Agglomeration Economies among Animal and Crop Producers in Nigeria: A Panacea for Diversification and Sustainable Economic Growth in South Eastern Nigeria

This paper investigates agglomeration economies among Farmers in cluster areas of South Eastern Nigeria as a tool for economic emancipation with a special interest in diversification and growth. It also identified other vital roles agglomeration plays in developing economies like Nigeria. These are not only as tools for poverty alleviation and diversification of sources of livelihood among farmers but also tools for employment generation and sustainable economic growth. This paper was motivated by the quest to provide urgent policy recommendations for a sustainable approach to agricultural development in South Eastern Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to: (i) describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents; (ii) ascertain the perception of the farmers on diversification and other benefits from agglomeration locations in the region, and (iii) ascertain the challenges militating against diversification and economic growth as benefits from agglomeration clusters. Descriptive survey research design and structured questionnaire were adopted for this study. Pearson's product moment correlation method and split half technique were adopted to determine the internal consistency of the instrument on 150 questionnaires retrieved and reliability coefficient of 0.91 was obtained. Objective (i) and (ii) were realized using descriptive statistics and charts while Objective (iii) was realized using weighted mean, standard deviation and rankings. Majority of the farmers were within the active age of 40-49 years. Basic education (69.3%) was also pronounced and most farmers operate either medium or large-scale farming. Farmers were of the views that they had benefited immensely from agglomeration economies especially in areas of transportation, diversification, access to information and innovation as well as access to credit. Fear of risks and uncertainties, dependency on rain-fed farming, and limited access to long-term credit ranked highest among the critical challenges limiting them from diversification and economic growth potentials in agglomeration.

The study examined the effect of macro-economic variables on economic growth in Nigeria between 1990-2022. Specifically, the paper examined the effect of Exchange rate on Economic growth in Nigeria and determined the effect of interest rate on Economic growth in Nigeria. The paper employed ex-facto research design, using secondary data and adopted SVAR model. The paper found out that interest rate has a significant effect on Economic growth (RGDP) in Nigeria, and found that exchange rate has a significant effect on Economic growth (RGDP) in Nigeria. The study concluded that macroeconomic variables has a significant effect on Economic growth in Nigeria. Based on the study’s findings and conclusions above, the following recommendations were made: the government should improve on her foreign reserves as an absolute measure that will stabilize exchange rate to boost economic environment for effective investment to thrive and contribute to gross domestic product in Nigeria, and interest rate is found to have increased the potentials of Economic growth in Nigeria. It is therefore important to note that since interest rate have significantly affected the Economic growth in Nigeria, the CBN should improve on discount rate to stabilize interest rate to boost economic environment for effective investment to thrive and contribute to gross domestic product in Nigeria.

The main purpose of the chapter is to find out the effects of renewable energy on economic growth and household consumption in Nigeria. Renewable energy supply and environmentally sustainable consumption are key ingredients in achieving sustainable economic growth and development all over the world. The chapter aims at highlighting the positive contributions of green energy to sustainable consumption and economic growth. The main methods of analysis for the study are Granger causality tests, VAR impulse response function, and Variance decomposition. The findings show strong links between renewable electricity supply, economic growth, and household consumption in Nigeria. This was expected a priori, as overwhelming empirical and theoretical literature has attested to the effects of renewable electricity on economic growth of other nations around the world.

This study investigates the impact of customers' buying power on the sustainability of economic growth in Nigeria, focusing on identifying the factors influencing customers' buying power and their contribution to long-term economic stability. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study, which involved a population of 1,260 Nigerian consumers, with a sample of 378 respondents drawn from the South-South and South-East geopolitical zones. A stratified random sampling technique was used to ensure proportional representation across various income levels and sectors. The primary data collection instrument was the Evaluation of the Impact of Customers' Buying Power on the Sustainability of Economic Growth (EICBPSEGQ) questionnaire, comprising 14 items rated on a four-point Likert scale. Validity of the instrument was established through expert review, achieving a content validity index (CVI) of 1.00, while reliability was confirmed with Cronbach's Alpha coefficients of 0.94 and 0.96. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and standard deviation. The study revealed that customers' buying power plays a significant role in shaping economic growth and stability. Key findings indicated that inflation reduces spending ability, while exchange rate fluctuations impact the affordability of imported goods. Income inequality hinders economic participation, and government fiscal policies are critical in stabilizing the economy. Other factors, such as unemployment, political instability, and access to credit, also significantly affect customers' purchasing power. The findings underscore the collective importance of these factors in enhancing economic growth and maintaining long-term stability in Nigeria. To protect consumers' purchasing power, it is recommended that the government focus on stabilizing inflation through effective monetary and fiscal policies. This could include controlling the prices of essential goods and services, implementing measures to curb inflationary pressures, and managing the money supply to prevent excessive currency devaluation. By stabilizing inflation, consumers’ buying power can be maintained, which in turn will support sustainable economic growth.

