Insider Dealings and The Problems of Business Ethics in the Banking Industry in Nigeria

Professionalism in banking is violated when ethical or legal fundamentals are breached or blatantly disregarded. Ethics is a strong code of morality, which for an occupation such as banking, plays an important role in the well being of individuals, businesses, national and international economies. Unethical conduct manifests itself in various ways, including insider abuse, fraudulent dealings; irregularity/inaccuracy in rendition of reports, these are problems bordering on business ethics as evident in the Nigerian banking crisis. A multiple regression analysis was used and from the summary of the finding, we can infer that the consequences of insider dealing and problem of business ethics can be disastrous and could result in loss of confidence and trust in the industry, loss of business for the institutions, shareholders, board/management disputes, operational losses, distress of the sector, and liquidation of institutions, capital flight, and stagnation of the economy

Trade Openness, Institutions and Economic Growth in sub- Saharan Africa (SSA)

A major discourse in literature is that one of the causes of the limited growth effects of trade liberalization is the weakness of institutions. The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of trade openness and institutions on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Institutions are crafted by man to create a peaceful habitation and reduce uncertainty in the exchange of values; and they play key roles in the management of economies in recent years. The study is significant considering the fact that trade and institutions have been found to exert some measure of influence on the growth of countries. However, evidence has shown that not much has been done in relating institutions to trade in SSA. The study employed econometric analyses involving the Panel Unit Root, Least Square Dummy Variables (LSDV) and the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) techniques for the period 1985-2012 on thirty selected SSA countries. Secondary data were used for the estimations. The major findings of the study revealed that institutions had a significant positive impact on economic growth but trade openness only had a little significance on growth in the selected SSA countries. Therefore, the study recommended that the SSA countries should ensure that funds be channeled appropriately to projects of economic importance so as to further develop their institutions to have meaningful impact on economic growth. These SSA countries should also create conducive economic and political environments that will engender free international trade between them and other countries of the world

An Analysis of the Effect of Oil Price Shock and Exchange Rate Instability on Economic Growth in Nigeria

This paper seeks to assess the impact of oil price shock and real exchange rate instability on real economic growth in Nigeria on the basis of quarterly data from 1986 to 2012. Time series data was used to examine the nature of causality among the variables. The Johansen VAR-based cointegration technique is applied to examine the sensitivity of real economic growth to changes in oil prices and real exchange rate volatility in the long-run while the short run dynamics was checked using a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). Results from ADF and PP tests show evidence of unit root in the data and Granger pairwise causality test revealed unidirectional causality from oil prices to real Gross Domestic Product (GOP). The findings of the study shows that oil price shock and appreciation in the level of exchange rate exert positive impact on real economic growth in Nigeria. It recommends greater diversification of the economy through investment in key productive sectors of the economy to guard against the vicissitude of oil price shock and exchange rate volatility

Africa 's Economic Growth in a Globalized World: Restructuring Nigeria 's Trade and Industrial Policy for Nigerian Growth

Globalization has both cost and benefits, but experience have shown that the costs of globalization for Nigeria seem to have outweighed its benefits. Therefore, this study sets out to assess the impact of a globalised world as regards Nigeria's trade and industrial policy on the country 's level of economic growth. The study utilized secondary data from the annual reports and accounts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from 1970-2012. The data obtained were analyzed using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and the Error Correction Mechanism. The findings of the study show that "free-trade " which came as a result of globalization has not had a positive impact on the Nigerian economy and hence concludes that globalization has done more harm than good to Nigeria. Thus, the study recommends that Nigeria should put in place an industrial policy which should create enabling business environment within the country by providing incentives to manufacturers, ensuring regular and uninterrupted power supply as well as promoting agriculture

The Agricultural Sector and Economic Development: The Nigerian Experience

Agriculture constitutes the predominant activity in most of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria, the percentage of persons engaged in the agricultural sector ranges between 24.4 and 85.1 per cent across zones in Nigeria. With respect to states, the activity ranges between 2.4 and 91.7 per cent, majority of states having over 50 percent. Food is one of the basic necessities of life hence the need to encourage agriculture. It is in this vein that, this study examines the role of the Agricultural sector in Economic Development. The empirical data used in this study was from 1970 to 2008, the Johansen Co-integration technique of regression was used to analyze the data. The results show that, there is no significant impact of the agricultural sector on economic development in Nigeria. The study recommends that research and technology would drive agricultural development and increase agricultural productivity and that the Govenm1ent should establish agricultural fund to finance and facilitate medium/large scale agricultural production, to enhance employment, production for local consumption and for export. Therefore, the study concludes that any policy thrust that addresses poverty would inevitably focus on agriculture, by increasing rural opportunities that could generate agricultural induced development. Hence, the development of agriculture is a sine qua non for the alleviation of poverty and achievement of sustainable development

Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Development: Evidence from Selected African Countries

Africa unlike other developing regions of the world has experienced declining flows of foreign direct investment (FDI), despite the apparently high investment returns rates. As FDI flows, it is expected that existing gaps of productive factors are gradually closed and dependence on foreign capital is reduced. These increases in domestic savings, investment, skills and technology bring about economic development. The study examined the declining flow of FDI to the African regions as well as the impact that it has in relation to the domestic sector investment and economic development of the region. It also analysed the impact of FDI flows on economic development of countries with both lower income per capita and low inflow of foreign funds. In addition, it examined the impact of rate of return of investment in relation to the flow of FDI and the impact of FDI in relation to closing investment and foreign exchange gaps. The study made use of pooled data from thirty nine African countries within the period 1993 and 2012.The method of analysis utilized for the study was the fixed effect least-square dummy variable model, employed to estimate the impact of foreign direct investment on economic development for the host African countries, and the lowess smoother non-parametric analysis to estimate the impact of FDI in relation to closing gaps of investment and foreign exchange. The study finds that foreign direct investment is statistically significant in relation to economic development for host African countries. It also finds that FDI is significant in relation to economic development in African sub-regions that accessed lower flow of foreign funds. This lower flow was the probable reason for lesser dependence on foreign capital which resulted in conscious development of the domestic sector investment, thereby resulting into increased economic activities and therefore economic development. It was again determined from the analysis that the apparently high rate of return on investment has no positive effect on FDI inflow and the inflow of FDI has not closed the investment and foreign exchange gaps of the host African countries. Also from the study, it is deduced that FDI is significant on economic development for African countries with lower income per capita. The study recommends that the government of host countries should consider closely the sectors that FDI flows into, encourage domestic investment in such sectors, and reduce dependence on FDI flows as income increases. Also concerted effort is to be made to gradually close the gaps of productive factors by increasing domestic investment, increasing investment into research and development to improve skill with technology, encourage exports, reduce imports and encourage a sustainable environment

Digitalization in the Agribusiness Value Chain and Payment Systems: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

The African agribusiness sector and those of other developing regions of the world are characterized by disorderly patterns in the value chain system. The agriculture market in Africa has enormous potential with an anticipated size of $1 trillion by 2030. However, the average African farm performs at only 40% of its potential. Also, consistent increase in population size and a consistent growth rate of above 2.5% in the region create dire concern for food availability. This study examines the extent to which digitalization affects agribusiness value chain and the payment system in the sub-Saharan African region. The descriptive and pooled ordinary least square regression analysis was employed to determine the statistical significance of digitalization on the payment system and agricultural productivity in the region over the period 2000 to 2019. The results revealed that digitalization has a significant impact on agricultural productivity for the region. The study recommends a wholesome utilization of blockchain technology to ensure better farmland usage, improved access for all stakeholders in the value chain framework, enhanced productivity, food security, and reduced extreme hunger and poverty. This will ensure that Africa will become empowered to feed itself and use its competitive advantage of good weather, arable land, labor, and water to compete globally

Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Development in Low Income African Countries

Low income economies are characterized with high investment returns and therefore should attract foreign investment to primarily fill the existing gaps of productive factors which vividly reveals the basis for their underdeveloped status. The main objective of the study is to ascertain the impact of flow of FDI on the economic development of the host African countries characterized with low income per capita. Panel data were utilized for 39 African countries, 20 of which were low income countries. The results indicates that FDI had significant impact on the economic development of the host African countries, by enhancing the development of the host sector and reducing gradually dependence on foreign capital, which resulted in increased income per capita, better education, living standards and the wellbeing of the host economies. The study concludes by recommending that government of the host economies should guide the sector of FDI inflow, and ensure that policies are in place to enhance domestic investment development in such sectors. This will gradually bring about the closure of existing proactive factors and hence economic development

Regulation and the (Ir)Relevance of Other Financial Institutions in Banking System Growth

The banking system growth through capitalisations in Nigeria produced some after-effects, both salutary and otherwise on the other financial institutions. The major objective of this paper was to find out the impact of the growth of the banking system on the OFIs. It used primary and secondary data to assess the impact of the growth and regulation on the OFIs. The paper adapted the Regulatory Pressure Index to assess the perception of regulation and supervision of the OFIs with granger causality and regressions and the main techniques of estimation. The results indicate that the bank growth had positively impacted the Primary Mortgage Institutions and the Microfinance banks while it has a negative near-significant effect on the Finance Houses. The results of the nine RPI objectives indicate that operators agree that there is inadequate supervision in the areas of capital adequacy, liquidity and products offerings of the OFIs. The paper concludes by recommending the change in the mode of supervision and the strengthening the Other Financial Institutions Department of the monetary authority or establishment of a new one to oversee and adequately regulate the activities of the OFIs