Output volatility in Nigeria : does financial development absorb trade-led shocks?

Purpose: This paper is aimed to define Artificial Intelligence (AI), its related technologies, and its current and future applications in banking sector. It also focusses on how AI and machine learning will be the backbone of banking in the future. It is an important area of study because within the financial services sphere, established institutions are struggling to compete as legacy systems have become outdated, inflexible with reduced efficiency. Design/Methodology/Approach: This is a review paper and explores various trends that could pave way for furtherenace of technological interventions through the use of AI. Findings: Banks are trying to potentially harness the power of AI to streamline the existing processes and introduce new features that will improve the customer experience. A stage has been reached where it is potentially equipped to provide solutions to some of the existing problems in banking. It is being developed into a wide range of technologies, including robotic process automation (RPA), natural language processing (NLP), advanced data analytics, Big Data analytics and image analytics and their use will help banks improve front-office, mid-office and back-office processes. Practical Implications: These approaches will have a landmark impact on the nature of relationship management has with the employees and banks have with their customers. Originality/Value: There is a significant scope for application of various processes based on what has been found. It is an original content with proper references.peer-reviewe

The Role of ECOWAS in Fostering Nigeria’s Cocoa Beans Value Chain

Despite the huge potentials of the cocoa beans value chain in Nigeria, the performance of this sector is hampered, inter alia, by low productivity which is not unconnected to low value addition along the product’s value chain. The regional platforms put in place by the Economic Community of West African States are supposed to be able to proffer solutions to some of the challenges of this sector. In economic literature, inter-linkages amongst related or same industries are important for value addition which in turn is essential for maximising income gains and improving general living standards accruing from engaging in production and trade. The New Trade Theory explicates how intra-industry/intraregional trade can give rise to the fragmentation of production processes that characterise value chains and how intra-regional trade can foster the needed value addition in a value chain. This current study is motivated by the need to assess the extent to which the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has fostered intraregional cocoa beans value chain between Nigeria and other members of ECOWAS by creating the necessary forward and backward linkages between actors in the cocoa beans value chain in Nigeria and the rest of ECOWAS. Findings from descriptive statistics seem to suggest a weak performance on the part of ECOWAS thus calling for the need for intensified regional efforts to sufficiently bolster the performance of Nigeria’s cocoa beans value chain

An ‘Econographic’ analysis of the relevance of the Thomas Malthus theory to Nigeria and Ethiopia

Issues bordering around population studies have caught the attention of scholars in different fields. Inter alia, development economists and demographers have written plethora of literatures on it considering the multi-dimensional impacts of changing populations on the very existence of humans. Most developing countries are considered to have alarming population growth rates. Matter-of-factly, countries with seriously large population like China have had to adopt some population control measures. In this study, special reference is made to the population theory of Rev. Thomas Malthus and its relevance to the economies of these two countries. This study also re-examines the arguments of both the pessimistic and the optimistic population schools, and analysing relevant demographic and economic statistics of Nigeria and Ethiopia – the most populous and second most populous countries respectively in the African continent, draws a conclusion consistent with the view point of a world development report that rapid population growth, above all, is a developmental problem. Key Words: ‘Econographics,’ Population Growth, Thomas Malthus, Descriptiv

Correlation of stock market returns in the west african region from 2008 to 2016

Stock markets over the world have become more interconnected due to activities of foreign investors in search for alternative financial assets and markets to invest in order to diversify their portfolio. Stock market indices and index returns have been known to reflect linkages between different markets. This study assesses the extent of correlation of stock market index returns in West Africa and those of the United States of America (US) and United Kingdom (UK) from 2008 to 2016. The correlation between the index returns for the entire sample period and yearly samples were considered for Nigeria, Ghana, the BRVM, the USA and the UK. The indices selected for the five countries considered are the Nigerian All-Share Index, Ghanaian Composite Index, the BRVM Composite Index, the Financial Times 100 Index and the Standards and Poor’s 500 Index. Daily index returns data were used for the study and analyzed using correlation and multiple regression analysis. Findings revealed that the returns of the pairs of the United States of America (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) exhibited stronger positive correlation with each other than the other market pairs in the study both in the entire sample period and the yearly sub-period analysis. The correlations between the other market pairs were either positively or negatively weak or very weak indicating more diversification opportunities

