Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the link between corporate governance structure and firm performance in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approach -The present study uses the regression model to analyze publicly available data for a sample of 107 firms quoted in the Nigerian Stock Exchange for the fiscal years 1998 to 2002.Findings -The empirical investigations showed that ownership concentration has a positive impact on performance. Although the results revealed no evidence to support the impact of board composition on performance, there is significant evidence to support the fact that CEO duality adversely impact firm performance. The result also suggests firm size and leverage to impact on firm performance. A new variable, identified as more than one family member on the board, is found to have an adverse effect on firm performance.Research limitations/implications -The study relied much on publicly available data for a sample of 107 listed firms in Nigeria for the fiscal years 1998 to 2002. Thus, effort should be made to look at this study in a more elaborate viewpoint and across borders.Practical implications -Good corporate governance standards are imperative to every organization and should be encouraged for the interest of the investors and other stakeholders.Originality/value -Interestingly, from a developing country perspective, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, the paper is the first of its kind and offers evidence on the impact of corporate governance structure on firm performance. The paper provides useful information that is of great value to policy makers, academics and other stakeholders.

This study evaluates the relevance of inclusive financial access in moderating the effect of income inequality on economic growth in 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for the period 1995 to 2017. The findings using the Generalised Method of Moments (sys-GMM) technique show that inclusive financial access contributes to reducing inequality in the short run, contrary to the Kuznets curve. The result reveals a negative effect of financial access on the relationship between income inequality and economic growth. There is a positive net effect of inclusive financial access in moderating the impact of income inequality on economic growth. Given the need to achieve the Sustainable Development Targets in the sub-region, policymakers and other stakeholders of the economy must design policies and programmes that would enhance access to financial services as an essential mechanism to reduce income disparity and enhance sustainable economic growth.

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Public and private sectors across the globe formulate and implement policies that target growth of their operations. It is of essence therefore that economic managers and other stakeholders identify and engage key factors that promote economic activities in policy formulation. The connection between economic performance and energy utilization is acknowledged in the literature, but empirics on the nature of this relationship produce mixed outcomes thereby suggesting the need for more research. Using the auto-regressive distributed lag method, this study estimates the effect of energy consumption on economic growth in Nigeria between 1981 and 2017, incorporating financial development, gross fixed capital formation and inflation for enhanced robustness. The results indicate that energy consumption and gross fixed capital formation (proxy for infrastructure) significantly determine growth of economic activities in Nigeria. The study also presents empirical support for delayed response of an endogenous variable to its own shocks as well as shocks to explanatory variables. It therefore asserts that energy consumption is a major determinant of economic growth in Nigeria, and aligns with the energy-led hypothesis. The observed positive impact electricity and capital consumption provides empirical support for the endogenous growth theory. Increased government and private sector investment in energy and infrastructural development is strongly advocated.