Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors affecting the academic outcome of real estate students in a specialized Federal University in Nigeria. Furthermore, this paper investigates the phenomenon of publication bias in the extant literature as such evidence poses severe threats to the validity of empirical findings on factors affecting the degree outcome of undergraduate students. Design/methodology/approach The standard statistical approach adopted was to examine whether the reported coefficient estimates from ten empirical studies (105 observations) are independent of their standard errors by employing both ordinary least squares (OLS) and weighted least squares (WLS). In this paper, this approach enabled evidence of publication bias in the cited literature to be refuted. In addition, data were also collected on the academic measure and demographic information of 449 students who graduated between 2005 and 2011. For the purpose of analysis, the study utilized a stepwise logistic regression technique to examine the factors impacting on the degree outcome of real estate students. Findings The results of the OLS and WLS regression indicate that there is no significant evidence of any empirical effect of publication bias in the extant literature. The results of the logistic regression also revealed that grade point average, gender differences, prior knowledge of real estate discipline and potential difference in year of enrollment impact on students’ academic performance in terms of their ability to graduate at first attempt. In addition, factors such as age, marital status, high school grade and geopolitical/ethnic background of undergraduate real estate students do not influence their opportunities to graduate at first attempt from the university. Research limitations/implications This paper focuses only on one specialized university of technology offering a bachelor’s program in real estate in Nigeria, so as to remove any extraneous factor(s) that could be present in the other institutional settings where students have completed such program. Extending similar study to tertiary institutions in Nigeria that share similar geographical characteristics and institutional settings can produce far-reaching generalization. Originality/value This paper contributes to the scanty literature on factors affecting the academic performance of students in an undergraduate real estate program in Nigeria. A scientific element of novelty in this paper is the evidence of the absence of the underlying effect of publication bias in the extant literature on students’ academic outcome in tertiary institutions. Findings from this study serve as the basis for university officers to monitor significant transitions in real estate students’ academic progress, so as to identify those who are unlikely to graduate at first attempt early at the entrant level. Generally, the outcome of this research could provide faculty and admission officers in tertiary institutions with complementary information in arriving at an informed decision in a non-discriminatory admission process.

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The paper examines the relationship existing between commercial property investment returns and public capital investment (budgetary expenditures) on road infrastructure in Fadikpe area, Minna (Nigeria) with the aim of determining the degree of impact of public capital investment on commercial property investment returns. The paper addresses a pertinent policy and practice question on the impact of government’s budgetary expenditures on real estate sector of the economy. Government increasingly faces funding challenges in providing new infrastructure or improvement of existing ones, thus, keen to know the areas of greater impact of its expenditures and the extent to which the benefits from the impact may go in augmenting or providing funds (through tax) for new road infrastructure provision or repair of existing ones. The research uses the before-and-after case method to identify an increase in property values (rental and sales) as measured by the trend of property investment returns before-and-after budgetary expenditures. The results show that commercial property investment returns in the area increased after budgetary expenditure (road construction) took place. The results form the basis upon which the government should consider more budgetary allocations and expenditures related to road transportation infrastructure in its budgetary allocation decisions. The results also quantify the proposed alternative source of funding (property tax) that can be harnessed via capturing the increase in property investment returns.

This study investigates the factors influencing gender inequality in land and property ownership among peri-urban women in Minna, Nigeria. The data  for this study came from 622 women in 12 peri-urban localities of the 25 neighborhoods in Minna, Nigeria. A closed-ended questionnaire was  administered by field assistants with the aid of mobile data collection application called kobotool. Descriptive statistics such as frequency count and  proportion methods were used in describing the respondents’ socio-demographic patterns, level of ownership, and mode of acquisition. Inferential  statistical techniques were also employed to analyze the data collected for the study such as chi-square and relative importance index. The chi-square  test examined whether the underlying socio-demographic/economic characteristics of the two groups of respondents (Women without Property  ownership and Women with Property ownership) are independent in terms of the level of property ownership. The study identified among others  religious beliefs and orientations and Economic and financial constraints with relative importance index of 0.7412 and 0.7218 respectively, as the core  factors constituting obstacles to women access to land/property among the respondents. The study recommends legislation from the state house of  assembly on gender inclusion on issues relating to religious belief, Economic and financial empowerments in the study areas.