, it is much more likely that it is the increase in more punitive sentencing for trivial crimes that is more likely to offer an explanation. Things have changed a lot over the last couple of years. But this does not mea that woman are punished just as the s ame as men are. According to Wikipedia men are more likel to become incarcerated then woman would and this is their their facts ‘’ In the United States, men are much more likely to be incarcerated than women.Nearly 9 times as many men (5,037,000) as women (581,000) had ever at one time been incarcerated in a State or Federal prison at year end 2001. However, women are the fastest-growing demographic group in prison. [1]. In 2004,  males  were almost 10 times more likely than  females  to commit  murder, including rape-homicides. However, men are also far more likely than women to be the victims of violent crime, with the exception of rape. There my be a lot of explanations for this like men are more likely to be more aggressive than woman so they tend to get in more altercations and tend to act out of rage more than oman do. Young teenagers have become really popular in the juvenile system. The number of female teenagers has increased a lot in the juvenile sys tem as to the number of female teenagers that are dropping out of school or just kicked out for their irrational behavior. Still so male is the biggest crime predator in everyone’s eye, everyone is conscious of how the number of female criminal has increased men is still the number one target. I this unfair? Yes it is yes in a lot of cases woman are treated harshly but like like in every case that males do. Bibliography: http://en. wikipedia. rg/wiki/Sex_differences_in_crime http://www. routledge. com/books/details/9780415644174/ http://www. roxbury. net/womencrime. html http://www. law-essays-uk. com/resources/sample-essays/criminology/gender-and-crime. php http://books. google. com/books? id=r3IMdD2xZ8MC&pg=PA265&lpg=PA265&dq=Is+criminology+%22gender-blind%22+:+women+and+crime(+by+and+against)&source=bl&ots=AZphi3RxKq&sig=BaNiS4rUFnLVygUIWcLrQSjtWeI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BJNkUezPK87y0wGF74EQ&ved=0CG4Q6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=Is%20criminology%20%22gender-blind%22%20%3A%20women%20and%20cri me(%20by%20and%20against)&f=false

Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Changes

The federal and provincial governments started to make changes to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) in 2011 to give more options to those who want or need to receive the CPP before the age or 65 and to those who want to postpone taking their pension until after the age of 65. The changes are being phased in gradually from 2011 to 2016. Adjustments have been made to improve the flexibility of the CPP, and to adapt to the different ways that Canadians are approaching retirement these days. For many, retirement is a gradual process, rather than a single event. Personal circumstances, from employment opportunities, or lack of them, health, and other retirement income, affect the timing of retirement, and the gradual adjustments made in the CPP may make it easier for individuals, at the same time keeping the CPP sustainable. What is the Canada Pension Plan? The CPP is a Canadian government pension plan and is a joint federal-provincial responsibility. The CPP is based directly on workers earnings and contributions. Nearly everyone over the age of 18 who works in Canada, outside Quebec, and earns over a basic minimum, currently $3500 a year, contributes to the CPP. Contributions stop at the age of 70, even if you are still working. Employers and employees each make half the required contribution. If you are self-employed, you make the full contribution. CPP benefits can include a retirement pension, a post-retirement pension, disability benefits, and death benefits. In general, the CPP is expected to replace about 25 percent of your pre-retirement earnings from work. The rest of your retirement income can come from the Canada Old Age Security (OAS) pension, employers pension plans, savings and investments (including RRSPs). Changes to the Canada Pension Plan The following changes are in the process of being implemented. CPP monthly retirement pension started after age 65Since 2011, the CPP retirement pension amount has increased by a larger percentage when you start taking it after the age of 65. By 2013, your monthly pension amount has increased by 8.4 percent for every year after 65 up to age 70 that you delay taking your CPP. CPP monthly retirement pension started before age 65From 2012 to 2016, your monthly CPP retirement pension amount will decrease by a larger percentage if you take it before age 65. The monthly reduction for taking your CPP early will be 2013 - 0.54%; 2014 - 0.56%; 2015 - 0.58%; 2016 - 0.60%. Work Cessation Test has been droppedBefore 2012, if you wanted to take your CPP retirement pension early (before the age of 65), you had to either stop working or significantly reduce your earnings for at least two months. That requirement has been dropped. If under 65 and working while receiving a CPP retirement pension, you and your employer must pay CPP contributions.These contributions will go to a new Post-Retirement Benefit (PRB), which will increase your income. If you have an employer, the contributions are split evenly between you and your employer. If you are self-employed, you pay both the employer and employee contributions. If between 65 and 70 and working while receiving a CPP retirement pension, you have a choice about whether you and your employer pay CPP contributions.You do have to complete and submit a CPT30 Form to the Canada Revenue Agency to stop making contributions, however. General Drop-out Provision IncreasesWhen your average earnings over your contributory period are calculated, a percentage of your lowest earnings are automatically dropped. Beginning in 2012, the provision was increased to allow up to 7.5 years of your lowest earnings to be dropped from the calculation. In 2014, the provision allows up to 8 years of lowest earnings to be dropped. Note: These changes do not apply to the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP). If you work or worked in Quebec, see the Rà ©gie des rentes Quà ©bec for information. See Also: Applying for the CPP Retirement PensionCanada Old Age Security (OAS) Pension Changes

The Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2221 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/10/10 Did you like this example? The Caleb’s crossing novel is a book that was written by Geraldine Brooks giving details of the history of America before the revolution. The book describes the values held by the American society at that time through the use of two main characters which are a young boy and a girl. These two start off as friends and end up becoming lovers. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks" essay for you Create order However, their relationship encounters numerous challenges with the greatest one being separation from each other. The young Puritan girl is portrayed to be deeply in love with a native boy, and they start a long term relationship which they vow to protect no matter what happens. The two lovers last for a period of years whereby the book narrates the chronicles and their struggles to retain their individual identities. The narrative also gives an explanation of Christian values held by the society at that time and relationship between sin, salvation, and rebirth (Brooks, 2012 p. 24). The book is generally divided into three segments that describe the situation of Bethia the Puritan girl as she carries on with her life. The novel wastes no time in presenting the effects the English have had upon the Wampanoag. The first agreement between them, allowing for English settlement on the island, brings to light some of the cultural differences and misunderstandings that would plague relatio ns between the groups. My creative response to the narrative is that I support the author’s perception that disparity in religious practices and cultural practices between the puritans and the natives was the main cause of tension and disagreement in the society at that time. The contrast between cultural and religious practices is evident in many scenes throughout the book. The first part describes the meeting of Bethia and Caleb whereby they become good friends and Bethia request her parents to let the boy come to live with the family. However, the parents are reluctant to allow that as they believe that the kid has got no strong Christian background. The relationship between the natives and the Puritans is depicted to be filled with conflicts based on religious and cultural identities. Brooks has written the book to depict a world of emotion, struggle, and cultural conflict in which the people in the narrative are caught up between these differences that are based on culture. The beginning scene in the narrative plays a fundamental role in portraying the creative response presented in this paper. This is depicted through Bethia who stays awake listening to her father who a preacher is arguing with her brother about a boy that they wanted to bring to the family. Bethias brother Makepeace argues that the boy has a little difference with a pagan and therefore should not be allowed into the family (Nehls Lourdes, 2012 p.13). His father, however, has a different opinion and thinks that the boy could be taught about Christianity and transform to become a Christian. This argument scene shows the strong Christian values that the Puritans had at the time. The contrast of religious practices is depicted in the scene whereby the two parties decide whether the boy should be brought into the family based on his Christian faith. The author, in this case, does not focus on the other many differences that the boy would have, but only chooses to show emphasis on the issu e of religion (Brooks, 2012 p. 38). Notably, religion was one of the primary factors that brought differences between the Puritans and the natives. The Puritans had a strong belief in Christianity and discouraged interaction with the natives to avoid erosion of both their cultural and religious values. The book also expounds on the tension that existed between the whites and the natives at that moment. Notably, this tension originated from the difference in practices and religious beliefs. This tension also existed in Bethia’s family after Caleb the boy originating from the natives was brought in the family. The family believed that the boy was quite different from them and would take them time before they convert him to Christianity (Bound, 2012 p. 136). Caleb and his friend give in to the pressure and are determined to learn Christianity and convert to the Christian religion thus suppressing their native identities though it resurfaces occasionally. The two friends do this in order to fit in the whites society as the society would not treat them well if they realized that they were natives. Bethias family faces numerous losses which make the life for her Makepeace, Caleb, and Joel quite hard. Caleb and Joel to change their identities and personality though their native culture still resurfaces. The whites at that time were determined to convert the natives to Christianity, and any natives who refused to convert were perceived as hostile (Mulrine, 2008 p.41). Living in the society of whites as a native was not easy especially for a person who could not suppress their native character traits. Bethia gets involved with a son of the headmaster and at the same time, another girl named Anne comes to study. The girl is impregnated by a white man of considerable economic and social class. When she suffers a miscarriage, Bethia is quick to handle the situation and prevent the news from spreading to the rest of the society (Brooks, 2012 p. 79). The girls did not want the story to spread due to the tension that existed between the two groups involved and if the society knew that t he girl had been impregnated by a white man that would have fueled enmity and conflict. Caleb and Joel were studying about Christianity and the white culture in schools that were entirely run by the white people. Bethia believed that the studies transcended racially-defined judgments and negative attitudes imposed upon the two friends by their teachers and their fellow students, raising them to the top of the class. The issue of violence and conflict emerges again as Caleb and Joel are about to graduate (Oladipo, 2003 p.325). Some natives come forward and murder Joel as a way to show resentment of white invasion on their territory as well as the religious influence that they had caused in their society. The natives were not happy with the spread of white ideologies as they believed it eroded their cultural and religious practices. The difference in culture and religion sparks a heated conflict between the natives and the white. The novel presents the theme of culture and religion through a contrast of the practices of the Wampanoag native society and the white society. The Wampanoag is present as a natural, organic, relaxed and harmonious society which has much respect for their neighbors. However, the author presents the whites negatively by portraying