JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS AND ALLIED RESEARCH

DOES INCOME INEQUALITY MATTER IN THE CONTRIBUTION OF HEALTH CAPITAL TO ECONOMIC GROWTH? EVIDENCE FROM SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

NGEH LAURA SENKE — 2023-11-03

Investment in healthcare is of paramount importance as it builds up the stock of health capital, which is primordial to economic growth. However, a high level of income inequality can impair an economy's human capital insofar as low-income people do not have sufficient access to health facilities or health care (Ray and Linden, 2018). This study attempts to unveil the contribution of health capital to economic growth in a situation of rising income disparity in sub-Saharan African countries. The study employs a dynamic model of the Generalized Method of Moments in 38 countries using annual data from 1998 to 2018. Empirical results show that rising income inequality reduces the positive effect of health capital on economic growth. This study suggests that health care financing should be a government priority while ensuring that effective redistributive measures are put in place to reduce income inequality.

Key words: health, human capital, income inequality, economic growth, SGMM

JEL Classification: I150, C11, C23

FISCAL POLICY AND SECTORAL OUTPUT GROWTH IN NIGERIA: A NEW EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

OLALEKAN OSHOTA SEBIL — 2023-11-03

Fiscal policy actions can be used to stimulate sectoral growth, either by increasing or decreasing government spending or tax. Thus, this study examined the effect of fiscal policy on sectoral output in Nigeria based on annual time series data from 1981 to 2021. An endogenous model, fashioned in line with the standard production function formed the basis of the model specification for the variables of interest. An ARDL model was adopted in order to capture both the short-run and long-run dynamics of the model. The ARDL Bounds Test method of establishing cointegration provided evidence that there is cointegration when Mining (MIN), Manufacturing (MAN), Building and Construction (BCN) and Wholesale retail (WRT) are used as dependent variables. However, when Agricultural output (AGR) and Service (SER) are used as the dependent variable, there is no cointegration. The ARDL long run results revealed that fiscal policy, as measured by total government expenditure has a significant negative effect on the overall output. With regards to sectoral output, fiscal policy variable had a significant long-run negative impact on Agricultural output, Building and Construction, Mining and Services while it has a positive impact on manufacturing and Wholesale and Retail output. In the short run, fiscal policy has a significant positive impact on agricultural output, manufacturing and mining sectors while the impact is negligible on Building and Construction, Wholesale and retail and service output. As a policy prescription, a sector specific fiscal spending must be put in place to drive sectoral output growth in Nigeria.

MEASLES OUTBREAKS AND UNDER-FIVE MORTALITY IN NIGERIA: ISSUES AND POLICY OPTIONS

TIMOTHY OLADAYO POPOOLA — 2023-11-03

Nigeria’s under-five mortality is one of the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa region comparatively. Perhaps this is related to the rising outbreaks of measles. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of measles outbreaks on under-five mortality in Nigeria between 1986 and 2021. Findings from the co-integration technique employed shows a positive effect of measles outbreaks on under-five deaths in Nigeria. Based on the results of the findings, the study recommends need for government at all levels, stake-holders in the private sectors and NGOs to focus on reducing measles attacks on under-five children by promoting children related health policies and vaccinations that will halt the menace of under-five deaths in Nigeria.

FIRMS’ CAPABILITY DYNAMICS AND CONTAINER CLEARANCE LOGISTICS AT LAGOS SEAPORTS

BABATOPE GABRIEL ONI — 2023-11-03

The majority of prior studies on clearance logistics at seaports revolve around the fundamental assumption that customs and other authorities should be responsible for improving seaport clearance operations. Contrary to this assumption, this study investigates the relationship between firms dynamics (age of the business and employee work experience) and the extent of delays experienced by firm during container clearance at Lagos seaports. The article employed primary data that was gathered using structured and unstructured questionnaire. The study’s population consists of 43 manufacturing companies that are publicly quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) list continuously for more than ten years. These companies are located in Ilupeju, Agbara, Ewekoro, Ikeja, Ikorodu, Isolo, and Shagamu, which are the major industrial estates in Lagos and Ogun States, Nigeria. Out of the 43 firms sampled, only 23 of them filled out and returned the questionnaire. This number makes up 53% of the sample size. A Spearman's Rank-Order Correlation was used in analyzing the data. The findings suggest that the more experience an employee has in cargo clearance; the less likely it is that the container would be delayed for fewer days (or a shorter period of time). Additionally, it was discovered that as an organization gets older, the likelihood of delays during container clearance decreases. Thus, this paper suggests that customs and import operations personnel should get ongoing training to stay current on current and upcoming innovations in container clearance in seaports. Furthermore, analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats should be a regular activity for organizations.

