Effects of Smuggling and Human Trafficking Across Borders on Students' Academic Performance in Economics

Abstract

Smuggling and human trafficking as components of trans-border trading activities occur across the borders of many nations across the globe. The study investigated the effects of smuggling and human trafficking across borders on students' academic performance in economic concepts in Nigeria. The study is underpinned by the Rational Choice Theory within the positivism paradigm. The study was designed using descriptive survey research. Three hundred and twenty (320) respondents comprising male and female SSII & III students formed the sample through the stratified random sampling method to select the state and local governments and schools used for this study. Two (2) self-developed instruments, a student's questionnaire on trans-border trading activities (SQTTA) with a reliability co-efficient of 0.76 and the Economics Achievement Test (E.A.T.) having a reliability co-efficient of 0.84, respectively, were used to draw information from the respondents. Data collected were analyzed using PPMC and Stepwise Regression analysis to test the research questions raised in the study. The results revealed that the involvement of students in smuggling reasonably used clothes, used tyres, and small firearms are strong predictors of factors affecting students' academic performance. At the same time, human trafficking has little or no significant effect on academic performance, a departure from earlier studies. Therefore, the study recommended that future schools not be near border posts.