Twin Deficit in Nigeria: A Re-Examination

This study re-examines the long run relationship between the budget and current account deficits in an oil-dependent open economy like Nigeria using a multivariate Granger causality test within the VECM framework. This result confirmed the existence of a long run relationship between the budget and current account deficit in Nigeria, thus supporting the Mudell-Fleming theory and refuting the Ricardian Equivalence Hypothesis (REH). The causality result indicates no causality between budget deficit and current account while the current account deficit causes budget account deficit. This implies that reduction in the current account deficits will help reduce the “twin deficit” dilemma

FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN NIGERIA: A DYNAMIC COMPUTABLE GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM APPROACH

Environmental challenges such as climate change continue to threaten human existence globally. This has necessitated renewed focus on some existing policies that by design or otherwise may counter global efforts at addressing these challenges. Various engineering solutions have been championed while economic and social development tools have focused on using various policy instruments to reduce the concentration of emissions in the atmosphere. One of such policies is the fuel subsidy policy and various arguments for and against this policy exists. While some support the policy as it enhances access to energy and promotes welfare, others argue that it places budgetary burden on the economy. More so, studies that have focused on policy instruments have employed different approaches. However, those that focused on addressing environmental questions in terms of promoting green growth are very scarce. This study, thus, investigated the environmental consequences of fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria using an economy-wide modelling approach. It adapted the energy-environment (E2) dynamic CGE model of the Nigerian economy that is based on the Partnership and Economic Policy (PEP) recursive dynamic CGE model. Furthermore, the study simulated three scenarios namely the partial removal (Simulation1), gradual removal (Simulation 2) and complete removal (Simulation 3) of import tariff on imported refined oil. It assessed the impact of the various simulation strategies on carbon emissions (as a measure of environmental quality) in Nigeria. The dataset employed is the re-aggregated version of the 2006 Nigerian Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) that specially accounted for petroleum subsidy. The re-aggregation was to make it more compatible with the main objective of the study. This is necessary since the 2006 SAM has different components. The outcome of the simulation analysis showed that reduction in carbon emission occurred only when subsidy was partially removed, but marginally increased with gradual removal and complete removal. This suggests that even though the removal of subsidy can reduce emission, it is not sufficient in the long term especially as there is yet to be a viable “green” alternative to petrol in Nigeria. Therefore, subsidy removal will only make consumers reduce consumption initially and then increases later in order to meet their energy demands since there is no better environmentally friendly alternative to petrol. It is recommended that subsidy on petrol be targeted towards enhancing the commercialisation of renewable energy sources or appropriate technology (such as fuel blending) which are still not affordable for some households. This will further enhance the development of green growth practices and then be supported with relevant financing options in order to make it sufficient for driving environmental quality in Nigeria

"Dark Cookie" - A serious game to train users to spot and interact with dark patterns in cookie banners

Deceptive design patterns, also called dark patterns, can be found all over the internet today. These designs are used by website operators to trick users into sharing their personal data or performing other actions that are mostly favorable to the operators. Since taking effect in 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), strictly mandates website operators to inform EU website visitors of how their personal data will be processed. Although they put up cookie banners to disclose such information and ask user’s consent, many website operators have found ways to use deceptive designs, such as confusing design and language, to trick users into giving them their personal data, and pass them on to advertisers that use them to personalize ads and target users. In this thesis, I study different dark patterns on the internet and those in cookie banners and I delve into one of the proposed interventions against dark patterns in previous work, gamification. I hypothesize that it is possible to create a serious game to train online users to respond to dark patterns in cookie banners, so that they can retain most of their personal in- formation without disclosing it to advertisers. In particular, I have conceptualized and developed an online game with five levels that uses game mechanics like feedback, points, levels, badges and story to make the game educative, engaging and interactive. To evaluate the game, I created a survey and gathered the answers of 54 players and assessed aspects like game clarity of goals and rules, knowledge acquisition, perceived applicability and engagement. I conclude with the analysis of the results obtained, suggesting the gamification is an appropriate and effective tool for training users on how to interact with cookie banners in a way that maximizes their privacy

