Economics

The study investigated how short term food provision in public schools influences pupils’ academic performance. It also examined parents’ participation in school activities and finally assessed how sustainable feeding programme in public schools influences pupils’ academic performance in public schools in Ife central local government area of Osun State.
The study adopted descriptive research method, involving the collection, analysis and interpretation of data on the influence of O-meal school feeding programme on pupils’ academic performance in Ife central local government area of Osun state. The population covered pupils, teachers, head teachers and parents in selected schools in Ife central local government. The study adopted a multistage sampling method of data collection, covering a total of 85 people, including primary six pupils, parents and teachers.
Results obtained showed that an average of 48.44% of the respondents strongly agreed that alleviation of short term hunger in malnourished or well-nourished school pupils through the O-meal programme have strong influence on pupils’ academic performance. 41.83% of the respondents agreed with this assertion while only 9.73% are either neutral or disagreed. While 52.86% of the respondents strongly agreed that parents’ participation in school activities have strong influence on pupils academic performance in Ife central local government, 38.39% also supported this assertion. Results further showed that sustainable school feeding programme strongly influences academic performance. This assertion was made by an average of 55.41% of the respondents and was supported by 41.96%. Generally, the results depicts that a p-value or error term of the analysis is less than 5% (α=0.005).
Hence, based on the findings that the O-meal programme has been effective in alleviating hunger in primary school pupils and that it has helped parents by reducing their cost of feeding of their wards while also noting that some of the parents were employed as ad-hoc staff for the programme, the study therefore posited that the O-meal programme should be sustained and that the government should include more parents as ad-hoc staffers for the school feeding programme. This will help in general economic rejuvenation of the local government in particular and Osun state in general as well as promote pupils’ academic performance and enrolment in public schools in Ife central local government.
The study therefore concluded that O-meal help to reinforce the academic performance of pupils in primary school in Ife central local government and Osun State in general.

Abstract We  analyzed  the  relationship  between  government  expenditure  components  and  agricultural  productivity  in Nigeria  by  estimating  the  effects  and  their  causal  interaction  over  the  period  1981-2017.  The  study  employed  the Autoregressive  Distributed  Lag  (ARDL)  technique  to  identify  the  existence  of  cointegration  while  going  further by  estimating  the  short  and  long  run  effects  of  government  expenditure  components  on  agricultural  productivity as  well  as  the  Granger  causality  and  Block  Exogeneity  tests  under  the  Vector  Autoregressive  (VAR)  models  to analyze  their  causal  relationship.  Data  were  sourced  from  the  Central  Bank  Statistical  Bulletin,  2017  edition.  The ARDL  results  revealed  that  there  exists  a  long  run  relationship  among  the  variables  and  showed  that  various components  of  government  expenditure  can  positively  improve  agricultural  productivity  in  Nigeria,  but  the  current effects  of  these  variables  on  agricultural  productivity  appears  insignificant.  The  results  revealed  that  the government  expenditures  on  health  and  infrastructure  have  little  effect  on  agricultural  productivity  and expenditures  on  education  have  a  reduction  effect  on  agricultural  productivity  in  both  short  and  long  runs  in  Nigeria; highlighting  the  disconnection  between  agricultural  knowledge  acquisition  and  its  implementation.  Causality  tests also  showed  that  expenditures  on  education,  health  and  infrastructure  can  help  improve  agricultural  productivity in  Nigeria.  The  study  recommended  effective  policy  implementation  through  a  complete  overhaul  of  the  various government  institutions  and  agencies  responsible  for  implementation,  revenue  collection  and  monitoring  of government  project  as  it  relates  to  agricultural  development  as  well  as  encourage  effective  manpower  development in  the  agricultural  sector  to  boost  productivity. Keywords:    Autoregressive  Distributed  Lag,  Government Expenditure,  Inflation;  Vector  Autoregressive  model.

