Most studies on corporate governance recognize endogeneity in the nexus between corporate governance and financial performance. Little attention has, however, been paid to the direction of causality between the two phenomena, and hence the Vector Error Correction (VEC) model, which allows for endogenous determination of the direction of causality, has not been widely employed. This study fills that gap by estimating the nexus and the direction of causality using the VEC model to analyze panel data on selected listed firms in Nigeria. The results agree with the findings of most previous studies that corporate governance significantly affects financial performance. Board skills, board composition and management skills enhanced financial performance indicators – return on equity (ROE), return on asset (ROA) and net profit margin (NPM); in many occasions, significantly. Board size and audit committee size did not, and can actually undermine financial performance. More importantly, financial performance did not significantly affect corporate governance. On the basis of the lag structure of the VEC model, this study affirms unidirectional causality in the nexus, running from corporate governance to financial performance, nullifying the hypothesis of bidirectional causality in the nexus.

The Niger Delta has been the hub of oil operations since 1958. Before the advent of oil, the people women mostly depended on the natural environment; fishing and farming for their livelihoods. However, oil operations in the region have been accompanied by unabated oil spillages and huge gas flares that have acutely despoiled the environment. The papers examine oil operations and environmental insecurity in the Niger Delta. The paper contends that oil operations have virtually stripped women of their known means of livelihoods, with no other alternative means of sustenance; leading to servile poverty. This has forced women into practices traditionally abhorred in the region for sustenance. The paper concludes that but for oil operations, women socioeconomic status would not have been so adversely impacted and ingloriously diminished.

Purpose Most studies on electricity-economic growth nexus in the literature are preoccupied with causality, with little attention paid to the transmission mechanisms. The orientation of most of these studies is obviously predicated on their assumption that electricity enters the production function in a Hicks-neutral fashion. Based on the assumption that productivity of capital is affected by electricity supply, this study estimates a production function in which electricity enters the model in capital-augmenting style. The study aims to examine the transmission channels in the electricity-economic growth nexus. Design/methodology/approach Using monthly data on Nigeria from 1980 to 2013, the study uses the three-stage least square regression technique, which not only controls for possible endogeneity in the model but also allows for tracing the transmission linkages to estimate the relationship between electricity and economic growth in Nigeria. Findings This study establishes that electricity positively affected economic growth in Nigeria however through its positive effects on industrial output. The direct effect of electricity on economic growth was insignificant. This study thus concluded that the transmission mechanism in electricity-economic growth nexus is the electricity-induced industrial growth. Practical implications Nigeria should increase her electricity supply (for increased electricity consumption) because this would significantly stimulate her industrialization and economic growth. Originality/value This study differs from earlier studies in that it did not primarily focus on causality; it examined the transmission channels in the electricity-economic growth nexus. Moreover, it differs from them on the implicit assumptions made by earlier studies that electricity enters the production function in a Hicks-neutral fashion. It rather estimated a model in which electricity enters the production function in capital-augmenting fashion because the study assumed that productivity of capital is affected by electricity supply.

The study examined empirically the relationship between monetary-fiscal policy mix and Nigeria's economic stability. The Johansen cointegration technique complemented with VECM were employed to achieve the objective of the study. The result of the descriptive statistics revealed that the variables were normally distributed and the degree of variability of them was good as evident from the Jarque-Bera statistics and standard deviation. The Johansen and Juselius co-integration results revealed that both the trace statistic and maximum Eigenvalue statistic confirmed the existence of co-integrating equations among the variables of interest. It was evident that the trace test indicated six cointegrating equations while maximum Eigenvalue test revealed four cointegrating equations in the model, as the null hypothesis of no cointegration was rejected. These results suggested that there was a unique long run equilibrium relationship among the variables. The VECM result indicated that there was a long run relationship between the variables concerned. The result further showed that monetary-fiscal indicators have not made much significant contributions to the growth of the Nigerian economy as well as economic stabilization in Nigeria. The study recommended the entrenchment of fiscal discipline as a result of destabilizing effect of government's fiscal activities due to its fiscal irresponsibility in Nigeria. Also recommended was that monetary policies should be structured to lower lending interest rate and raise interest rate on saving deposits so as to increase the availability of loanable funds which will in turn boost investment and stimulate economic growth.Funding: This study received no specific financial support Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Acknowledgement: The authors are deeply grateful to the anonymous referees of this paper who made comments that were very useful in revising and improving the quality of the paper. We say thank you all.

Of all the sub-regions in Africa, the West Africa sub-region has become very notorious concerning conflict over natural resources. This has become rather endemic with virtually all the states making up the sub-region involved. Although the spate of conflicts has reduced somewhat over the years, especially with the interventionist policy of ECOWAS, however, the conflicts have presented us with domestic, regional as well as international dimensions. While it is crucial to understand the impact which these different trajectories have on the nature, dimensions, direction and dynamics of conflicts in West Africa, it is critical also to understand the role played by natural resources in both escalating and resolving conflicts in this area. While we are aware that, as at anywhere else in the world, these conflicts in the sub-region may be multidimensional and complex in nature, they nevertheless stem from socioeconomic, psychological, and political conditions internal to the respective nations. However, the paper argues that while the internal dimension can always be resolved among contenders, it become probably and takes longer time because of the external dimension which globalization has introduced. Thus, not only has globalization engendered new forms of conflict but it has also made certain that its resolution may not be possible and what we may be at best a reprieve.   Keywords: Conflicts, Dynamics, Globalization, Natural Resources, Sub-Region, West Africa .