The service sector is a crucial component of economic growth, and it has been noticed as a sector with a greater capability that plays role in sustained economic growth and development in developing countries like Nigeria. Therefore, the study seeks to examine the impact of service sectors' foreign exchange transaction incentives on economic growth in Nigeria. The study employed the Time Series data and used ARDL and ECM in the estimation of variables. both long-run and short-run results revealed that the transportation sector foreign exchange transaction incentive has a positive and significant impact on economic growth in Nigeria. On the other hand, the education sector foreign exchange transaction incentive has a negative and insignificant impact on economic growth in Nigeria both in the long and short run. Therefore, the paper recommended that government should adopt both long and short-term policies of transportation sector foreign exchange transaction incentives for economic growth in Nigeria because of its positive and significant impact on economic growth in the short run and long run and the government should redesign policy in improving the education sector foreign exchange transaction incentive for economic growth in Nigeria because of its negative and insignificant impact on economic growth in the short run and long run.

<p><em>Transport remains one of the major infrastructural facilities critical for sustainable economic growth and development of any nation including Nigeria. This paper examined public spending on transport infrastructure and economic growth in Nigeria. The study employed the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression method to analyze the data collected. The data analyzed show that public spending on transport infrastructure is negatively related to growth and insignificant. The study recommended that government must ensure adequate funding of transport sector. And that fiscal responsibility laws be properly implemented to ensure greater accountability and prudence in the funds allocated to transport sector. This would go a long way to boost employment, sustainable economic growth and development in Nigeria.</em></p>

This study examines the effect of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on economic growth of Nigeria. The main objective of the study is to explore and quantify the contribution of Foreign Direct inflows to economic growth in Nigeria and other macro-economic variable(s). The model built for the study proxy real gross domestic product as the endogenous variable measuring economic growth as a function of Foreign Direct Investment,Domestic capital, Government Expenditure, real exchange rate and Inflation rate as the exogenous variables in the first model while unemployment was expressed as a function of Foreign Direct Investment, Governmentexpenditure and real GDP. Annual time series data was gathered from Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical bulletin, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the World Economic Outlook spanning 1970 to 2013. The study used econometric techniques of Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) unit root test, pairwise granger causality test,Johansen co-integration test and error correction model (ECM) for empirical analysis. The results of unit rootrevealed that, all the variables in the model were integrated at first difference while pairwise granger causality revealed a unidirectional relationship between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Economic growth (GDP) in Nigeria and no causal relationship between Foreign Direct Investment and unemployment rate. The co-integration test shows that, long-run equilibrium relationship exists among the variables captured in model but model 2 revealed no hypothesized co-integrating equation. FDI had positive but not statistically significantrelationship with Nigerians economy growth in both the short and long run. The findings from the error correction method show that, the distortion in will adjust itself to equilibrium at 0.3% in each period which is very slow in adjusting to equilibrium in case of any distortion. The study recommends that, the government need to aggressively initiate policies to channel the Nation's domestic savings for investment purposes and enact policies to train human capital to argument increasing FDI into the country to stimulate the economy towards rapid and sustained economic growth.