COMPLIANCE DETERMINANTS OF MANDATORY DISCLOSURE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE COMPLAINTS IN QUOTED DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN NIGERIA

ANAZUO SAADAT SALIHU — 2023-11-03

The inability of firms in the financial services sector to comply with the mandate of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to disclose customer complaints in annual reports has undermined the confidence that key stakeholders have in banks. Consequently this study aimed to investigate non-performing loan ratio, share price and employee efficiency as compliance determinants of disclosure of customer service complaints. Twelve (12) deposit money banks quoted on the Nigerian Exchange were sampled from 2011 to 2021. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses of the study which showed that; non-performing loan ratio has a negative insignificant effect, share price has a significant and positive effect and employee efficiency significantly and negatively impact the disclosure of customer service complaints in annual reports. It was concluded that disclosure was more likely when a company could afford to do so, to reduce agency costs and when employees were more efficient. It was recommended that relevant agencies should consider generating a modified disclosure format that could encourage smaller banks to disclose as much as they can. It was also recommended that banks should invest more resources in recruiting, training and maintaining employees that would provide more value for money and serve customers better.

THE FIRM'S LOCATION IN RELATION TO THE SEAPORT AS A KEY FACTOR IN ENHANCING FIRM PERFORMANCE IN THE MANUFACTURING SUPPLY CHAIN

BABATOPE GABRIEL ONI — 2023-11-03

In the context of the global supply chain management, port-hinterland transport is viewed as one stage in the logistics chain from origin to destination. This stage covers between 40 and 80% of the total cost of shipping containers internationally. Therefore, for Nigerian manufacturers looking to enhance their supply chains, improving port-hinterland transport operations may be an effective approach. However, the literature is unclear regarding the importance of hinterland locations in enhancing firm performance. This study investigates how the location of import-dependent firms in relation to seaports affects their profits in Lagos and Ogun States, Nigeria. The population of the study consists of 10 publicly listed manufacturing firms that frequently import goods in containers through the seaports in Lagos and have been continuously listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) list for more than ten years (2010-2019). A structured questionnaire was employed in collecting primary data for the study. Only 6 of the ten firms filled and returned the questionnaires. This number accounts for 60% of the sample size. The results of the regression analysis show that the hinterland location has a strong positive relationship (r=0.731) with the profits of industrial products firms and that it explains around 53.4% (r2=0.534) of the variation in the profits of these firms. In order to transport goods between ports and industries efficiently, firms must look for strategic locations with access to cost-effective means of transportation such as rail and inland waterways. Similar to this, firms must understand how to prioritize their strategy in order to prevent the impact of rising port-hinterland transport costs on their revenue and profit.

NON-OIL EXPORTS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

DAVID ADEYEMI ADETUNJI — 2023-11-03

This research utilizes yearly data from 1971 to 2021 to analyse the trajectory of non-oil exports and its impact on the economic growth of Nigeria. The analysis of the data was conducted utilising the Bayesian vector autoregressive model. The study's findings provide empirical evidence supporting the notion that non-oil exports have a positive and statistically significant impact on economic growth in Nigeria. For instance, the percentage rise in cocoa exports during the last year (QCXP (-1)) and the past two years (QCXP (-2)) resulted in a corresponding increase in GDP of around 0.12 percent and 0.39 percent, respectively. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exhibited a growth of around 0.59 percent and 0.49 percent correspondingly subsequent to a one percent upsurge in palm kernel exports throughout the preceding one year (QPKX (-1)) and the preceding two years (QPKX (-2)). Moreover, the export of rubber in Nigeria has been found to have a notable and favourable influence on the country's economic growth. Specifically, a one percent increase in the quantity of rubber exported in the current and previous years (QRXP (-1) and QRXP (-2)) corresponds to about 13.1 percent and 7.9 percent increases in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria, respectively. The findings indicate a 1% rise in EXRT (-1), while EXRT (-2) correspondingly led to a GDP growth of around 0.16% and 0.35% respectively. Based on the empirical evidence, it is strongly advised that the Nigerian government should enhance its endeavours in the cultivation and processing of cocoa, palm kernel, and rubber as a means to foster the holistic economic advancement of the nation.

