Stock market liquidity and economic growth in Nigeria (1980 to 2012)

This study examined the impact of stock market liquidity on economic growth of Nigeria between the years 1980 and 2012. With the use of EViews 5.0 econometric software, tests for stationarity using the Augmented Dickey- Fuller approach was carried out while the ordinary least square (OLS) technique was employed to estimate the basic model specified for the study. The result of the analysis of data revealed that variables were stationary at their first difference while the Johansen co-integration approach confirmed the existence of co-integrating relationship at the 5 percent level of significance. The study found, surprisingly, that stock market liquidity was not a statistically significant variable explaining economic growth in Nigeria for the periods under study

Bilateral and multilateral aid perspectives of economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa

he purpose of this study is to determine the impact of disaggregate official development aid (ODA) on economic growth, and ascertain whether bilateral and multilateral aid played complementary role with private sector, government sector and external sector in driving growth of sub-Saharan African economies. Design/methodology/approach The role of bilateral and multilateral aid in economic growth of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is investigated in this study. The vector error correction model (VECM) and generalized method of moments (GMM) techniques are employed in estimating the short-run and long-run impacts, over the period 1980–2020. Findings The estimation results reveal that the effect of bilateral aid is positive, and more significant than multilateral aid. Their effect on economic growth is, however, less significant than the effects of domestic private investment and government spending. Nonetheless, aid complemented private and government sectors in facilitating growth. External trade is the only exogenous variable in estimation that is insignificant. The results further reveal that economic growth is unable to significantly respond to its own lag. Generally, the estimation results conform to theoretical expectations. Practical implications One major implication of the findings is that SSA countries have benefited substantially from development aid. It is, therefore, important for these countries to develop stronger institutions that would attract more inflows of development aid. Originality/value The study was motivated by the fact that less attention has been given to the role of disaggregate ODA in economic growth of African countries. Previous research works have tended to focus more on aggregate ODA. Furthermore, adequate research has yet to be done on how ODA complements the private sector, government sector and external sector in facilitating growth of African countries. These issues are investigated in the study

Internal and external drivers of inflation in Nigeria

This study contributes to the literature on inflation dynamics by examining whether internal or external factors drive inflationary pressure in Nigeria. Using the annual time series data from 1981 to 2017 and applying Johansen cointegration analysis, the vector error correction mechanism and the impulse response function, the study reveals some compelling evidence to suggest that external forces are responsible for inflationary pressure in Nigeria. The results, amongst others, reveal that: external drivers– exchange rate, imported inflation and openness – induce a positive and direct relation to inflation. This is because a percentage change in these variables results in an increase in inflation of 0.49%, 0.47% and 4.28%, respectively, on average, ceteris paribus; the internal drivers – government expenditures, net food exports and lending interest rate – dampen inflation by 0.48%, 1.70% and 0.02%, respectively, on average, ceteris paribus; there is evidence of cointegration indicating that 57.48% of short-run errors will be corrected in the long run; imported inflation contributes to a deviation of about 33% deviation in the first five periods and accounts for cumulative average of over 100% deviation in inflation. Policy implications are discusse

ICT Access, Social Infrastructural Facilities and the Performance of Informal Micro- and Small- Business Enterprises (MSBEs) in Nigeria

This paper examines the roles that access to ICT and improved social infrastructure play on the performance levels of informal micro and small business enterprises in Nigerian. For formal sector organisations, studies have been conducted to verify this, but not much is known with respect to micro and small informal sector businesses. This study therefore intends to bridge this yawning gap by carrying out an analysis of the impact of the access to telephone (a major component of ICTs that is fast finding common usage among informal sector enterprise-owners) among informal micro and small businesses in Nigeria. The study relies on primary data on the informal sector enterprises collected by the Nigerian Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER) in 2014. Basic descriptive statistics in addition to the Ordinary Least Squares Regression model is used in the analyses of the data. Policy measures that will enhance further diffusion of ICT infrastructure among micro and small business to enhance their growth and contributions to income and employment generation are recommended at the end of the paper

DIGITALIZATION AND INNOVATION IN NIGERIAN FIRMS

This study examined the determinants of digitalization and its impact on innovation in Nigeria. The study applied the logit regression and propensity score matching (PSM) on data sourced from the World Bank 2014/2015 enterprise survey. The result from the logit regression shows that size of the firm, educational qualification of the top manager of the firm, business age, employment growth and sector of operation are the major significant determinants of the extent to which firms digitalized in Nigeria. On the other hand, the result from the propensity score matching shows that digitization is positive and significant in explaining the level of firms' innovation in Nigeria. This means that an increased level of ICT will synonymously increase the level of firms' ability to innovate. Based on the results, the study concludes by recommending that managers of various firms should employ a tactical approach to improve on the rate of digitization and innovation to achieve the desired level of productivit

Foreign Direct Investment and Industrial Performance in Africa

The African region compared to other developing regions has been the most vulnerable as regards the impact of foreign capital inflow on domestic industries performance. The flow of FDI is expected to result into improved investment, technological capacities and acceleration of industrial performance in domestic firms. The study examined how the flow of FDI to the African region has impacted the industrial performance of the region, using the proxy of industry value added. The study made use of pooled data from forty three African countries within the period 1996 and 2015.The method of analysis utilized for the study was the pooled OLS and the fixed effect leastsquare dummy variable model, employed to estimate the impact of foreign direct investment on industrial performance for the selected host countries. The study finds that foreign direct investment is statistically significant in relation to industrial performance for host African countries; but it is dissatisfying that the expected desired features of industrial performance, like increased domestic savings, investment, technology transfer and increased domestic productivity which will result into reduction in high level of import have not been realized. It is therefore recommended that the governments of host countries should put policies in place to encourage performance of industries domestically, to enhance sustained market participation and share of local firms in host economies, such that dependence on external financial borrowing could be reduced, and domestic investment incessantly increased resulting in improved industrial performance of host countries

Pollutant emissions, energy use and real output inSub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries

Industrialisation is pivotal to growth sustainability and this requires intense energy use that may invariablytrigger pollutant emissions thereby necessitating some evidence-based policy concerns. This study thereforeexamines the dynamic connection among pollutant emission, energy use and real output per capita in SSA.Owing to cross-sectional dependence, the Prais-Winsten model with panel-corrected standard error (PCSE)alongside the panel spatial correlation consistent (PSCC) approach is applied and key findings are established.First, the EKC hypothesis holds and this is striking for both oil-rich and oil-poor SSA countries. Second,energy use induces pollutant emissions in oil-rich SSA countries but not in oil-poor SSA countries. Third,pollutant emissions and energy use are real output per capita-enhancing in SSA generally and in oil-poorcountries. Thus, policy measures to safeguard efficient optimisation of energy use in ensuring a balance aswell as developing SSA’s rich renewable energy sources is imperative for long-run growth