Entrepreneurial interest among the youth population is a panacea for unemployment especially due to high turnout of educated individuals in the labour force. This paper provides findings on the factors that determine entrepreneurship interest among the youth population in Nigeria using the University of Ibadan as a case study. Empirical results on whether engagement in entrepreneurial activities interferes with academic performance; extent of involvement and gender differences are also presented. The logit and multinomial logit models were used to examine the factors that influence entrepreneurship interest and interference with academic performance, respectively. Descriptive statistics and the T test were employed in examining the extent of involvement and whether there is a statistically significant difference across gender. The results showed that subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and family business background significantly predicts students' interest in entrepreneurship. Engagement in entrepreneurial activity has no significant effect on students' academic performance. Findings suggest relatively low entrepreneurial engagement among students with significant differences across gender.

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the relationship between public health spending and health outcome using time series data in Nigeria over the period 1980 to 2017, taking into account the role of governance by assessing how the quality of governance directly affects health status and indirectly as a mediator for the effectiveness of public health spending. Design/methodology/approach Using the Hausman statistical tests to check for the existence of endogeneity, the proper method for estimating the model for this study is the two-stage least square regression model. The two-stage least squares regression model addresses the problem of endogeneity using instrumental variables. The mediating role of governance on the effectiveness of public health spending on health was considered by an interaction of governance indicators with public health spending. Findings The results showed that public health spending had no significant effect on health outcome except when interacted with governance quality. The interaction of government health spending with governance effectiveness as well as that for control of corruption improved health by inducing a fall in maternal deaths, whereas government health expenditure interacted with rule of law raised maternal mortality. Public health spending interacted with regulatory quality improved life expectancy while that for political stability with public health spending induced a fall in life expectancy, poor maternal and infant health. Political stability and the control of corruption had direct influence on maternal health. Practical implications Given the predominance of public health spending in promoting access to health care and population health status for developing economies, the effectiveness of such spending should be top priority in policy makers’ agenda. This again is important because for developing economies, government revenue is generated from a small tax base due to their highly informal nature. To improve health status from public intervention in the health sector, there is indeed need for improvement in the overall state of governance in Nigeria. Originality/value This paper is one of the few country case studies which uses time series data to examine the role of governance on the efficacy of public health spending with extension of findings to maternal health and covering more measures of governance quality. The results fundamentally illuminate the importance of governance in fostering development in health and consequently enhancing economic development and growth.

Air pollution is projected to be higher in low-income countries most of which are in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) than other parts of the world; yet not many studies provide evidence relating air pollution with health condition in the region. This paper contributes to empirical literature evidence in this regard by examining the effect of air pollution measured using Carbon dioxide emission (CO2) on life expectancy and infant mortality rates in the SSA region. The Fixed and Random effects model were fitted to a panel of 44 countries from the period 1960 to 2017. The results suggest that poor air quality contributes to existing low health status in SSA inducing a fall in life expectancy and rise in infant mortality rates. The evidence showed that a 1% increase in CO2 emission leads to a fall in life expectancy at birth by approximately 1.5 years and increase in infant death by about 0.1 %. Findings indicate that existing poor health outcome in SSA are connected to poor air quality. In the bid to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on health, there is need for governments in the region to focus on reducing air pollution, particularly in achieving significant fall in infant deaths and improvements in life span.

PurposeThis study investigates the effect of user fees on access and waiting time in Nigeria. For access, the effect of user fees on both preventive and curative care; and the effect of user fees on waiting time at public healthcare facilities were examined. User fees are vital for the fiscal sustainability of healthcare provision for most African economies. Its imposition could debar healthcare access by the poor while its removal can reduce quality of care and induce longer waiting time.Design/methodology/approachThe wave 3 of the Nigerian General Household Survey (2015/16) data was used for users of public health facilities. Access to healthcare was modelled using utilization data in a logistic regression model while waiting time was through the Negative Binomial Regression Model (NBRM).FindingsThe analyses showed significant effects of user fees on access to both preventive and curative care and on time spent waiting to make use of healthcare services. Individuals were able to access healthcare services regardless of amounts paid. Also, there was a non-negative effect of user fee imposition on waiting time.Practical implicationsNigeria should improve healthcare facilities to address the enormous demand for healthcare services when designing policy for health sector.Originality/valueThis paper shows that even with the imposition of user fees, healthcare facilities could still not cater for the rising healthcare needs of the populace but cautioned that its abolition may not be a preferred option.

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