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 consumptio

Energy Supply and Climate Change in Nigeria

The energy industry has been identified as one of the sectors most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. In the past years, government had been making a lot of effort at reforming the energy sector and this study attempted to investigate the extent to which the energy sector will be affected in the face of the threats presented by a changing climate. The study seeks to examine the impact of climate change on energy supply in Nigeria for the period 1971-2011 using the vector error correction procedure. We adopted the Johansen and Juselius, and Engle-Granger co-integration analysis to determine the rank of the series long run co-integration. Also the error correction model was used to obtain the long-run estimates and the speed of error adjustment. We corroborate our findings by adopting the Wald exogeneity test to examine the direction of causal relationship between climate change and energy production. The study found a positive relationship between climate change and energy supply, as well as no evidence of causal relationship between climate change and energy supply. The study developed an interaction of climate change and measure of institutional quality, though less responsive to energy supply, but exhibits similar pattern with the actual climate change. Also, the indicators of power losses, technology and investment impacts a significant negative influence on energy supply, while GDP per capita and economy structure exerts though positive but the indicator of economic structure was statistically insignificant in explaining dynamism in energy supply. The findings from our empirical investigation puts caution on economic advisers and policy makers on the level of adherence to the Kyoto protocol in order not to jeopardize productivity activities and economic gains. Also,adaptation efforts should however follow careful scenario analysis with a strengthened institutional framework and injection of funds for technological improvement. This could be done in partnership with international organizations and the private secto

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

Foreign Land Deals in Africa: Implications for Agricultural Trade

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 deals of land in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia that have been reported in recent years. One of the driving forces has been attributed to the presumed availability of land in these regions. This study employs data sourced from World Development Indicators and World Governance Indicators on key variables such as arable land per person, agricultural land as percentage of land area, net food import, regulatory quality, among others (1995-2010) on selected African countries where instances of foreign land deals have been reported. The study formulates empirical models that draw from institutional development theory, which is estimated using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). The study found LSFLDs to impact negatively on agricultural export in selected countries, the indexes of institutional framework used were found to be significant; likewise, agricultural land becomes highly significant with relative 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 preliminary 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 citizenry

Foreign Land Deals in Africa: Implications for Agricultural Trade

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 deals of land in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia that have been reported in recent years. One of the driving forces has been attributed to the presumed availability of land in these regions. This study employs data sourced from World Development Indicators and World Governance Indicators on key variables such as arable land per person, agricultural land as percentage of land area, net food import, regulatory quality, among others (1995-2010) on selected African countries where instances of foreign land deals have been reported. The study formulates empirical models that draw from institutional development theory, which is estimated using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). The study found LSFLDs to impact negatively on agricultural export in selected countries, the indexes of institutional framework used were found to be significant; likewise, agricultural land becomes highly significant with relative 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 preliminary 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 citizenry

Energy Supply and Climate Change in Nigeria

The energy industry has been identified as one of the sectors most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. In the past years, government had been making a lot of effort at reforming the energy sector and this study attempted to investigate the extent to which the energy sector will be affected in the face of the threats presented by a changing climate. The study seeks to examine the impact of climate change on energy supply in Nigeria for the period 1971-2011 using the vector error correction procedure. We adopted the Johansen and Juselius, and Engle-Granger co-integration analysis to determine the rank of the series long run co-integration. Also the error correction model was used to obtain the long-run estimates and the speed of error adjustment. We corroborate our findings by adopting the Wald exogeneity test to examine the direction of causal relationship between climate change and energy production. The study found a positive relationship between climate change and energy supply, as well as no evidence of causal relationship between climate change and energy supply. This could be due to the nature of energy production in Nigeria whereby in the process of oil exploration, the associated gas is being flared which is the major contributor to increased CO2 emission in Nigeria. Findings from the study have implications for the economy in terms of adherence to the Kyoto protocol as it can jeopardize productivity activities and economic gains since policies to curtail emission can affect energy production. Also, adaptation efforts should follow careful scenario analysis with a strengthened institutional framework and injection of funds for technological improvement. This could be done in partnership with international organizations and the private sector

MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY OF PRIVATE UNIVERSITY FACILITIES: A STUDY OF COVENAT UNIVERSITY`S RESIDENTAL ESTATE

Facility efficiency is an integral part of the overall management of any organisation as the actualization of its goal and objectives require the provision, maximum utilization and appropriate management of facilities. To this end, the need to study and ascertain the efficiency in management of facilities in Nigerian private universities was undertaken. In achieving the aim of the study, one hundred and ninety six questionnaires were distributed to the residents of the university’s staff quarters made up of diverse housing for the various cadre of its faculty using the non-probability sampling technique. A total of 124 questionnaires were returned representing a response rate of 63.26% and collated data was analysed accordingly using the weighted arithmetic mean. Findings showed that inhabitants of the university staff quarters were satisfied with the management of the university’s facilities by the Physical Planning and Development unit (PPD) as eight of her major facilities were optimally functioning and maintained while three other systems were in need of attention