RETURN SPILLOVER EFFECTS BETWEEN OIL PRICES AND SECTORAL STOCKS IN NIGERIA: A DISAGGRETED APPROACH

TIMOTHY TYONA — 2023-11-03

This study examined the return spillover effects between oil prices and sector specific stock returns on the eleven sectors listed on the Nigeria exchange group whose main objective is to uncover return spillover effects between oil and stock returns. The study utilized the constant conditional correlation – CC – VARMA-GARCH methodology where findings indicate that returns in both markets reveal both short term predictability in prices and bi-directional spillover effects between oil sectoral stock returns. The study recommends among others for investors, portfolio managers, policy makers and other market participants to continuously monitor returns in both markets and factor same in their decision making process.

INDUSTRIALISATION AND INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT NEXUS IN NIGERIA: A NEW EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

IDOWU ADENIYI OKEOWO — 2023-11-03

Infant industry protection is a common trend in Africa with the main aim of encouraging local industries to gain economies of scale. However, the result of this trend has not been shown in the industraliastion process of African countries, especially Nigeria. The article used Generalised Least Square (GLS) with time series analysis from 1987-2022. The results showed that tariffs had a low effect in protecting the infant industry in Nigeria. Tariff needs to change at the rate of 0.068 unit to bring about a unit change in industrial output. The research recommended a policy mix as a more viable policy option. Indigenisation policy should be combined with other infant industry protection policies such as production subsidy, import monopoly, imposition of embargo, exchange control, import quota, import license and preferential duties to achieve the desired industrialised economy.

NIGERIAN NEWSPAPER EDITORIALS AND FRAMING OF ECONOMIC POLICIES

PETER CHUKWUGHALUM NWAEZEIHENATUOHA — 2023-11-03

Just only six months, and President Tinubu administration had already thrown the citizens into more hardship than his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, left them. This paper investigated the economic policies of President Tinubu’s six months in office. It covered the period of March 1 to August 20, 2023. Anchoring on framing and Systemic Functional Linguistics, the paper content-analyzed 76 editorials of two randomly selected online private newspapers – Punch (56) and Premium Times (20) – to compare their manifest contents, framing language, headline stylistics, slant, semantics, syntactic features and impact. Stories were sourced through motif sampling, and data presented on tables using simple percentages. Findings showed 17 themes with 235 stories. Punch had 139 stories and Premium Times 96. It was also found that the lengths of the editorials according to the number of paragraphs were Punch 1,082 (80.8%) and Premium Times 257 (19.2%) with a grand total of 1,339 paragraphs. The ten longest paragraphs in Punch had 279 lines (61.7%) while that of Premium Times constituted 173 lines (38.3%). Again, Punch was more elaborate in its editorializing than Premium Times whereas the latter was more consistent in paragraph structuring. It was discovered that Premium Times, bending towards the state, chose to underreport the case, remain silent, or neutral. Finally, the paper found the impact of the economic policies were highly negative and had thrown the people into untold hardship. Policy recommendations were proffered.

PRODUCTIVITY, HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AND COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN NIGERIA

CHUKWUEDO SUSAN OBUROTA — 2023-11-03

The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in lockdowns, loss of productivity, and a decline in economic growth. Africa and indeed Nigeria were adversely affected due to a lack of mechanisms such as adequate investments in health and education, and the absence of fiscal stimulus such as social safety net programs to withstand the shock. This study seeks to examine the nature of the structural break in labour productivity in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, particularly given investment in health and education. The data for the study which covers the period of 1991-2022 were obtained from the World Development Indicators and the Central Bank Statistical Bulletin of various years. The Chow test was used in this study to test for the presence of structural breaks in the productivity model. Findings from the estimation of the model reveal the presence of significant structural breaks due to the pandemic. This implies that the period of the Covid-19 pandemic significantly impacted the level of productivity within the economy measured by the output per worker. Findings also revealed that mobile subscriptions which allow access to the internet had a significant positive effect on productivity. Government spending on health and education did not have a significant impact on productivity before and after the pandemic.

PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF STIGMATIZATION AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PEOPLE LIVING WITH STAMMERING IN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

CHIBUEZE CHARLES NKEMNELE — 2023-11-03

The importance of effective communication skills cannot be overemphasized in various aspects of life. However, stammering, a condition marked by speech disruptions, makes it difficult and sometimes impossible, for those who suffer it to efficiently communicate. The influence of the speech condition for stammers extends far beyond words, thus deeply impacting their quality of life and social connections. Worse still, is the unfortunate reality that stammering individuals often bear the weight of societal stigmatization and discrimination, owing to their plight. Hence, this paper focuses on public perception of stigmatization and discrimination against people living with stammering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Employing a cross-sectional survey research design, 200 respondents aged 16 and above, for the structured questionnaire, were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Findings reveal a significant link between respondents' educational background and their propensity to stigmatization and discrimination (p=0.038). Age and gender were also found to show no statistically significant difference in the perception of the respondents, on stigmatization and discrimination against stutters, as both have a p-value of 0.051 and 0.551 respectively. In the light of the above results, the study advocates for the creation of an enabling environment, which affords stutters equal opportunities with their fluent-speaking peers.

ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF INSECURITY, EXCHANGE RATE AND ENERGY PRICES ON INFLATION IN NIGERIA

MOHAMMED DANLADI TUKUR — 2023-11-03

The study investigates the impact of insecurity, exchange rate, and energy prices on inflation rate in Nigeria. To document this study, time series data were used from 1985 to 2022. Major variables used include insecurity, which was proxied by security expenditure, exchange rate, premium motor spirit prices, crude oil prices, and inflation. Descriptive and inferential statistics was employed specifically the autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) model. Findings revealed that LCRPR, LPMS and LINSEC are stationary at first difference whereas LINFL and LEXCH achieved stationarity at levels and a long run relationship exists among the series. However, in the short run, insecurity and premium motor spirit have a positive relationship to inflation whereas exchange rate is on the contrary. Also, crude oil prices and premium motor spirit possesses an inverse relationship while exchange rate and insecurity are on the contrary in the long run. The study further reveals that insecurity, exchange rate and premium motor spirit has a unidirectional relationship to inflation. Consequently, the study concluded that all the variables insecurity, exchange rate, crude oil prices and premium motor spirit have significant impact with varying magnitude on inflation under the period considered. Therefore, the study suggested that government should aggressively diversify her economy towards the non-oil sector with emphasis on the critical sectors and also a Marshallian action plan need to be instituted by all stakeholders within the value chain on how to bring the insecurity condition to its knees as this will revive and spur economic activities.

ENERGY CONSUMPTION, CO2 EMISSION AND POPULATION HEALTH IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

OYEDELE OVIKUOMAGBE — 2023-11-03

This study examined the relationship between energy consumption, CO₂ emission and population health in 13 SSA countries from 1982 to 2014 based on data availability. Two health measures including under five mortality rate and life expectancy at birth were employed. A granger causality test was conducted after estimating a panel VAR model. Variance decomposition analysis and the impulse response function were used to examine the dynamic interactions among the variables and the effect of shocks. The neutrality hypothesis was found between under five mortality and total energy consumption. However, decomposing energy, a unidirectional causality was found from under five mortality to electricity consumption. There was a unidirectional causality from life expectancy to fossil fuel consumption based on a joint significance. Fossil fuel consumption shocks had a negative impact on life expectancy and greatest impact on CO₂ emission. Thus, policies towards improving life expectancy should target a reduction in fossil fuel demand through empowerment strategies and incentives to encourage a substantial transition to electricity consumption.

IMPACT OF INSURGENCY ON INCOME OF SCAVENGERS OF SOLID WASTE IN MAIDUGURI, BORNO STATE –NIGERIA

ADAMU ABDULLAHI — 2023-11-03

The study assessed the impact of insurgency on income of scavengers of solid waste in Maiduguri, Borno State. The population of the study comprised the residents within Maiduguri, Borno state Nigeria out of which 385 persons were sampled, purposively. Three hundred and eighty-five (385) copies of questionnaire were administered and all were retrieved, making 100% return rate. The study employed inferential statistics (Logistic regression) and descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) for data analysis. Results were presented in tables and discussed according to the research objectives. The findings reveal a significant decrease in the income of the scavengers after insurgency in the study area; thus, insurgency has negative impact on the income of scavenger of solid waste in Maiduguri. The study recommends that Federal Government should intensify the fight against Boko Haram insurgency. This will restore normalcy and help many businesses recover in Borno state.