Exchange Rate Pass-through in Nigeria: Evidence from a Vector Error Correction Model

The paper investigates the degree of exchange rate pass-through to import and consumer prices in Nigeria between 1986Q1 and 2007Q4 on the basis of vector error correction methodology. Results reveal that exchange rate pass-through in Nigeria is low, slightly higher in the import than in the consumer prices, significant and persistent. A one percent shock to exchange rate, for instance, results in 14.3 and -10.5 percent pass-through effect to import and consumer prices four quarters ahead, respectively. This, among other things, suggests that exchange rate pass-through in Nigeria declines along the price chain, and partly overturns the conventional wisdom in the literature that ERPT is always considerably higher in developing and emerging economies than in developed economies. Although pass-through effect is envisaged to increase with greater integration of the economy into the global world in future, but, the fact that it was found to be incomplete implies that prices react less proportionately to exchange shock in Nigeria and this is very useful to policymakers, especially in the design and implementation of monetary policy.Exchange rate pass-through, cointegration, vector error correction, impulse responses, variance compositions

Investigating the Role of Diversification on Economic Growth in Nigeria; New Evidence from SVARs

Fluctuations in oil prices have caused economic contractions and challenges to oil-exporting economies. In particular, Nigeria suffers both the previous and current global oil price shocks and this has raised concerns among policymakers, governments, and economic analysts because of the impact of oil and oil prices in Nigeria’s macroeconomic development. However, this paper investigates the role of diversification on economic growth in Nigeria using annual data from 1986 to 2018. The techniques applied showed that only remittances and official development assistance have affected economic growth in the short run. However, the coefficients of one period lagged indicated that the system is capable of adjusting to its long-run equilibrium condition after some shocks in the system.  The findings from variance decomposition indicated that diversification plays a positive role on economic growth in both the short and long-run horizons. By overall implication, the study concludes that diversification has a positive role on Nigeria’s economic growth. Therefore, the study recommends the need for the government to provide active and inclusive policies such as soft loans and commercial agricultural programs to improve its export of agricultural output competitiveness, improve supervisory and regulatory frameworks in the financial sector to ease remittances inflow. For these reasons, diversifying the economy from oil revenue is the ultimate goal for achieving sustainable economic growth and development goals or targets by the year 2030

Engineering Properties of Palm Oil Clinker Fine-Modified Asphaltic Concrete Mixtures

Palm oil clinker (POC) is a non-biodegradable palm mill by-product typically discarded in dumpsites. This study analyzed the performance of POC powder (POCF) as bitumen modifier in terms of conventional and engineering properties of bitumen and asphalt mixture. For the study, base bitumen of 60/70 penetration grade was utilized and different POCF dosages (0, 2, 4, 6, and 8% by weight of bitumen) were added. The base bitumen was effectively modified with POCF and then characterized. The conventional and engineering properties of the modified bitumen and asphalt mixtures were assessed. From the characterization results, the formation of Si-O crystalline structure and a new Si-OH functional group was identified. Furthermore, a meandering pattern was observed due to the modification of the base bitumen with POCF. Based on the conventional test results it was revealed that the addition of POCF to the base bitumen resulted in a stiffer blend compared to unmodified bitumen. The addition of POCF improved the modified mixtures’ Marshall stability relative to the unmodified mixtures. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression modeling showed the influence and significance of POCF-MB, with R2 values of (95-99%). Finally, the 4-6% POCF dosage was found to be the optimum dosage, yielding the best performance in terms of the engineering properties evaluated

Engineering Properties of Palm Oil Clinker Fine-Modified Asphaltic Concrete Mixtures

Palm oil clinker (POC) is a non-biodegradable palm mill by-product typically discarded in dumpsites. This study analyzed the performance of POC powder (POCF) as bitumen modifier in terms of conventional and engineering properties of bitumen and asphalt mixture. For the study, base bitumen of 60/70 penetration grade was utilized and different POCF dosages (0, 2, 4, 6, and 8% by weight of bitumen) were added. The base bitumen was effectively modified with POCF and then characterized. The conventional and engineering properties of the modified bitumen and asphalt mixtures were assessed. From the characterization results, the formation of Si-O crystalline structure and a new Si-OH functional group was identified. Furthermore, a meandering pattern was observed due to the modification of the base bitumen with POCF. Based on the conventional test results it was revealed that the addition of POCF to the base bitumen resulted in a stiffer blend compared to unmodified bitumen. The addition of POCF improved the modified mixtures’ Marshall stability relative to the unmodified mixtures. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression modeling showed the influence and significance of POCF-MB, with R2 values of (95-99%). Finally, the 4-6% POCF dosage was found to be the optimum dosage, yielding the best performance in terms of the engineering properties evaluated

Position and Trajectory Tracking Control for the Ball and Plate System using Mixed Sensitivity Problem

This paper presents the position and trajectory tracking control scheme for the ball and plate system (BPS) using the double feedback loop structure (a loop within a loop) for effective control of the system. The inner loop was designed using linear algebraic method by solving a set of Diophantine equations. The outer inner loop was designed using   sensitivity approach. Simulation results showed that the plate was stabilized at 0.3546 seconds, and the ball was able to settle at 1.7087 seconds, when given a circular trajectory of radius 0.4 m with an angular frequency of 1.57 rad/sec, with a trajectory tracking error of 0.0095 m, which shows that the controllers have adaptability, strong robustness and control performance for the ball and plate system.           