This study sought to analyze the trend of government expenditure on physical and human capital in Nigeria, and examine the determinants of economic development in Nigeria. It also investigated the interactive effects of physical capital and human capital on economic development in Nigeria. These were with a view to examining the determinants of economic development in Nigeria. Secondary data were used for this study. The data covered the period between 1986 and 2017 and were obtained from the World Development Indicators (WDI) published by the World Bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin of various issues. The baseline Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) included, Human Development Index (HDI), Construction expenditure (CON), Transportation expenditure (TRP) and Social Infrastructure expenditure (SIF). Descriptive and econometrics techniques were employed to achieve the specific objectives of the study. The trend analysis showed that construction expenditure shows an enormous increase from 2011 to 2017 while transportation expenditure experience increase between the first two decades of the study period but the last decade had witnessed a fall in government expenditure on transportation. The analysis also showed that government expenditure on social infrastructure has been experiencing a continuous decrease over the years. Results of the analysis carried out in the study indicated that, in the long run, there is a positive and significant relationship between construction expenditure (CON) and Human Development Index (HDI) which coefficient was -9.84 and t-stats of 4.73. A positive but insignificant relationship exist between Social Infrastructure expenditure (SIF) and Human Development Index (HDI) with coefficients of -0.44 and t-stats of -1.97 while a significant negative relationship exist between transportation expenditure and Human Development Index (HDI) with coefficients of 8.67 and t-stats value of 3.58. It also revealed that in the short run, construction expenditure has a negative relationship with HDI at current period and one lag period with coefficients -0.83 and -0.05 respectively and insignificant (t-stats = -0.80, p>0.05 and t-stats = -0.04, p>0.05 respectively). Transportation expenditure has a positive relationship with HDI at current period and one lag period with coefficients 0.14 and 0.39 respectively and insignificant (t-stats = 0.24, p>0.05 and t-stats = 0.60, p>0.05 respectively) and social infrastructure expenditure has a positive relationship with HDI at current period and one lag period with coefficients 0.14 and 0.02 respectively and insignificant (t-stats = 1.29, p>0.05 and t-stats = 0.19, p>0.05 respectively). The result also showed that, the interactive effect of physical capital and human capital on HDI at current and one lag period is positive and negative respectively, with coefficients 0.06 and -0.01 and insignificant (t-stats = 0.76, p>0.05 and t-stats = -0.10, p>0.05) respectively. The study, therefore, concluded that construction expenditure is a fundamental determinant of economic development in Nigeria while Social infrastructure expenditure and transportation expenditure are nominal determinants of economic development in Nigeria, therefore, government can improve HDI by increasing its efficiency in terms of resource allocation to social infrastructures given that it has an insignificant positive effect on economic development in Nigeria.

The study investigates preferences for commodities and determinants of demand among the students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Out of 140 respondents, 91% reveals that they prefer food items to all other items, 87% preferred academic books and other literature, 78% indicates a preference for credit cards, internet data plans, and other mobile subscriptions. Sixty-six percent (66%) disclosed their preference for hairstyles, 64% preferred clothing and foot wares, 63% preferred to save, 61% preferred mobile devices and technologies and 53% preferred medical care services. However, majority of the respondents reveals less preference for jewellery and cosmetics (69%) as well as parties and entertainments (82%). In addition, the study reveals that there are a number of factors that determine a student's demand for commodities. The study found students’ income as a very important determinant, while prices, taste, time and savings were rated as important determinants ...

Purpose: Empirical investigations into the interest rate effects on domestic savings have provided mixed results. Hence, this study examined the interest rate effects on domestic savings in line with the financial liberalization hypothesis since the period of structural adjustment program (SAP) in Nigeria. Approach/Methodology/Design: Data on gross domestic savings, interest rate, gross capital formation, and rate of inflation from 1986 to 2018 were obtained and analyzed using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique. Findings: The results revealed that interest rate and gross domestic savings are co-integrated in the long-run. The study showed that while capital formation positively affects domestic savings, the interest rate affects domestic savings negatively since the economic reforms of 1986 in Nigeria. Practical Implications: The results of the study are important for the Nigerian government to promote home-grown investments through domestic savings and capital form...

We analyzed the relationship between government expenditure components and agricultural productivity in Nigeria by estimating the effects and their causal interaction over the period 1981-2017. The study employed the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) technique to identify the existence of cointegration while going further by estimating the short and long run effects of government expenditure components on agricultural productivity as well as the Granger causality and Block Exogeneity tests under the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) models to analyze their causal relationship. Data were sourced from the Central Bank Statistical Bulletin, 2017 edition. The ARDL results revealed that there exists a long run relationship among the variables and showed that various components of government expenditure can positively improve agricultural productivity in Nigeria, but the current effects of these variables on agricultural productivity appears insignificant. The results revealed that the gove...

