Foreign aid, human capital and economic growth nexus: Evidence from Nigeria

This study investigates the link between aid and human capital in promoting economic growth of Nigeria. The study used two models; the first model was used to test the validity of the medicine model in Nigeria; while the extended model was used to investigate the effect of aid and human capital shocks on growth using Engle-Granger and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) estimation techniques respectively. The findings from the first model suggest that persistent increase in foreign aid flows beyond a particular point (the optimal point) may adversely affect growth thus confirming the proposition of the Medicine Model. Evidence from the study’s extended model indicates that growth in Nigeria is sensitive to human capital shock via education while the response from aid shock is trivial in the long run. The mechanism through which aid impacts economies is influenced by many heterogeneous factors, notably; the role played by the recipient governments is often not considered. Our implication from the obtained results is that government expenditures on education with additional inflows of aid can promote economic growth in Nigeria. However, there is also an indication that attainment of economic growth might be challenging for this aid-dependent country

Trade openness channels and labour market performance: evidence from Nigeria

The implications of trade on developing economies have generated substantial debates with most studies focussed on “openness in the policy”. Hence, the purpose of this study is to focus on “openness in practice”. Design/methodology/approach This study uses two models and employed the vector error correction model and structural vector autoregression, first, to examine the sectoral effects; second, to investigate the efficacy of neoclassical and new trade theories; and third, to analyse the effect of trade openness shock on Nigerian labour market performance. Findings The results of the first model showed that trade openness has an adverse effect on employment and wages in both the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. Likewise, the study concludes that the new trade theory explains trade's behaviour on employment and wages in Nigeria. The second model showed that the effect of error shock from trade openness affected wages more than employment. Research limitations/implications The study ignores the distributional effects due to unavailability of data. Practical implications The study suggested, amongst others, the need for policies mix on the labour market via a coherent set of initiatives in other to increase the competitiveness of Nigeria in the international market. Originality/value Most studies focussed on openness in policy through the channels identified in the literature. However, this study investigates these channels in “openness in practice” and investigates trade theories' efficacy on manufacturing and agricultural sectors in Nigeria, which has been neglected in the literature

The determinants of undergraduate accounting students’ early participation in professional examinations

The quest for undergraduate Accounting students to obtain a professional certification early is being propagandised to boost chances upon graduation in securing well-paying job and enhancing a career path in Accounting. The study provides evidence on the idiosyncratic differences among students who are undergoing a professional programme while acquiring a first degree and students who only focused on the first degree. The study participants include 107 registered second-year Accounting students studying in Nigeria. Measures of personal characteristics, parental characteristics academic characteristic, prior academic performance, activities in leisure time, reading habits and current academic performance were used to ascertain the differences. The Independent Sample T-test and Binary logistics regression were used to analyse the data obtained from the survey, also copies of questionnaires were administered to the respondents. Our findings indicate that mother’s field of qualification in the sciences, Grade point Average (GPA) before professional examinations and Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) have a positive and significant influence on participation in the professional certification programme. We conclude that students’ current academic achievements instil confidence to undergo more academic rigour

MPLICATIONS OF HUMAN CAPITAL FORMATION ON OUTPUT AND EMPLOYMENT: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA

Many studies have documented that human capital formation is important to boost output both empirically and theoretically. However, studies on the implications of human capital on employment are still scanty, especially for developing countries. Against this background, the study investigates the shock and long-run implications of government financing on education and health on output and employment in Nigeria using a vector error correction model (VECM). The results show that the forecasting error shocks from government expenditure on health and education affect output more than employment along the 10-horizon period. Evidence from the long-run output model showed that government expenditure on education and human capital index is statistically significant, while government expenditure on health is not statistically significant. Government expenditure on education and the human capital index has a positive relationship with output. For the long-run employment model, government expenditure on health and education is statistically significant; while investment in human capital is not significant with employment. Government expenditure on education has a negative relationship with employment, while a positive relationship exists between government expenditure on health and employment. The result implies that human capital indicators in terms of quantity and quality do not contribute positively and significantly to employment growth in Nigeria. The study recommends the need to encourage self-reliance through entrepreneurship training to bolster employment opportunities in the long run

HUMAN CAPITAL CHANNELS AND PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA

ABSTRACT. Numerous studies have examined the relationship between human capital and productivity. However, the implications of human capital channels - the ‘basic channel’ and ‘advanced channel’ - were discounted from most of the empirical studies in Africa. This study, therefore, uses Vector Error Correction Model to examine the joint short- and long-run causality, as well as long-run behaviour of human capital channels on productivity within the period from 1980 to 2017. Evidence from the joint short- and long-run causality shows that there is no long-run one while joint short-run causality was observed in the basic channel, in the advanced channel there is both joint short- and long-run causality. For the long-run equation, primary school enrollment/secondary school enrollments have insignificant effect on productivity growth while tertiary institution enrollment and government expenditure on education have a positive effect on productivity growth. However, contribution of both effects is less than one per cent, thus showing low responsiveness of the inputs on productivity. The implications from this result are that human capital formation through education and investment in research and development have not promoted productivity in Nigeria. Investment in research and development is imperative to promote productivity and enhance the skills needed to adapt and diffuse new technologies

The credit channels of monetary policy transmission: implications on output and employment in Nigeria

There has been an increasing trend in the unemployment rate despite the growth rate witnessed. Monetary policy is presumed as one of the ways to improve the situation. Likewise, the relationship between monetary policy and employment has generated controversial debates in the literature. Though its connection has been extensively studied, however, the implications of monetary policy in respect to time frame perspectives on employment and output have not been widely addressed in the literature. This study provides evidence on shock effects, long and short-run impacts of monetary policy transmission through the credit channels on output and employment in Nigeria within the period of 1981 to 2016 using the Structural Vector Autoregression and Autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL). Evidence from the forecast error shock showed that variations in monetary policy indicators affect output more than employment in the first two periods; however, it affects employment more afterwards. The ARDL results show no evidence of co-integration when output is used as the dependent variable; conversely, cointegration exists when employment is used as the dependent variable. The monetary policy indicators: money supply, bank deposit liability and interest rate are statistically and economically significant with employment in the long run. In the short run, money supply and interest rate are economically and statistically significant. The findings revealed that the Nigerian government can maximize the long-run benefits of monetary policy through the credit channels on employment. Hence, there is a need for policymakers to look beyond short-run gain and promote long-run employment via monetary policy among others

Financial stability and entrepreneurship development in sub-Sahara Africa: Implications for sustainable development goals

This study examined the relationship between financial stability and entrepreneurship development in Sub-Sahara Africa, thereby scaling up the achievement of SDGs 1, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 12. The study made use of pooled data from 24 sub-Sahara Africa countries covering the period from 2004 to 2017. The method of analysis utilised is the pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and random effects techniques. The findings revealed that financial stability (which measures the financial strength of the banks, real economic stability and the level of financial market development in the region) have a significant positive effect on entrepreneurship development at one per cent (1 per cent) significance level in the study period. The findings of the study suggest that stability in the financial environment facilitates the provision of credit facilities for entrepreneurship and promotion of new business start-up in the study area. The result also shows that East African countries make a significant positive contribution to entrepreneurship development in terms of responsiveness to changes in financial stability, governance, strong institutions, economic development and human capital development than other regions in the continen

Petroleum subsidy withdrawal, fuel price hikes and the Nigerian Economy

The study investigated petroleum subsidy withdrawal, fuel price hikes and the Nigerian Economy. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which the removals of petroleum subsidies stimulate hikes in fuel prices and increases in the prices of products of other sectors in the Nigerian economy. It employed input-output model to determine the value added per sector from the computed table of flow of goods. Subsequently, the impacts of reductions in petroleum subsidies (10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%) on the prices of products from the other sectors were computed. Results showed that reduction in petroleum subsidies stimulate increases in prices of petroleum products and such increases trigger increases in transport fares; increases in transport fares subsequently lead to increases in prices of other products owing to the degree of interdependency among the various sectors. The need for policy makers to be mindful of the economic implications of subsidy removal was suggested, among other

Monetary Policy Channels and Agricultural Performance: Evidence from Nigeria

The implications of monetary policy on agricultural performance have not been given adequate attention in literature to date, especially in connection with employment and export in the agricultural sector. Determining the right channels of monetary policy can help to achieve sustainable growth in developing economies. This study examines the impact of monetary policy channels on agricultural performance in Nigeria using structural vector autoregression (SVAR) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS). The study uses output employment and export as metrics for agricultural performance, and the channels of monetary policy considered are credit, interest rate, money and exchange rate. The SVAR variance decomposition findings show that the forecast error shocks of monetary policy channels affect agricultural performance. Likewise, the long-run equations from the DOLS show that output has a positive relationship with money supply, a negative relationship between employment and interest rate, and a negative relationship between exchange rate and export. Based on the findings, the study suggests that the Nigerian government should look beyond the primary objective of stabilizing the economy via money supply and interest rate and consider the secondary benefits of bolstering output and employment in the agricultural sector