Dynamic links between the Nigerian equity market and those of selected regional and developed countries

The dynamic and growing interdependent nature of equity markets across the world has elicited the interest of investors and researchers alike. This study examines the dynamic interactions between the Nigerian stock market and selected regional and global equity markets spanning eight years, from 2011 to 2018, using daily index data. The generalised impulse response function was used alongside the Toda and Yamamoto Granger causality test to investigate the short-run dynamic linkages, while the normalized Johansen vector error correction estimates served to assess the long-run linkages given the existence of cointegration. Findings from the study revealed that the UK and the Ghanaian stock markets exert significant long-run impact on the Nigerian stock market, while vagaries from the US tend to exert more influence on the Nigerian stock market in the short-run. The study recommends that more regional efforts are needed to enhance the integration of stock markets in West Africa. The findings have implications for national and regional policymakers as well as portfolio investors

Macroeconomic Policies and Agricultural Development in Developing Countries: Lessons from Emerging Economies

This paper brings to the fore the macroeconomic policy issues in emerging and developing countries with respect to agricultural development. By exploring theoretical and empirical evidences, it describes the macroeconomic tools that have been deployed by various governments of selected emerging and developing nations especially between 2000 and 2010. The major findings are that emerging countries like Brazil, China and India have systematically manipulated macroeconomic tools in either jumpstarting or fast-tracking their economic development. It recommends that in order to foster development, developing countries need to learn to manipulate macroeconomic policies relating to taxation, trade, government expenditure and exchange rate. Key Words: Macroeconomic policies; Agricultural development; Descriptive; Developing countries; Emerging economie

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CITATION PATTERNS IN CIVIL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH PROJECTS

This study investigated the citation patterns in Civil and Mechanical Engineering research projects in a private university in Nigeria. The study adopted Bibliometric method was used to analyse the research projects submitted by graduates of the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Nigeria from 2016 to 2018. All the references of the research projects were examined. For each research project retrieved, data were obtained manually on some characteristics of cited materials. The findings revealed that the citation in the projects in the two programmes were high. The average number of citation per project was higher in civil engineering than mechanical engineering. It was also discovered that most of the cited documents were very recent in the two programmes. The findings also shows that the most cited materials in the two programmes was journal articles, followed by books among others. It was also discovered that mechanical engineering students cite more books and internet materials than civil engineering students. Also the result shows that civil engineering students cite more multiple authored materials than mechanical engineering students. Based on the findings, the study concluded and made recommendations

Foreign directors, indigenous directors and dividend payout structure in Nigerian deposit money banks

This paper aims to examine the influence foreign and indigenous directors have on determining firms’ dividend payout structure. The population for this study is the fifteen deposit money banks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Using a random sampling technique, a sample of 14 deposit money banks for the 2010 to 2017 period was taken. The total observations used for the work was 112. The study adopted a panel data methodology, which was estimated with a random-effect model. It was observed that a significant relationship exists between foreign directors and the dependent variable (dividend payout structure). The dividend payout structure by dividend per share of sampled firms was measured. This study will improve analysts and investors’ understanding of dividend policy by giving them insights in identifying the main determinants of dividend policy. For policy makers, this study reinforces the fact that good corporate governance is important to develop financial markets and improve the firm value

Employment and income effects of Nigeria’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda: Evidence from cattle value chain

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the development of cattle value chain can influence employment creation and income of both cattle farmers and merchants. The study focusses on cattle farmers in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States where there are the largest cattle farms and live cattle merchants in Southern Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach It employs a research approach that uses key informant interviews and structured questionnaire in garnering needed information from cattle farms, abattoirs and merchant. Findings The results suggest that with some minimal supports, employment creation and income generation can be improved. Originality/value None of the reviewed empirical studies is specific to the cattle value chain in South Western Nigeria. Among other values, the study identifies employment and income opportunities in corporate and non-corporate farms in the cattle value chain in South Western Nigeria