This paper empirically investigates the exchange rate volatility-FDI nexus in selected Economic Community of West African Sates (ECOWAS) countries using time series data from 1986-2017. Using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and Toda-Yamamoto (1995) causality techniques, the effects of exchange rate volatility on FDI and causality relationship between the two are examined. The empirical results show that the estimated coefficient of nominal exchange rate volatility is negative in all the selected countries but significant only in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. Conversely, the effect of real exchange rate volatility is negatively significant as expected, in Nigeria, Togo, Sierra Leone, and Cote d’lvore. However, the effect is positive but statistically insignificant in Ghana and Gambia. Furthermore, the causality test results show unidirectional causality from exchange rate volatility to FDI in all selected countries except in Ghana when the nominal exchange rate is emp...

Studies abound on exchange rate volatility and foreign investments in Nigeria. However, this study investigated the asymmetric effects of exchange rate volatility and foreign private investment on the Nigeria's capital market performance. Data obtained on capital market performance, foreign private investment, exchange rate volatility, and gross capital formation between 1986 and 2017 were analysed using the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag technique. The results showed that in the long run volatility of exchange rate, foreign private investment, and capital market performance are co-integrated. Besides, the study revealed that exchange rate volatility has asymmetric effects on capital market performance while foreign private investment exerts linear effects on capital market performance in both time horizons.

This paper investigates the asymmetric impact of real exchange changes on trade balance in Nigeria using quarterly data over the period 1999Q1-2017Q4. A non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) proposed by Shin et al (2014) is employed for this study. The …ndings show that real exchange change have asymmetric impact on Nigeria's trade balance in both time horizons. Speci…cally, the positive real exchange rate is highly sensitive to trade balance than the negative real exchange rate. These …ndings therefore suggest that using discretionary monetary policy to o¤set Nigeria's trade de…cit due to large di¤erential between import and export is not su¢ cient enough. Thus, policy makers should adopt policy-mix to manage the current economic climate of the country such as imposition of quotas on certain imported goods, high tari¤ rate on imported goods, provision of credit facilities and higher tax rate that reduce disposable income of consumer.

The study investigated the existence of technical efficiency among manufacturing firms and examine its effects on firm performance in Nigeria using firm level data between 2001 and 2017. Variables such as capital, labour, total overhead inputs, total firm output, competition, capital intensity, firm market share, technical efficiency scores and firm profitability were used in this study. Using the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to generate the technical efficiency scores, the study adopted System-GMM to examine the effects of technical efficiency on firm performance among quoted manufacturing firms operating in consumer (food beverages and tobacco), industrial and health (pharmaceutical) sectors in Nigeria. The findings revealed that 29% of the variation between the observed and optimal outputs is attributed to inefficiency among manufacturing firms. However, firm competitiveness significantly increases the efficient use of resources among manufacturing firms. This study further showed that technical efficiency variable has positive effects on manufacturing firm performance in Nigeria. The paper concluded that competition increases the efficient utilization of resources which positively improves firm performance in Nigeria's manufacturing industry. Finally, the paper recommended that industrial policies should be geared towards promoting healthy competition (and not collusion) among manufacturing firms to attain optimal economic efficiency of resources.

This study establishes the direction of causality between competition and innovation in Nigeria's manufacturing industry. Using the panel VAR Granger causality approach, this study employed secondary data obtained from forty-three (43) quoted manufacturing firms operating in consumer (food, beverages and tobacco), industrial and health (pharmaceutical) sectors to investigate the cause-effect relationship between competition and innovation. The results showed that a reversed causality exists between competition and innovation. In support of the behavioural school of the structure-conduct-performance paradigm, the study showed that causality runs from innovation to competition with respect to capital intensity among manufacturing firms. In addition, the study showed the existence of causality from capital intensity to competition, and innovation. The findings of this study have important policy implications for implementing more innovative ways/methods in the manufacturing industry to achieve industrial competitiveness and innovation-driven productivity in Nigeria's manufacturing industry.

