Endogenous growth model and the human capital development: Evidence from the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ)

Abstract. This study examined the effect of human capital development on economic growth in the context of West Africa Monetary Zone (WAMZ) countries for the period 2001 – 2019. The data for the study were sourced from World Development Indicators of the World Bank for the six (6) ECOWAS countries. The panel least squares (random effects and fixed effects modeling) were embraced as the estimation techniques. The empirical result of the study reveals a positive coefficient and statistically significant at 1% significance level in the fixed – effects model of the following macro economic variables government expenditure on education, Labour force and Population growth rate suggesting that they significantly stimulate economic growth in WAMZ countries. On the other hand government expenditure on health and investment income ratio had negative co-efficient with only investment income ratio statistically significant at 1% significance level. This indicates that urgent government action is required to reverse these negative trends in order to encourage health and investment contribution to economic growths in WAMZ countries. The study recommended among others that government of WAMZ countries should increase budget allocation to the education and health sectors for infrastructure and personnel development to foster a healthy work force that will promote economic growth.Keywords. West Africa Monetary Zone; Secondary school enrolment; Government expenditure on education; Total labour force.JEL. F43; J24; O11

The challenges of researching corporate power: The case of Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria (SPDC)

Abstract. The research on Transnational Corporations (TNCs) in Nigeria is encumbered or fraught with methodological challenges. Thus, this paper which relies on desk research, unveils the conceptualization of TNCs, Corporate Powers and the Doctrine of Domicile thereby interrogating the methodological encumbrances – (security, secrecy and access challenges) experienced in conducting researches on the modus operandi of TNCs in Nigeria with focus on Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria (SPDC). The consideration of Transnational Corporations’ exploration of the lacuna created by weak or moribund state institutions, escalating corruption, lack of adequate knowledge of rights and double standards become sacrosanct in bringing about ease in the challenges of researching corporate power. The paper argues that in weak African states, the doctrine of domicile manifests through threat of divestment, undue influence on government, casualization of workers, corrupt practices and tax evasion where corporate power employ hegemonic tendencies in pursuit of  its profit maximization drive..Keywords. Transnational corporations, Liquefied natural gas, Multinational energy corporations, OPEC, SPDC.JEL. H11, H50, C13, C22

Evolving economic growth via the human capital development paradigm: Evidence from the Francophone West-African economies

Abstract. This research examined the impact of Human Capital Development (HCD) on economic growth among the ten French-Speaking West African Countries. In carrying out the empirical research, data were collected on human capital development and growth indices from countries in the sub region and panel data analysis was conducted. The period of analysis covered was between 1995 and 2017. Panel data analysis was used in capturing the relationship between human capital development and economic growth in the West Africa sub region. The endogeneity problem often associated with panel data analysis was accounted for through the use of the Generalized Method of Moments. From the Arellano-bond dynamic panel estimation, it revealed that secondary school levers (SSE6), those who enrolled for a minimum of four years at the tertiary school level (TSE4) and gross capital formation (GCF) were statistically significant in determining economic growth among the Francophone countries in West Africa. The Arellano-Bond dynamic panel results show the acceptance of the null hypotheses, which indicate that there is no significant relationship between economic growth and secondary school and tertiary school enrolment in Francophone West African sub region. From the result, emphasis should be devoted to vocational and functional technical education as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and increase in government expenditure on health in the French-speaking West Africa sub region.Keywords. Human capital development, ICT, Economic growth, Generalized methods of moments, Variance inflation factor.JEL. F43, J24, O11

Economic Transformation and Human Development Index in Nigeria

This research seeks to examine the impact of human development index (HDI) on economic transformation Nigeria. The paper adopted error correction mechanism to accentuate the dynamic paths of variables and aptitude of these variables to return to long-run equilibrium after a shock. From empirical results, it was found that HDI and school enrolment were most statistically significant in Nigerian growth equation. We thus recommend as a policy that emphasis human capital development in Nigeria most especially when the Nigerian nation is labor-intensive one