Identifying Appropriate Funding Model for Public Infrastructures in Nigeria: A Non-Empirical Analysis

The state of public infrastructures in Nigeria has been described by many scholars as very deplorable. The study which focused on the Nigerian economy aimed to examine the public infrastructures funding models in Nigeria, their effectiveness and suggest an alternative model to maximize public infrastructure development. The opportunities offered by the PPPs, bond and equity markets to fund infrastructural projects are massive in terms of limitless funds, expertise and timely completion of projects. A hybrid funding model that makes a right combination of PPPs, debts and equity could be less expensive than when the public infrastructures are funded wholly from PPP or debts. The government’s aim of funding any particular public infrastructures could be for some socio-economic reasons with direct or indirect impacts on economic development, job creation, ease of doing business, security, welfare, standard of living and government popularity but the aim of the private sector whether the funding comes in the form of PPP, debts (bonds) or equity is wealth maximization. The government is advised to seek more funding opportunities outside its internally generated revenue and federal allocation sources but this should be done with caution to strike a positive and favourable balance between its socio-economic aims and the wealth maximization objective of the private sector who intend to fund the public infrastructures. Keywords: Economic growth and development, capital market, funding models, government, bond,  PPP, poverty,  Public infrastructure, security JEL Classification: H54, I30, J68, L3

Tax Audit and Investigation: A Panacea to Increase Revenue Generation in Nigeria

The research work examines the effect of tax audit and investigation on revenue generation in Nigeria. The essence of the study is to determine the effect of tax audit and investigation, which is a viable instrument of relevant tax authority on revenue generation in Nigeria using the tools of tax audit and investigation as measuring indicators. Primary data were sourced through the administration of a structured questionnaire on 162 samples drawn from the total population of Federal Inland Revenue staff in the South-western zone of Nigeria, using Taro Yamane sample size calculator. Descriptive and inferential methods of data analysis were employed to measure the effect of tax audit and investigation’s indictors (desk/office audit, field audit, and audit investigation) on revenue generation. Findings revealed that about 38% variation in revenue generation in Nigeria is due to change in tax audit and investigation’s indicators/variables of DOA, FA, and ANINV, which implies that applications of these variables of tax audit and investigation will improve tax revenue generation in Nigeria as shown from the contributory regression coefficients of 0.576, 0.407, and 0.151 respectively. The study therefore recommends that effective and efficient tax audit and investigation habit should be encouraged by the relevant tax authorities as this will help in curbing taxpayers rendering false returns, reduce tax evasion and eventually improve tax revenue generation in Nigeria. Keywords: Tax Audit, Tax investigation, Field Audit, Office/Desk Audit, Revenue Generation, DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/13-18-05 Publication date:September 30th 202

Effect of Working Capital on Earnings Management Practices in Sub-Sahara Africa

The study examined the effect of Working Capital (WC) on Earnings Management Practices (EMP) among non-financial listed firms in Sub-Sahara Africa. Discretional Accruals (DA) and Real Earnings Management (REM) were proxies by Modified Jones model  (1995)and Rowchowdhury (2006) models respectively. Secondary data sourced from annual reports of 276 listed firms for eleven years (2010 to 2020) were used in the study. The model of the study was estimated using Generalized Method of Moments estimator and Dumistrescu and Hurlin Panel Causality test technique. The findings revealed that WC among firms in Kenya, Tanzania South Africa and Zimbabwe (β=0.007; 0.002; 0.073; 0.115; P>|t|=0.000; 0.000; 0.000; 0.000˂0.05 respectively) have positive and significant effects on DA. However, WC among firms in Nigeria and Ghana showed no significant effect on DA. More so, WC among firms in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe (β=0.002; 0.049; 0.050; 0.215; P>|t|=0.000; 0.000; 0.005; 0.000, ˂0.05 respectively) revealed positive and significant effect on REM. The study concluded that WC have positive and significant effect on DA and REM among firms in Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. More so, WC have positive and significant effect on DA in Tanzania as well as on REM in Nigeria. The study therefore recommended that firms in sub-Sahara Africa should reduce their operating cycles to avoid EMP. Keywords:working capital, discretionary accruals, real earnings management, sub-Sahara Africa DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/14-18-08 Publication date:September 30th 202

THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARD (IFRS) ADOPTION ON KEY FINANCIAL RATIOS IN NIGERIA

Purpose: This study examined the effects of the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) on the quality of financial statements of agro-allied firms in Nigeria. Methodology: Battery of unit root test techniques and co-integration tests were deployed to examine the existence of long-run impact of relevance and reliability of financial reporting as provoked by IFRS adoption. The study made use of Panel Fully Modified Least Square techniques to examine the nature of the relationship between the Pre-IFRS and Post-IFRS adoption periods. Main Findings: The study noted that IFRS adoption has a substantial effect on the reliability and relevance of financial statements. Implications: The findings of this study help in shedding light on the impact of the IFRS on financial statements' reliability and relevance of listed agro-allied firms in Nigeria. Novelty: This study offers a unique understanding of the impact of IFRS adoption on financial ratios in Nigeria

Effect of water stress on the growth and some yield parameters of Solanum lycopersicum L.

An investigation aimed at a better understanding of the normal water requirement for the optimum growth and yield of Solanum lycopersicum was carried out. Seeds of S. lycopersicum were sown in 32 plastic pots and after germination the seedlings were allowed to grow for a period of 2 weeks within which they were well watered and kept under optimum conditions of the environment. The plants were then subjected to different levels of water applications. Plants in the first group (W1) were supplied with 200 ml of water everyday; plants in the second group (W2) were supplied with 200 ml of water once every 3 days; plants in the third group (W3) were supplied with 200 ml of water once in every 5 days while the fourth group (W4) were supplied with 200 ml of water once in every 10 days. The results obtained showed that water stress caused a significant (p<0.05) reduction in some of the morphological parameters studied. Some yield parameters were unaffected by the water stress.© 2015 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Tomato, crop, morphology, biomass, Leaf area, physiolog

Achieving Price Stability in Nigeria: Monetary Policy Rate Approach vs. Foreign Exchange Policy Approach

ABSTRAC

Theoretical analysis of firm and market-specific proxies of information asymmetry on equity prices in the stock markets

ABSTRACT Asset pricing has remained an issue of interest to scholars, investment managers and analysts without borders. Pricing of equities in environments characterized with imperfect information and determining and Reber and Fong (2008) JEL Classification Codes: G12, G14 for measuring the effect of firm and market-specific proxies of information asymmetry on equity prices in the stock market. The model developed is considered suitable for adoption in developing and emerging economies where information is considered prevalent. In addition to providing a model for measuring the effects of proxies of information asymmetry on equity prices INTRODUCTION New issues are made primarily to raise additional funds for expansion, diversification, acquisition of information technology infrastructures and others. The expectation of the promoters is for the issue to be successful. Many factors can be responsible for the success or failure of new issues, one of such is pricing. Efficient pricing is important in attracting new and existing investors and may be enhanced by the quality of information disclosed to the market. A relationship exists between asset pricing and information quality Information asymmetry has been identified as one of the challenges facing emerging markets (Rosser

Theoretical Analysis Of Firm And Market-Specific Proxies Of Information Asymmetry On Equity Prices In The Stock Markets

Asset pricing has remained an issue of interest to scholars, investment managers and analysts without borders. Pricing of equities in environments characterized with imperfect information and determining the effect of information asymmetry on the asset have also remained a challenge. The risk the information uncertainty from the firm poses to the investors and analysts and the risk the information uncertainty from the investment opportunities of the firm poses to the managers need to be measured and incorporated into equity price. This study made an attempt to develop a model from the works of Lowry, Officer and Schwert (2007) and Reber and Fong (2008) for measuring the effect of firm and market-specific proxies of information asymmetry on equity prices in the stock market. The model developed is considered suitable for adoption in developing and emerging economies where information is considered prevalent. In addition to providing a model for measuring the effects of proxies of information asymmetry on equity prices, the study would to literature on the subject of information asymmetry as it relates to equity pricing and stock market.information asymmetry, proxies, capital market, equity pricing

Examining the linkages among financial inclusion, economic growth, poverty, and inequality reduction in Africa

The study examined the nexus between financial inclusion and economic growth, poverty, and inequality in Fragile and Post-Conflict African economies based on data sourced from 2004 to 2021. The study employed the system GMM and dynamic threshold model within the context of the Tunnel and Joneses effects to analyze the data generating set. The study noted that financial inclusivity enhances growth, and reduces poverty and inequality in the studied economies. The results of robustness tests reveal that our model is appropriate, this suggests the validity of the Tunnel effect in the studied economies. The threshold dynamic result suggests that the optimal influence of financial inclusion on economic growth, poverty, and inequality is at 42% for the studied economies. The study offered some policy implications