Estimating the long run effects of exchange rate devaluation on the trade balance of Nigeria.

This paper attempts an empirical investigation of the impact of currency devaluation on Nigeria trade balance using the Johansen co-integration and variance decomposition analyses from 1970-2010; whether exchange rate devaluation improves or worsens trade balance has been at the centre of literature debate over time with varying empirical evidences for developed and developing nation. The empirical results indicate that there exist a long-run stationary relationship between trade balance and its determinant- domestic income, domestic and foreign money supply, domestic interest rate and nominal exchange rate; as employed in the study. Also, there exists an inelastic and significant relation between trade balance and its determinants. Our major findings include; exchange rate induce an inelastic and significant relation on trade balance in the long run, there exist no short run causality from exchange rate to trade balance and money supply volatility contributes more to variance in trade balance than exchange rate volatility. The paper concludes with important implications for policy makers because it provides evidence supporting that fact that level of money supply has a major impact on trade balance adjustment and that devaluation of the exchange rate worsens the trade balance of Nigeria in the long run

Large Scale Foreign Land Deals and Agricultural Trade in Africa

This study investigates the implications of foreign land deals in Africa especially with regard to agricultural trade. It is motivated essentially by large scale foreign land deals in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia. The empirical model adopted is based on institutional development theory and estimated using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). The study found that large scale foreign land deals (LSFLDs) impact negatively on agricultural export in selected countries and the indexes of institutional framework used were found to be significant. Likewise, agricultural land becomes highly significant with relatively larger magnitude when interacted with institutional indexes. This therefore implies that as more agricultural land is acquired, agricultural export tends to dwindle and incidences of food insecurity are heightened. The evidence from empirical investigation suggests the need for controlling the issue of massive foreign land deals through viable institutional framework, which can be engendered by building sound legal and procedural measures that will protect local rights and take into account the aspirations of local farmers and the welfare of citizenr

Paradoxical nocturnal agitation associated with mirtazapine therapy

This report describes an 85 year old woman presenting with a mixed delirium with risk factors of hyponatraemia, polypharmacy, and bilateral frontal lobe atrophy with small vessel cerebrovascular disease. Treatment for depression with oral citalopram had been revised to oral mirtazapine, with the aim of reducing the risks of recurrent hyponatraemia noted with the former. She developed an evolving adverse drug reaction (ADR) symptom profile of insomnia, and later severe paradoxical nocturnal agitation. These symptoms were subsequently noted to correlate with both the night-time dosing pattern, and the increased dosing regimen of the mirtazapine. The symptoms settled rapidly following withdrawal of the mirtazapine. The report briefly reviews the relevant literature, and two previously validated causality assessment systems are applied to the index case to support the pharmacovigilance process. This is aimed at promoting objectivity in assessing for the likelihood that the suspected medication (mirtazapine) was the cause for the noted adverse drug reaction

MISSING GAPS IN SAFETY EDUCATION AND PRACTICES: ACADEMIA PERSPECTIVES

In the developing countries, the syndrome of low level of safety practices are common phenomenon among construction firms when trying to achieve speedy delivery of construction projects. Various researchers have established factors causing accidents on project sites under unsafe conditions and behaviour of construction workers. This study examined construction safety education embedded in Architecture, Building Technology and Quantity Surveying curricula in some selected tertiary institutions in South-Western Nigeria. Secondary data were sourced from the National Universities Commission (NUC) and National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) curricula through desk review. The descriptive assessment underscored insufficient knowledge coverage because there is no particular course titled construction health and safety in the construction programs curricula. Also, the three top knowledge areas of the respondents on safety practice were: use of personal protective wears, injury and illness prevention and construction all risk and contractors all risk insurance. This study concluded that lack of depth knowledge on safety education is capable of limiting students’ ability to coordinate safety practices, develop Safety Policy when employed in construction industry and as well reduce their employability as Safety Manager. The study therefore recommends that both NUC and NBTE should engage Academic and Industry Partnerships (AIPS), Collaborative Curriculum Designing (CCD) in modifying existing curricula for Architecture, Building Technology and Quantity Surveying programs in Nigerian tertiary institutions that will facilitate better understanding both to planning and managing construction safety rather than applying corrective measures after the havoc has been fully perpetrated

