Globalization and the Nigerian Financial Sector: a Quagmire or a Thoroughfare?

This paper examined the relationship between globalization and the performance of the Nigerian financial sector. Assets of the Nigerian financial sector were used as performance indicators of the Nigerian financial sector. The data used are Nigerian yearly data from 1985 to 2011. The data were analyzed using OLS statistical technique, Johansen’s co-integration and error correction mechanism. We used Augmented Dickey-Fuller statistics to test for stationarity. Globalization variables are: degree of openness, foreign direct investment, portfolio investment flows, external debt flows, nominal exchange rate and gross capital formation. The results showed that the Nigerian financial sector had a positive relationship with globalization but this was statistically not significant. It is therefore recommended that for the Nigerian financial sector to optimally benefit from globalization, the recent bank re-capitalization and debt recovery exercise and monitoring of macroeconomic stability should be encouraged to gain confidence by investors in the financial sector.  Keywords: Co-integration, Financial Sector, Globalization, Nigeria, and unit root

Multidimensional Energy Poverty in the South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria

This paper analyzed multidimensional energy poverty in the south-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria using theNational Bureau of Statistic 2009-10 National Living Standard Survey (NLSS) data. Whereas results at the zonallevel showed 83.2% of inhabitants are energy poor and are deprived of 90.3% of the weighted indicators statelevel results showed that 92.1%, 96.7%, 91.9%, 76.8% 60.1% and 83.1% of inhabitants in Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa,Cross-rivers, Delta, Edo and Rivers States were energy poor and are deprived of 95%, 85.1%, 95.3%, 88.2%,86.8% and 90.2% of the weighted indicators respectively, thus energy poverty in the zone is both acute andpervasive. Energy poverty in the zone also has rural-urban, educational attainment and occupational dimensions.The study therefore recommended that energy poverty reduction efforts should include education/enlightenmentprogrammes at the work place, schools, rural areas, and in all the states of the zone, and should be all inclusive.Keywords- Headcount, Intensity, Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index, and Relative-risk rati

Determinants of Households' Income Poverty in the South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria

This paper analyzed income poverty in the south-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria using the FGT model and a logit regression on the 2009-10 National Living Standard Survey data. Zonal level results showed 0.4924, 0.203 and 0.113 poverty incidence, gap and severity respectively. Poverty incidence in Delta and Edo States were fairly higher than the zonal average while those of the other states were marginally less than the zonal average.  While rural share of poverty was 82%, urban share was a meager 18%. Contrary to a widely held view this study showed that male contributed more (91.56%) to poverty than female (8.44%) in the zone. The agricultural sector had a share of 74.75%. This study recommended that poverty reduction efforts should aim at providing rural households equal opportunity to achieve their potentials not minding the state of residence