This study investigated the impact of the people category of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on sustainable and conventional economic growth in Asia and the Pacific region, using a sample of 52 selected countries between 2000 and 2023. Employing two distinct models, model A1 for conventional economic growth and model A2 for sustainable economic growth, we explained the relationships between five SDG indicators: employed poverty rate, stunted children, expenditure on health, expenditure of education, and % of women MNAs on economic growth. This study employed a fixed-effect model and random-effect model to investigate the impact of the people category SDGs on traditional and sustainable economic growth. The comparative analysis of each SDG in both models revealed valuable insights. SDG 1, “employed poverty rate”, has a positive impact on economic growth in both models, while SDG 2, “percentage of stunted child”, did not significantly influence economic growth in either model. Moreover, SDG 3 and SDG 4, relating to “government’s health expenditure per capita” and “government’s Education education expenditure per capita”, respectively, exhibited a positive impact on traditional and sustainable economic growth. Conversely, SDG 5, “percentage of women members of national parliament”, displayed an insignificant impact on traditional and sustainable economic growth models. In conclusion, this study suggests that policymakers should prioritize targeted interventions to alleviate employed poverty, enhance healthcare, and boost education spending. Moreover, promoting women’s representation in national parliaments should be approached with context-specific strategies to maximize its impact on economic growth.

The impact of deficit financing on economic growth has long been recognized in the extant literature given that this type of financing is germane to accelerated and sustainable economic growth. Yet, Nigeria did not seem to have utilized deficit financing proceeds to invest in those related infrastructural facilities that would generate income and augment domestic savings, thereby helping to make and sell quality products and services that are internationally competitive, and ultimately stimulate economic growth. Rather, the seemingly weak governance in the country engaged in massive misappropriation of public funds and outright corruption thereby exacerbating unemployment, insecurity, and widespread poverty both in the urban and rural areas of the country. The main aim of the study therefore was to investigate empirically the impact of deficit financing on economic growth in Nigeria for the period 1981 to 2019. Secondary data for the study were sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the World Bank Global Development Index. The fully modified ordinary least squares methodology of the econometrics was employed to analyze the data of the study. The major findings of the study showed that the federal government domestic debt variable, the federal government budget deficit variable, the foreign exchange reserves variable, and the broad money supply variable exerted positive impacts on economic growth, while the external debt variable exerted a negative and insignificant impact on economic growth in Nigeria. The study therefore concluded that public borrowing in Nigeria can only induce rapid and sustainable economic growth only and if only borrowed funds are massively invested in related infrastructural facilities that would generate revenue which would augment domestic financial resources. Accordingly, the study recommended that the federal government of Nigeria should carefully study the state of its economy to enable it invest in those infrastructural facilities that are thought germane to the achievement of sustainable economic growth.

This paper examines the relationship between interest rate liberalisation policies and sustainable economic growth in Nigeria. Employing the autoregressive-distributed lag (ARDL) – bounds testing approach and using GDP per capita as economic growth indicator, the paper establishes a long run relationship between economic growth and interest rate liberalisation, which is represented by an index calculated using principal component analysis (PCA). The empirical findings of this paper show that interest rate liberalisation policies have a positive impact on economic growth in Nigeria. These results apply irrespective of whether the test is conducted in the short run or in the long run. This supports the numerous past studies, which have reported positive results regarding the effects of interest rate liberalisation on economic growth. The paper, therefore, concludes that interest rate liberalisation policies have been very effective in bolstering economic growth in Nigeria.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth in Nigeria. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: FDI positively impacts Nigeria's economic growth by fostering capital formation and technology transfer. However, this relationship is influenced by factors like institutional quality and governance effectiveness. Challenges such as infrastructure deficits and policy instability hinder FDI's full potential. Thus, creating a favorable investment climate and implementing sound economic policies are crucial for sustainable economic growth in Nigeria. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The theory of foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth, the dependency theory & the institutional theory may be used to anchor future studies on analyze the foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth in Nigeria. Fostering investment in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, and technology can contribute to economic diversification, employment generation, and skill development, thereby fostering sustainable economic growth. Nigerian authorities should focus on improving the investment climate by implementing reforms aimed at reducing bureaucratic hurdles, streamlining business processes, and enhancing transparency.