Electricity Consumption and Economic Development in Nigeria

The study examines the relationship between electricity consumption and economic development using an extended neoclassical model for the period 1970-2013. The study incorporates the uniqueness of the Nigerian economy by controlling for the role of institutions, technology, emissions, and economic structure in the electricity consumption-development argument. The study adopted a cointegration analysis based on the Johansen and Juselius (1981) Maximum Likelihood approach and a vector error correction model. In order to ensure robustness, the study adopted the Wald Block Endogeneity causality test to ascertain the direction of causal relationship between electricity consumption and economic development. The study found an existence of long-run cointegration equation with electricity consumption inversely related to economic development. Likewise, the vector error correction model failed to reject the null hypothesis of non-convergence in the long-run. Finally, the study found evidence supporting unidirectional causal relationship running from economic development to electricity consumption. Keywords: Electricity Consumption, Economic Development, Cointegration, Causality JEL Classification: L94, O1, N1

Energy Access: Pathway to Attaining Sustainable Development in Africa

The study assesses the effect of energy use on social, economic and environmental sustainability in Africa. The energy sources considered in the study comprises four prominent sources in Africa, including: fossil fuel, solid fuel, electricity and natural gas consumption. The finding suggests that fossil fuel consumption and solid fuel constitute about 75 percent of energy use in the region and contributively worsen social and environmental conditions. The predominant consumption of these dirty energies has severely hampered child and adult survival and efficient delivery of services. Also, the time wasted in fetching biomass has constituted an impediment to learning capacities in children and women's mobility. In the same manner, frequent exposure to fumes from the dirty energy sources had resulted in severe indoor air pollution and rising incidence of pneumonia, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases in women and children. On the other hand, the empirical and conceptual analysis shows that access to clean and reliable energy sources (such as electricity) reduce time poverty, enhance gender empowerment and reduce environmental degradation. The study recommends structural policy reforms and transformation towards decentralizing energy provisions and adopting off-grid power solution to rural areas. Furthermore, African governments need to develop a sustainable energy financing mechanism through an affordable pricing template; this can be achieved by increasing local contents in energy provision and increasing the share of abundant domestic resource in energy mix. Keywords: Energy Access, Structural transformation, Sustainable Development, Africa JEL Classifications: Q43, K32, Q01 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.721

Performance of Glass and Steel Slag Mixtures as a Partial Replacement for Fine Aggregate in Asphalt Concrete

Solid waste management is a significant challenge  particularly in developing countries for example Nigeria. The waste disposal technique is inadequate as negative effects from improper solid waste dumping can be easily visible in the environment. Recycling and reuse of wasteas aggregate in asphalt production may be an economic way to reduce these problems. This research evaluates the viability of crushed waste glass combined with steel slag (GSS) as fine aggregate in asphalt wearing courses. The Marshall mix method was used in production and evaluation of samples. GSS mixtures in the ratio 70:30 (steel slag: glass) were substituted for fine aggregate at varying percentages of 0 to 50 %. This mix ratio was adopted so that the glass content does not exceed 10%.Five samples of GSS content   (10%, 20%, 30%, 40%and 50%) were prepared and their Marsha lstability,Voids in Mineral Aggregates, Voids filled with Bitumen and bulk density were evaluated and compared to nominal asphalt mix. While a 10% GSS replacement in modified asphalt resulted in a greater peak stability value of 16.21 kN compared to the standard mix peak stability value of 12.68kN. The 20% GSS replacement resulted in a lower flow value and a significantly higher Marshall quotient of 5.11KN/MM was recorded at 20% replacement, making it preferable. As a result, a 20% replacement is advised for heavily trafficked highways, whereas up to 30% replacement is permissible on lightly traveled roads. &nbsp

