Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Consumer Prices in Nigeria

The increasing overdependence of Nigerian economy on imports has necessitated the need to continually examine the effect of exchange rate shocks in consumer prices. The paper adopts a Structural Vector autoregressive to estimate the pass-through effect of exchange rate changes to consumer prices. Using the Variance Decomposition analyses, the study found a substantially large exchange rate pass-through to inflation in Nigeria. Finding shows that exchange rate has been more important in explaining Nigeria’s rising inflation phenomenon than the actual money supply. Therefore, it is recommended that Nigerian economy focuses on policies that ensure exchange rate stability and sound monetary surveillance

EXCHANGE RATE PASS-THROUGH TO CONSUMER PRICES IN NIGERIA

The increasing overdependence of Nigerian economy on imports has necessitated the need to continually examine the effect of exchange rate shocks in consumer prices. The paper adopts a Structural Vector autoregressive to estimate the pass-through effect of exchange rate changes to consumer prices. Using the Variance Decomposition analyses, the study found a substantially large exchange rate pass-through to inflation in Nigeria. Finding shows that exchange rate has been more important in explaining Nigeria’s rising inflation phenomenon than the actual money supply. Therefore, it is recommended that Nigerian economy focuses on policies that ensure exchange rate stability and sound monetary surveillance

Feasible Environmental Kuznets and Institutional Quality in North and Southern African Sub-regions

One of the goals of Africa as a developing continent is to grow and also reduce environmental pollution. Most studies investigate the presence of inverted U-shaped environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) using pollutants such as carbon dioxide (CO2), the use of point pollutants such as suspended particulate matter (SPM) is not so popular in literature. Similarly, most studies that assess the role of institutions in the income-pollution nexus do not investigate their capability in achieving feasible turning on the EKC. Focusing on three pollutants, namely: CO2, nitrogen oxide (N2O) and SPM, this study employs system generalised method of moments to assess the role of institutions in two sub-regions (North and Southern Africa) in attaining EKC turning points. Results, among others, indicate that the both sub-regions did not attain a level of average income capable of turning EKC round for CO2 and N2O but do for SPM. It is also revealed that Southern Africa attained EKC faster than North Africa. It is therefore recommended that for the purpose of achieving the goal of green growth, the institutional quality should be strengthened in the two Africa sub-regions, particularly in Southern Africa

Feasible Environmental Kuznets and Institutional Quality in North and Southern African Sub-regions

One of the goals of Africa as a developing continent is to grow and also reduce environmental pollution. Most studies investigate the presence of inverted U-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) using pollutants such as Carbon dioxide (CO2), the use of point pollutants such as Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) is not so popular in literature. Similarly, most studies that assess the role of institutions in the income-pollution nexus do not investigate their capability in achieving feasible turning on the EKC.  Focusing on three pollutants, namely: CO2, nitrogen oxide (N2O) and SPM, this study employs system generalised method of moments (SGMM) to assess the role of institutions in two sub-regions (North and Southern Africa) in attaining EKC turning points. Results, among others, indicate that the both sub-regions did not attain a level of average income capable of turning EKC round for CO2 and N2O but do for SPM. It is also revealed that Southern Africa attained EKC faster than North Africa. It is therefore recommended that for the purpose of achieving the goal of green growth, the institutional quality should be strengthened in the two Africa sub-regions, particularly in Southern Africa.     Keywords: Economic growth; EKC; Environmental pollution; Institutional quality; Land degradation; North Africa; Southern Africa. JEL Classifications: O13; O44; Q5

Socio Economic Effect on the Use of Information and Communication Technology among Rural Farming Households in Afijio Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria

This study was conducted in Afijio Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. It investigated the types ofinformation and communication technologies used by farmers, the most frequently used, the level of utilizationof the existing information and communication technology, farmers accessibility to ICTs and constraints faced inusing ICT facilities in the study area. Analytical techniques used include descriptive statistics such aspercentages, table and frequency; and Logit model analysis. A multistage sampling technique was used to selectthe Local Government, four (4) villages and thirty (30) farmers per village. One hundred and twenty (120)questionnaires were administered while one hundred and sixteen (116) were retrieved and used for analysis. Thesocio-economic characteristics of the farmers in the study area shows that the mean age of the farmers was 45years while majority (92%) were male and 8% were female. The use of ICTs (Radio) and accessibility to ICTconstituted 76% and 85% respectively. Majority (91%) argued that lack of power supply was a menace to ICT inthe study area. The results of Logit model revealed that age (p<0.05), marital status (p<0.05), and majoroccupation (farming) (p<0.01) significantly affect the use of ICT. The study therefore recommended thatgovernment should provide electricity on a sustainable basis to all rural and urban communities for effectivecommunication.Keywords: Information technology, Farming household, Communication, Utilizatio

Environmental pollution, economic growth and institutional quality: exploring the nexus in Nigeria

Purpose Interaction between environmental pollution and economic growth determines the achievement of the green growth objective of developing economies. An economy turns around the inverted U-shaped environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) when pollution is effectively dampened by social, political and economic factors as such economy grows. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the EKC considering the impact of institutional quality on six variables of environmental pollution (carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), suspended particulate matters (SPM), rainfall, temperature and total greenhouse emission (TGH)) using the case of Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The EKC model includes population density, education expenditure, foreign direct investment and gross domestic investment as control variables, and it was analysed using the autoregressive distribution lag (ARDL) econometric technique, which has not been applied in the literature on Nigeria. Findings The results, inter alia, indicate that there is EKC for CO2 and SPM. This implies that the green growth objective can be pursued in Nigeria with concerted efforts. Other environmental pollution indicators did not exert significant influence on economic growth. Practical implications Therefore, it is recommended that Nigeria’s institutional quality be strengthened to limit environmental pollution in light of economic growth. Originality/value Previous studies are yet to apply a more developed econometric method, like the ARDL, to estimate the EKC model for Nigeria. This study fills this observed knowledge gap