Coporate governance of banks in nigeria: an examination of the roles of boards of directors

In the corporate governance of banks, bank boards of directors play a significant role by monitoring and advising management in the formulation and implementation of strategies. Our hypothesis is that certain characteristics of bank boards (size, composition and proactiveness) determine the effectiveness of the boards in carrying out its monitoring and advisory roles. After controlling for heterogeneity and endogeneity using the two-step system estimator, we find that admitting new members into the board improves bank performance up to a certain point ‘efficient limit' where continuous increase of the board size begins to destroy value. We observed an inverse relationship between board meetings and bank performance which suggest to us that bank boards that meet more often are only reacting to bank's poor performance. This challenges the widespread belief that frequent board meetings play a role that is more proactive than reactive. We agree that bank boards strategically alleviate the problems of governance in banks and reduce the weakness of other corporate governance mechanisms, especially regulatory and external governance mechanisms. Hence, empowering boards through incentive packages and enlarged responsibilities with authority to monitor, sanction, reprimand and advise management will be the way forward for the Nigerian banking sector.Corporate governance, Board of directors, Banks in Nigeria, System estimator

Oil price distortions and their short- and long-run impacts on the Nigerian economy

Given its economic structure, high energy intensity and simultaneity as an oil importing and exporting economy, Nigeria stands out as a special case to study the oil-price-macroeconomy relation. This paper studies the linear and asymmetric impacts of oil price shocks on the Nigerian economy between1970Q1and 2008Q4. Using the vector error correction mechanism and the Granger causality test, we investigate the long-run and short-run impacts of oil price shocks on the supply-side of the economy, wealth transfer effect, inflation effect and real balance effect. Overall, the results from the linear model show that oil price shocks are not a major determinant of macroeconomic activity in Nigeria, and macroeconomic activities in Nigeria do not Granger cause world oil prices. Further, the results from our non-linear specification reveals that the impact of world oil price shocks on the Nigerian economy are asymmetric. Hence, the common practise of national development planning premised on forecasts of international oil prices should be de-emphasized in Nigeria.Oil price shocks; linear and asymmetric effects; transmission channels; Nigerian economy.

Natural Resources, Human Capital and Economic Development in Nigeria: Tracing the Linkages

The proposition that natural resource abundance tends to slow down economic growth through its deleterious impact on human capital accumulation is studied in the Nigerian context. Three main channels of transmission from natural resource abundance to stunted economic growth are discussed. They include: (a) the voracity effect, (b) the Dutch disease and (c) the neglect or crowding out effect. Estimating a system of seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR), we find evidence that natural resource abundance through its adverse effects on institutional quality, crowds-out human capital and affects economic growth negatively. The policy implication of our result makes the case for increased funding and participation in education, since more and better education tends to shift comparative advantage away from natural resource production towards manufacturing and services provision which accelerates learning by doing and guarantees economic development that is sustainable

Incorporating Environmental Externalities in Total Factor Productivity Analysis: The Case of Soil Erosion in Nigerian Agriculture

In this study, we argue that conventional methods of measuring agricultural productivity which only uses information about marketed inputs and outputs does not give a true representation of how sustainable the activities of the sector are. Motivated by the Solow-type growth accounting framework, we use the Tornqvist index formula to construct input, output and TFP indices for Nigerian agriculture between 1980 and 2010. We account for environmental externalities by incorporating off-farm damage costs of soil erosion based on different assumptions about possible scenarios of the extent and trajectory of damage costs. The results show that when externalities are not accounted for, productivity in the Nigerian agricultural sector is overestimated. This conclusion is robust to the different assumptions about damage cost scenarios made. The implication is that reducing off-farm erosion damages through improved soil conservation practices will significantly improve productivity and sustainability in the Nigerian agriculture sector

Incorporating Environmental Externalities in Total Factor Productivity Analysis: The Case of Soil Erosion in Nigerian Agriculture

In this study, we argue that conventional methods of measuring agricultural productivity which only uses information about marketed inputs and outputs does not give a true representation of how sustainable the activities of the sector are. Motivated by the Solow-type growth accounting framework, we use the Tornqvist index formula to construct input, output and TFP indices for Nigerian agriculture between 1980 and 2010. We account for environmental externalities by incorporating off-farm damage costs of soil erosion based on different assumptions about possible scenarios of the extent and trajectory of damage costs. The results show that when externalities are not accounted for, productivity in the Nigerian agricultural sector is overestimated. This conclusion is robust to the different assumptions about damage cost scenarios made. The implication is that reducing off-farm erosion damages through improved soil conservation practices will significantly improve productivity and sustainability in the Nigerian agriculture sector

Economic development and environmental quality in Nigeria: is there an environmental Kuznets curve?