Post Consolidation Effects of Banking Sector Recapitalization on Nigeria Construction Industry (Lagos and Ogun State Case Study)

Abstract: Construction project involves huge capital flow (materials, machines, manpower, management, finance) from inception to completion and handover. Bank consolidation will enhance synergy; improve efficiency through cost reduction revenue in the long- run, reduction in the industry‟s risk by eliminating weak bank and acquiring of smaller ones by the bigger and stronger bankers as well as creating opportunities for greater diversification and financial intermediation. This paper aimed at assessing post consolidation effect of the banking sector recapitalization on construction industry and the major objectives of the study are: assessing the volume of credit facilities given to building contractors by commercial banks the trend in the interest rates charged by commercial banks on credit facilities allocated to building and civil engineering contractors and to evaluate whether building and civil engineering contractors now have better access to credit facilities. This research is purposive and 120 structured questionnaire were distributed to the construction professionals, developer, financial institution houses, and registered building and civil engineering contractors in some selected firm in Lagos State and Ogun state out of which 92 questionnaire were retrieved and analyzed. The result of the hypothesis showed that the level of construction activities financed by banks has not increased during post-consolidation. The paper found out the following as effects of banking sector recapitalization on construction industry which resulted into the inability of the contractors to meet up the outrageous demands for high value collateral to commemorate loan applied for, limited payback period on the loan applied for, because the longer the payback period; the higher the interest rate and finally high interest rate charged on the loan obtained by the contractors which are geometrically increased from 3-30 percentage. The research work thereby recommend Commercial banks need to pay more attention in financing medium and small size firm and their projects as they constitute larger percentage of the Nigeria construction industry, so as to increase their financial activities and expand their assets and recoupin

Levels and Trends in Household Source of Cooking Fuel in Nigeria: Implications on Under-Five Mortality

Background: Studies have shown that characteristics present in the neighbourhood where children are raised might likely influence the mortality risks of such children. Cooking fuel can be regarded as one of the environmental factors determined by the socioeconomic background of the household, but the nexus between this and the health outcome of under-five children had received little attention. Objective: This study seeks to examine the levels and trends of source of cooking fuels among households in Nigeria as implied on under-five mortality. Methods: The data used was the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS)-Child Recode file of 2003, 2008 and 2013. The method of analysis used was the descriptive approach which includes cross tabulation, charts and tables. The chi-square statistic was used to show the significance of the association between the variables of interest in the study. Results: The percentage of U-5 children who lived in homes where wood was used as cooking fuel was about 80 percent. The findings from this study show that there was a highly significant relationship between type of cooking fuel and under-five mortality in Nigeria (P<0.001). The poorest and the poorer represented the highest percentage among the households that used wood and agric. crop/dung for cooking. Environmental factor such as type of cooking fuel is significantly associated to socioeconomic characteristics of the household where the child lives, some of which includes wealth status and place of residence as discussed in the result. Recommendation and conclusion: The study found that, there has not been a major improvement in the source of cooking fuel in households where under-five children are raised and this contribute in determining their health outcomes. Therefore, the government of Nigeria needs to provide reliable power supply (electricity) for household consumption. Also, gas fuel must be made available and affordable for household consumption

Sustainable locally sourced materials for small-scale paint production

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other unsafe chemicals are used in producing chemical paints which releaseharmful gases within the interior spaces where they have been used, whereas, these hazardous elements or components can be removed and replaced with safer and local materials. The aim of this study is to produce a paint product using sustainable locally sourced materials in a small-scale production. Using an experimental approach, a milk-based and clay-based paint were prepared in the laboratory, while physical and chemical tests were carried out such as adhesion test, application test, opacity, drying test, viscosity test and pH test. Clay, Edible starch, Local pigment (Lamp black and local talc), Dry milk and Lime were used as constituent materials in the preparation of the paint products with water as the solvent. Some of the physical and chemical tests carried fell within reasonable PMAN standards for chemical paints. The study recommendsthat more environmental friendly and sustainable materials should be used to replace hazardous materials used in chemical paints for safe environmen