This work investigated the impact of labour force participation on economic growth in Nigeria for the period 1990 to 2021 using annual time series data on real gross domestic product (RGDP), male labour force participation rate (MLFPR) and female labour force participation rate (FLFPR). The objectives are to examine the impact of male labour force participation rate (MLFPR) and female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) on economic growth in Nigeria and to ascertain the causality relationship between male labour force participation rate, female labour force participation rate, and economic growth in Nigeria using ARDL Bounds Testing methodology. The result indicated that male labour force participation rate (MLFPR) and female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) had statistically significant impact on economic growth in Nigeria in the short run. The result also revealed that, in the long run, male labour force participation rate (MLFPR) and female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) had statistically insignificant impact on economic growth in Nigeria. A uni-directional causality relationship is found between male labour force participation rate (MLFPR) and economic growth (RGDP) in Nigeria over the period covered with the causality running from economic growth to male labour force participation rate. The result further indicated that there is no significant causality relationship between female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) and economic growth in Nigeria over the period covered. The study therefore recommended that government should design active policy for male and female participation in labour force and seriously empower women to participate in labour force in Nigeria.

This paper examines the relationship between stock market evolution and sustainable economic growth in Nigeria. The study employs Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL)-bounds testing approach and a combined stock market indicators index to examine the relationship. The paper finds that, in the long run, stock markets have no positive and at best mixed effect on economic growth in Nigeria. This finding supports the numerous past studies, which have reported negative/mixed or inconclusive results on the effects of stock markets on economic growth. The paper, therefore, concludes that, there is the need for increasing financial deepening and the removal of bottlenecks in the financial sectors of the economy by providing further public and institutional education on the value of stock markets for economic development.

In many economies the major role of government is the regulation and stabilization of the system in other to achieve macroeconomic objectives, which include but not limited to sustainable economic growth, full employment, and price stability. Monetary and fiscal policies have been considered as viable economic planning strategies for achieving the stated macroeconomic objectives. But the extent to which each is to be used to achieve the desired objectives is a matter of intense debate among policy makers and economists. This study is on monetary-fiscal policy coordination and economic growth sustainability in Nigeria. The objective is to examine the contributions of monetary and fiscal policies to economic growth in Nigeria and how their coordination has affected the economy towards growth recovery and sustainability. Unit root test, co integration test, Auto Regressive Distribution Lag (ARDL) model and trend analysis were some of the econometric techniques used for data estimation. The following variables were used as explanatory variables – Money Supply (MS), Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), Total Government Expenditure (TEXP) and Tax Revenue (TXREV), while the dependent variable is Real Gross Domestic Product (RGDP) proxy of economic growth. The data were sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin covering the period of 37 years. The result of the st stationarity test showed that all the independent variables were stationary at 1 difference while the dependent variable was stationary at level form. The Bound test proved that there was the existence of long run equilibrium relationship among the variables. The result from the short run analysis showed that TXREV was significant in one period lag and negatively related to RGDP. In the long run MPR and MS have significant impact on RGDP and were rightly signed. The combined effect of monetary and fiscal policies on the level of economic growth in Nigeria is found to be weak and unstable over the years of study, which indicates weak long-run relationship between the explanatory variables and the dependent variable. It is therefore necessary to establish an appropriate framework to intensify coordination between monetary and fiscal policies as tools for economic stabilization. However increased autonomy of the Central bank and the Debt management office may help realize the desired objective.

The study examined the effect of foreign aid and aid-institutional quality interaction on economic growth in Nigeria for the period (1981 - 2022) using FMOLS method. The result of the study shows that foreign aid (ODA) exerted positive but insignificant impact on economic growth in Nigeria, indicating that ODA is relevant to Nigeria’s economic growth but is not among the major drivers of economic growth in Nigeria. The aid-institutional quality interaction variable, the ODA interaction with corruption index (ODA*CPI), showed negative relationship with economic growth which suggests that weak institution, especially corruption, had constrained the positive effect of ODA on economic growth in Nigeria. The ODA absorptive capacity constraint (ODA2) had a negative and significant impact on economic growth which suggests the existence of inverted U-shape relationship between ODA and economic growth. The negative coefficient of absorptive capacity constraint of ODA shows that there is a critical level which beyond, further increase in ODA will impede economic growth. As for other variables, labour force (L), domestic capital (K), crude oil price (COP), financial deepening (FDP) and trade openness (TOP) had positive and significant relationship with economic growth (RGDP) in Nigeria. The coefficient of foreign direct investment (FDI) had a negative sign, implying that FDI had a negative impact on economic growth in Nigeria. It is recommended that there should be prudent utilization of ODA received, better and effective macroeconomic policies, improvement in the quality of governance and strengthening of relevant institutions to abate the problem of pervasive corruption in the country. Finally, aid fungibility should be avoided.