The study investigated the existence of innovation types and examined their effects on firm performance in Nigeria's manufacturing industry. Using logistic regression analysis, data were sourced from forty-eight (48) non-quoted manufacturing firms (consisting of food, beverages and tobacco; textile, apparel and footwear; non-metallic, pharmaceuticals and cement) to examine the effect of innovation types on firms' performance. The results confirmed the existence of product, process, marketing and organisational innovations and also identified recruitment modelling and talent management as other organisational innovation techniques employed in Nigeria's manufacturing industry. In addition, the study showed that product innovation (t = 0.67; p < 0.05) and patent rights (t = 2.13; p < 0.05) had positive and significant effects on firm performance. The findings of this study recommend that firms should focus on improving the combined effects of product, marketing, process and organisational innovations. In addition, organisational policies should be geared towards human capital development to achieve greater manufacturing performance required for industrial growth and economic development.

The yearning for increasing economic growth has been the focus of many policy makers in the country. This noble objective has come with an increasing level of household wealth which is displayed in form of increasing motorization and may as well compromise the traffic safety in the country. In this connection, this study examines the dynamic causal relationship among economic growth, motorisation and road traffic safety in Nigeria. This is with a view to determining the nexus of economic growth, motorisation and road traffic safety in the country for the period of 1970-2016. To achieve this, secondary data on Gross Domestic Product, Gross Domestic Product Per Capita, Population, nominal exchange rate and the general level of education in the country were sourced from World Development Indicator, Central Bank of Nigeria and Federal Road Safety. The data were analyzed and estimated using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL). This was necessary to address the expected endogenity problem and non-uniform stationarity level in our variables. The results from the study demonstrate a unidirectional causal relationship flowing from motorisation to road traffic crash. Similarly, there is unidirectional causal relationship flowing from economic growth to motorisation in Nigeria. In addition, increasing road traffic crash can hamper economic growth. The study concludes that economic growth contributes to road traffic crash through increasing motorisation in Nigeria. However, an improved level of drivers' education and regulatory effectiveness are required to stem the ugly trend.

A growing body of scholarly research has explored the non-linearity of the Phillips curve, but empirical evidence from an African perspective, particularly within the ECOWAS sub-regional context, remains underexplored. This study aims to address this gap by offering a fresh perspective on the asymmetric Phillips curve for West African countries through a comparative country-specific analysis and a panel framework utilizing the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model for the period 1986-2020. The empirical outcomes demonstrate that the asymmetric response of inflation to both positive and negative unemployment differs across the countries of Benin,

Controversy exists among scholars on the relevance of dividend policy to firm
performance; however, literature often neglects the issues of persistence in
profitability when examining the dividend-performance relationship. This study
investigated the effect of dividend policy on a firm’s performance in the
Nigerian manufacturing industry regarding persistence in profitability. Different
theories of dividend policy and firm performance were reviewed, and the study
adopted the dynamic panel models to examine the relationship between
dividend policy and firm performance using the secondary data obtained from
30 quoted manufacturing firms over 12 years in Nigeria. The study found a
significant positive effect of dividend policy on firm performance as
profitability persisted over time. Conversely, there exists a negative impact of
firms’ age on firm performance, while firm market share has a negligible
positive impact on firm performance. The study supported the dividend
relevance theory and recommended that firms maintain a sound dividend policy
and keep a good track record of profitability to ensure a higher firm
performance.

The vulnerabilities and security threats created by the advent of the web have culminated in the emergence of
cybercrimes. This study examined how to prevent and detect cybercrime threats in Nigerian banks by focusing on four
(4) deposit money banks in Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State. The study sample size was determined using a convenience
sampling technique, while data collection was done through a structured questionnaire administered to all selected
bank departments. The inferential statistics engaged involved the use of an ordinal logistic regression model and
descriptive analyses. The results revealed that electronic money laundering is the most common form of cybercrimes,
while creating awareness among the bank employees about cybercrime activities is the major strategy adopted by
banks in preventing cybercrimes. The study concluded that Nigerian deposit money banks need to ensure their
employees and the general public are informed of cybercrime activities and recommended that prevention and
detection strategies are properly put in place to forestall cybercrime threats.

There is a growing concern about the rising trend in injuries and fatalities from road traffic crashes in developing countries due to their effect on health care resources and budgets. Nigerian families are directly or indirectly affected by road traffic crash. Based on this, the study examines the nexus road crashes, fatalities and economic growth in Nigeria using graphical trend analysis. The study employs annual data sourced from World Development Indicator (online version) and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC). Results show that the trend relationship among economic growth, road traffic crashes, fatalities and injuries revealed a cyclical movement. The results follow the growth shocks due to economic fluctuations and safety interventions during the study period.