This study utilizes standard- and nested-EKC models to investigate the income-environment relation for Nigeria, between 1960 and 2008. The results from the standard-EKC model provides weak evidence of an inverted-U shaped relationship with turning point (T.P) around $280.84, while the nested model presents strong evidence of an N-shaped relationship between income and emissions in Nigeria, with a T.P around$237.23. Tests for structural breaks caused by the 1973 oil price shocks and 1986 Structural Adjustment are not rejected, implying that these factors have not significantly affected the income-environment relationship in Nigeria. Further, results from the rolling interdecadal analysis shows that the observed relationship is stable and insensitive to the sample interval chosen. Overall, our findings imply that economic development is compatible with environmental improvements in Nigeria. However, tighter and concentrated environmental policy regimes will be required to ensure that the relationship is maintained around the first two-strands of the N-shapeEnvironmental Kuznets curve; development; CO2 emissions; nested-EKC model; Nigeria

The proposed eco: should West Africa proceed with a common currency?

This paper investigates the rationality of proceeding with a common currency in West Africa by testing for symmetry and speed of adjustment to four underlying structural shocks among a pair of 66 ECOWAS economies. The findings reveal that there is relatively high degree of symmetry in the responses of the economies to external disturbances, while about 85 percent of the correlations in supply, demand and monetary shocks among the countries are asymmetric. The size of the shocks and speed of adjustment among countries are also dissimilar, suggesting that ECOWAS should not yet proceed with the eco, since the costs will outweigh the benefits

Structural and institutional determinants of investment activity in Africa

This paper considers the structural and institutional determinants of investment activity in selected African countries within a neoclassical framework. Generalized method of moments and a family of panel data estimation techniques are utilized in addition to nonparametric kernel regression techniques to uncover the relationship. Three main findings emerge; (i) financial openness and institutional quality are reasonably robust structural and institutional determinants of investment activity in Africa respectively, (ii) there is evidence of nonlinearity in the relationship and there exist a threshold level of financial openness that achieves the highest level of investment, (iii) using interaction terms, the inhibiting effect of financial openness is potentially less in countries with higher levels of institutional quality, (iv) promoting institutional quality is an effective policy towards facilitating investment activity in Africa

The Viability of Energy Transition Companies

Various phases of economic development have been characterized by traditional energy transition from one predominant energy source to another. However, S&P Global, (2020) refers to Energy Transition as a global energy sector shifting from a fossil fuel-based system of energy production and consumption, including crude oil and natural gas, coal to renewable energy sources like wind, solar, as well as lithium-ion batteries. The production and consumption of fossil fuel energies contribute disproportionately to global GHG emissions, with undesirable effects on a widespread, rapid, and intensifying climate change. To achieve a low carbon economy, society needs to deliberately reduce the use of fossil fuels. This has translated to energy supply uncertainties, posing substantial investment risk for energy suppliers and investors. On the other hand, these challenges have also created opportunities to produce and consume energy in a sustainable manner. This paper reviewed various reasoning on financial viability of energy transition companies, attributes, and its theoretical basis, with supported practice of Orsted Energy’s enterprises to put forward several directions for further study. In this regard, the viability of transition from oil and gas companies to renewable energy companies by Orsted Energy, was analysed. Financial statements collected from Orsted Energy Company’s website from the period 2013 to 2020.  From the data, Orsted Energy's financial performance highlighting its profitability, revenue, and leverage metrics were critically reviewed to appreciate the financial viability of Orsted Energy. This shows that Orsted Energy displayed strong financial viability since its flip energy transition strategy. Therefore, enablers for energy transition were deduced from the findings, whereby seek to inform policymakers, emerging and existing energy services providers for decision making to further achieve the Net-zero target in 2050. Keywords: Energy Transition, Financial Performance, Orsted Energy, Renewable Energy, and Conventional Energy. DOI: 10.7176/JETP/12-2-05 Publication date: July 30th 202

Oil price distortions and their short- and long-run impacts on the Nigerian economy

Given its economic structure, high energy intensity and simultaneity as an oil importing and exporting economy, Nigeria stands out as a special case to study the oil-price-macroeconomy relation. This paper studies the linear and asymmetric impacts of oil price shocks on the Nigerian economy between1970Q1and 2008Q4. Using the vector error correction mechanism and the Granger causality test, we investigate the long-run and short-run impacts of oil price shocks on the supply-side of the economy, wealth transfer effect, inflation effect and real balance effect. Overall, the results from the linear model show that oil price shocks are not a major determinant of macroeconomic activity in Nigeria, and macroeconomic activities in Nigeria do not Granger cause world oil prices. Further, the results from our non-linear specification reveals that the impact of world oil price shocks on the Nigerian economy are asymmetric. Hence, the common practise of national development planning premised on forecasts of international oil prices should be de-emphasized in Nigeria