Military and Democratic Rules In Nigeria (1981-2016): Which Has Greater Impact?

Background: In recent years, many countries of the world turn away from military system of government to embrace democracy. Some studies have argued that good democracy is not a by-product of development but a stepping stone while others assert that the military is seen as a modernizing agent and a vigorous champion of change and development in some countries. This study therefore tried to analyse the contributions of the military and democratic political systems to the growth of the Nigerian economy between 1981and 2016. Method: Secondary data were collected via CBN statistical bulletin and the World Bank. Dummy variable analysis using Ordinary Least Squares technique was employed. Real Gross Domestic Product (LGDP) was used as the dependent variable with Unemployment rate (UNMP), Investment Rate (LINVST), Inflation (INFL), Broad Money Supply (LM2) as independent variables with the dummies. Unit root test, Johanson’s cointegration test and the Engle Granger 2-step tests were carried out. Finding: The regression result showed that the military government contributed significantly to the growth of the Nigerian economy more than the democratic government by 35.98% even though the democratic government had more significant investment rate (8.16%). Conclusion: The study concludes that democratic government should be adopted and made more efficient in other to materialise the high investment rate accrued to it through a strategic corruption fight and creation of politically and economically friendly environment. Keywords: Military Rule, Democracy, Impact, Economic Growth, Nigeria DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/54-06 Publication date: April 30th 201

Women’s Labour Force Participation: Economic Growth Nexus in Sub-Saharan African Countries

Women’s labour force participation is an aspect of empowerment and a leeway to achieving the SDGs due to the contribution of women’s labour to economic growth. This study investigated the impact of women labour force participation on economic growth in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Important lessons were drawn from Israel as to how Israel has been empowering and currently improving women’s labour force participation and economic growth in general. The study employed a two-step system Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) with panel data from 35 selected SSA countries. The findings showed a positive relationship between gross fixed capital formation, female labour force participation rate, economic growth in SSA countries, and a negative relationship between growth in the region and fertility rate. The study therefore recommended that governments should provide a policy framework to favour and encourage more women’s participation in the SSA region

Application of the Stochastic Markov Model in Predicting the Volume of Oil Spill in Nigeria: A Case of the Niger-delta Region

Oil spillage in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and its associated hazard is on the increase and there is urgent need to combat its increasing volume by predicting the volume in the future thus, the objective of this study is on the prediction of the volume of oil spill in Nigeria via the Stochastic Markov Model. Two States Markov analysis were employed  and it was discovered that the volume of oil spill incident were mostly maintained in a high state than in a low state and the predicted values were approximately steady at a probability value of 0.519 which is in favour of the high state. The study concluded that for the Nigerian Federal government to combat the volume of oil spill, she should in addition to enforcing the laws governing the volume of oil spill incident, employ remediation process that would help clean up the mess caused the spillage. Keywords: occurrence, oil spill, Niger Delta JEL Classifications: P28, Q53, Q56 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.774

THE ECONOMIC COST OF MALARIA TREATMENT TO POOR RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN SELECTED COMMUNITIES IN ENUGU STATE

Malaria is one of the leading tropical diseases affecting majority of the rural population in Nigeria. This disease drains the insufficient income of rural dwellers and further reduces their socio-economic standards. This study examined the economic cost of malaria treatment to poor rural households selected from six communities in Enugu state using cost of illness approach. It found that ‘richest’ rural households on the average spentN6153 (28.41%) monthly while households from the poorest quintile spent 30.25% of their average monthly income on malaria treatment. This leads these households into large financial catastrophe forcing them to reduce other basic expenses. These poor households are likely to remain in poverty if measures are not taken to alleviate the situation. Policies that would consider the introduction of community-based health insurance scheme or reduction in user fees in the rural areas are recommended. &nbsp

Socioeconomic status and health shocks; analysis of coping strategies in rural households of Enugu State, Nigeria

Background: Health burden in rural areas of developing countries is worsened by the limited coverage of health insurance. With constrained access to quality healthcare and constituting two thirds of Nigeria’s poor, this study investigates how rural households cope with health shocks consequent on their socioeconomic status.Method: Data was collected from 600 households in Enugu using a questionnaire. Cross-tabulation, chi square and multiple regression statistical techniques were employed for data analysis. Findings: About 53% of the respondents were male household-heads while borrowing (47.65%), sales of assets (43.85%), diversion of funds (2.00%) and reduced expenditure (6.48%) were the main coping strategies. Education, occupation, and income statistically influenced the coping strategies (P < 0.005) and jointly accounted for 26.5% (R2 = 0.265, P < 0.001) of the variations in coping strategies.Conclusion: Having a rural healthcare policy and mainstreaming the informal sector into the national health insurance scheme will ameliorate health shocks among the rural poor

The Impact of social infrastructures on economic growth of Sub-Saharan Africa: implications for sustainable economic growth

Background: Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa has consistently remained the least when compared to any other region in the world. Countries in the region have received a lot of grants in form of aids to boost their capital accumulation; yet there is slow growth in most parts of the region. Many countries have implemented the World Bank and IMF suggested policies; and majority of the countries have adopted democratic political system. Yet growth in the region has remained very low. It then becomes pertinent to identify the causes of the low economic growth pattern in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The objective of this study, therefore, is to determine the impact of social infrastructure on economic growth of sub-Saharan Africa.Data and methods: The data for this study were 2001-2017 time-series data sourced from World Governance Indicators (WGI) and World Development Indicators (WDI). The standard panel data of fixed effect (FE) and random effect (RE) were employed in the analysis of the data, while Hausman test results guided the final choice of fixed effect estimation.Findings: The results show that corruption is statistically and significantly affecting economic growth of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. This means that control of corruption will help boost the economies in the region as low corruption is a prerequisite for economic recovery and sustainable development. Besides, trade openness, labour supply, and general government consumption significantly affect economic growth in SSA.Conclusion: SSA countries should control corruption as well as open their economies so as to reap the positive effects of economy of scale derived from diversification