Capital Structure Choices in Services Firms: Empirical Results from Nigeria Listed Companies

The effects of the worldwide economic slump, which was largely triggered by SARS-CoV-2, have undermined the profitability of businesses. As a result, the overarching goal of this research is to look into the impact of capital structure choices on the financial performance of services firms quoted on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX). With an adjusted population of 11 listed services firms in Nigeria, the analysis spans from 2011 to 2020. The secondary data was collected from the annual reports of the selected enterprises and African financials, using an ex-post facto design. The generalised least square model was employed for the analysis of the data. While both retained earnings and total debt have a positive and significant influence on earnings per share, short-term and long-term debts, and equity were insignificant, according to the findings. The study, on the other hand, suggests that company executives save earnings to be spent solely on rainy days in order to minimize negative shocks that could harm a company's going-concern objective

Exchange Rate Pass-through in Nigeria: Evidence from a Vector Error Correction Model

The paper investigates the degree of exchange rate pass-through to import and consumer prices in Nigeria between 1986Q1 and 2007Q4 on the basis of vector error correction methodology. Results reveal that exchange rate pass-through in Nigeria is low, slightly higher in the import than in the consumer prices, significant and persistent. A one percent shock to exchange rate, for instance, results in 14.3 and -10.5 percent pass-through effect to import and consumer prices four quarters ahead, respectively. This, among other things, suggests that exchange rate pass-through in Nigeria declines along the price chain, and partly overturns the conventional wisdom in the literature that ERPT is always considerably higher in developing and emerging economies than in developed economies. Although pass-through effect is envisaged to increase with greater integration of the economy into the global world in future, but, the fact that it was found to be incomplete implies that prices react less proportionately to exchange shock in Nigeria and this is very useful to policymakers, especially in the design and implementation of monetary policy

Exchange Rate Pass-through in Nigeria: Evidence from a Vector Error Correction Model

The paper investigates the degree of exchange rate pass-through to import and consumer prices in Nigeria between 1986Q1 and 2007Q4 on the basis of vector error correction methodology. Results reveal that exchange rate pass-through in Nigeria is low, slightly higher in the import than in the consumer prices, significant and persistent. A one percent shock to exchange rate, for instance, results in 14.3 and -10.5 percent pass-through effect to import and consumer prices four quarters ahead, respectively. This, among other things, suggests that exchange rate pass-through in Nigeria declines along the price chain, and partly overturns the conventional wisdom in the literature that ERPT is always considerably higher in developing and emerging economies than in developed economies. Although pass-through effect is envisaged to increase with greater integration of the economy into the global world in future, but, the fact that it was found to be incomplete implies that prices react less proportionately to exchange shock in Nigeria and this is very useful to policymakers, especially in the design and implementation of monetary policy

The impact of rural residence and HIV infection on poor tuberculosis treatment outcomes in a large urban hospital: a retrospective cohort analysis.

BACKGROUND: Successful tuberculosis (TB) treatment is essential to effective TB control. TB-HIV coinfection, social determinants and access to services influenced by rural residence can affect treatment outcome. We examined the separate and joint effects of rural residence and HIV infection on poor treatment outcome among patients enrolled in a large TB treatment centre in Kano, Nigeria. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed a cohort of patients with TB enrolled in a large urban TB clinic in northern Nigeria, from January 2010 to December 2014. Poor treatment outcome was defined as death, default or treatment failure. We used Poisson regression to model rates and determine the relative risks (and 95% confidence intervals, CI) of poor treatment outcomes. RESULTS: Among 1381 patients included in the analysis, 28.4% were rural residents; 39.8% were HIV-positive; and 46.1% had a poor treatment outcome. Approximately 65 and 38% of rural and urban residents, respectively, had a poor treatment outcome. Rural residents had 2.74 times (95% CI: 2.27-3.29) the risk of having a poor treatment outcome compared to urban residents. HIV-positive patients had 1.4 times (95% CI: 1.16-1.69) the risk of poor treatment outcome compared to HIV-negative patients. The proportion of poor treatment outcome attributable to rural residence (population attributable fraction, PAF) was 25.6%. The PAF for HIV infection was 11.9%. The effect of rural residence on poor treatment outcome among HIV-negative patients (aRR:4.07; 95%CI:3.15-5.25) was more than twice that among HIV-positive patients (aRR:1.99; 95%CI:1.49-2.64). CONCLUSION: Rural residents attending a large Nigerian TB clinic are at increased risk of having poor treatment outcomes, and this risk is amplified among those that are HIV-negative. Our findings indicate that rural coverage of HIV services may be better than TB services. These findings highlight the importance of expanding coverage of TB services to ensure prompt diagnosis and commencement of treatment, especially among rural-dwellers in resource-limited settings

Shielding Adequacy of Conventional X-ray Facilities in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria using RadShield Software

Over time x-ray department gains more patient throughput compared to when it was established, this may lead to changes in room usage, workload and occupancy factor. Therefore, it becomes imperative to re-evaluate the shielding adequacy of the facilities to ensure the appropriate shielding design goal is accomplished. The study was aimed at assessing the shielding adequacy of conventional x-ray rooms in ten radio diagnostic centres in Kano Metropolis using RADSHIELD software. This was a prospective, cross-sectional study. RadShield software version 1.1 was used in the study, parameters such as distances of each wall from a radiation source (D), the average number of patients per week (N), occupancy factor (T), and use factor (U) were inserted into the software together with the shielding design goal (P). Once the result was generated, the design and shielding variables were saved in .xml format. The data were analyzed using Excel 2016. Ten facilities were studied involving 14 x-ray rooms. Room III had the largest room size of 49.2 m2 while room X had the least room size of 12.8 m2. Room II had the longest source image distance (SOD) of 180cm while room IV had the shortest (120cm). The design barrier thickness was thickest (47 cm) in room II and thinnest (1.5 cm) in barrier 5 of room III. All the x-ray rooms had the ideal room size except facilities G and H. The design barrier thickness in the radiology department of all the conventional x-ray rooms involved in the study was adequate