them as demanding, influential, invasive and restricting (Brooks, 2012 p. 113). This is rooted from their intentions to influence their culture and Christianity to the natives. This sometimes was done through forceful ways that led to the development of hate and resentment between the two societies. The theme of cultural and religious contrast appears subtly throughout the novel and is evidently the main cause of tension and conflict between the two societies represented. Christianity is presented as a good religion which views the natives with a lot of positivity which is shown by various characters in the novel. For instance, John Mayfield and his ministry are heartfelt and genuine everything, and that earns him trust from the immediate society. However, the colonialists who also happen to hold Christian faith are harsh and view the natives with a lot of negativity. Marthas Vineyard was settled by Bethias grandfather as an attempt to escape the harsh, nearly despotic rule of the colonial mainland, where people had been tortured in the past with some having their ears and nose chopped off. A native woman who was pregnant was cast off to the wilderness with her children by the white colonizers which worsened their relationships with the natives (Brooks, 2012 p. 8). As these punishments were meted out by the colonial Governor to his Christian brothers, a dark picture of the organized faith of the time emerges. Though not negative throughout, the church of the time has an edge to it that may be disturbing to modern readers. This shows how the disparity in religious faith between the natives and the whites was a primary cause of conflict. This would remain a considerable source of tension between the two communities, helping to spark the native uprising that takes place toward the end of the novel. An Englishmen describes the complaints of a band of marauders in much the same terms which show their opinion regarding the natives. Some are heard referring to them as wicked trouble makers when they complained about their hunting and grazing land that had been taken by the whites (Brooks, 2012 p. 280). The whites had coerced the natives to sign an agreement that gave them possession of their land. The natives claimed that did not understand the terms of the agreement and therefore the whites used that to trick them into depriving them their land and property. The differences in ideologies between these two societies kept on recurring and at times resulted in violence. The Native Americans involved the claim that they did not understand the agreement. This clash over Generally, the cultural and religious values of the European settlers and the Puritans were very different though they all were believed to be Christians. The natives on the other side based their religion on their culture which focused on traditional approaches to worship. Access to resources was also granted based on the ethnic background of a person as well as their religion. Caleb was a native boy who had no chance to access education (Deidre, 2007). However, after he was taken in by the Puritan family, he could now attend school and focus on learning Christianity as well as other cultures of the Puritan society. Bethia Mayfield who is the daughter of Mayfield a local minister of Christianity manages to interact with people from both sided of the ethnic divide. Being a Puritan, she is expected to set a good example for the rest of the Puritan girls. She manages to strike a perfect balance between the love she has for her culture and friendship with people from different of ethnic backgrounds (Caleb’s crossing, 2011 p.47). This enables her to get along with different people who increase her understanding of cultural diversity. Despite being a Puritan, the young girl has a growing curiosity and interest in the cultural practices of the Wampanoag tribe that populates the island. The young girl meets Caleb a young Puritan boy, and from their friendship, she is able to note the numerous cultural and religious differences that the Puritan had from the natives. Bethia’s exposure to the culture and the religion of the natives gets her torn between her Puritan Faith. Though she seems to be committed to Christianity; she is still affected by the influence of her native friends.   The major differences occurring between the culture of Bethia and her friends keep on bringing differences. For instance, Bethia thinks that Caleb and Joel are taught a lot of negative stuff in their Christianity classes. When she meets Caleb, Bethia escapes from the stern and pious community in which women were not empowered and were expected to remain silent and submissive. Bethia is denied education simply because the culture of the community that denies women from venturing in such issues (Brooks, 2012 p. 224). The differences with Caleb, however, inspires her and he struggles to understand her dogged sense of duty and deference. Even as he chooses to adopt her religion, he encourages her to rebel and questions the obedience at the root of her faith. This again depicts the resistance and rebellion that characterizes the relationship between the natives and the Puritans. The relationship between Bethia and Caleb at first causes a lot of tension in her family where they are not sure whether it would be right to bring the native boy into the family. That shows the level of suspicion and mistrust that the two societies had. The colonial whites on the other side claimed to spread Christianity but engaged in methods that promoted tension and conflict within the society. Caleb rises to defy the odds of their culture and becomes the first native boy to graduate while Bethia becomes a house help as the culture of the Puritans did not allow girls to venture into education. Berthia is not pleased with what her society expects from her as she too wanted to get educated and experience the interaction with people from different cultures. The book describes the values held by the American society at that time through the use of two main characters which are a young boy and a girl. These two start off as friends and end up becoming lovers. However, their relationship encounters numerous challenges with the greatest one being separation from each other. The young Puritan girl is portrayed to be deeply in love with a native boy, and they start a long term relationship which they vow to protect no matter what happens. The creative response that disparity in religious practices and cultural practices between the Puritans and the natives were the main cause of tension and disagreement in the society at that time is evident in many scenes throughout the narrative.