Abstract:In this study we aimed at answering the question, 'Does agriculture matter for economic development in Nigeria?' Life expectancy is modeled against agricultural output and agricultural expenditure, amongst other variables. Agricultural output is also modeled against a host of socioeconomic, natural and human factors, which influence agricultural productivity. Applying Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root test, Ordinary Least Squares, and the Newey-West method on secondary data and dummy variable used in the study, it was found that agricultural output has negative and significant impact on life expectancy in Nigeria. The impact of agricultural expenditure was found to be positive but nonsignificant. Real gross domestic product and industrial output were also found to influence life expectancy. Careful examination of the hypothesized socioeconomic factors (political instability and industrial output), natural factor (rainfall), and human factor (carbon emission) showed that only industrial output and rainfall matter for agricultural output in the country: both variables have positive impacts on agricultural output. The study submits that as much as agriculture may matter for economic development, reliance on the sector alone without corresponding and simultaneous development of other crucial sectors such as education, health, and industry will not yield positive fruits for economic development in Nigeria. JEL Classifications: O13, Q14

Capital Flight has long been recognized as a problem for developing nations. Savings gap in some of these nations has widened over the years due to rising Capital Flight. This has limped domestic investment growth, employment creation and poverty alleviation. With these in view, this study seeks to underscore the socio-economic determinants of Capital Flight in Nigeria. Approaching the study, two measures of Capital Flight (hot money method and residual method) are modeled against a number of socio-economic factors identified in the literature. Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square, Seemingly Unrelated Regression and Error Correction Mechanism are employed to sieve out the significant determinants of Capital Flight in Nigeria. Amongst the host, only lagged Capital Flight, fiscal balance and exchange rate are found to be the significant determinants of Capital Flight in the country. The study concludes that unless sound macroeconomic measures are taken to address these factors, Capital Flight will remain high in Nigeria. Domestic investment will remain very low. Poverty levels will remain high, and the quest for economic development will remain elusive. The key out of Nigeria's colossal savings gap is keeping domestic capital at home. This is achievable using the strategies discussed in the study.

Small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) have been identified as the engine and foundation of rapid industrial growth. Unfortunately, the potentials of the SMEs to accelerate the process of industrialization in Africa have been undermined by numerous constraints, prominent among which is lack of access to finance. The study examined the impact of SMEs financing on industrial growth in Africa using panel time-series data from all the 15 ECOWAS countries from 1986 – 2016. In implementing the panel data regression, the study engaged in panel unit root using the LLC, IPM, Fisher-type ADF and PP tests, and co-integration tests using the Kao residual-based and Johansen- Fisher combined tests. The study also placed adequate control for any unobserved heterogeneity among the ECOWAS countries, using a well-specified fixed effect in exploiting the time dimension present in the dataset. The result shows that SMEs output significantly affects industrial growth positively while the Deposit Money Banks’ credit to SME’s do not have significant impact on industrial performance during the review period. The result further reveals that interest rates have a significant negative impact on industrial growth. Based on these findings, the study recommends that monetary authorities in ECOWAS countries can encourage easy access to finance by making available interest-free loans using microfinance institutions.

Purpose: The new scramble for Africa is marked by an influx of direct investment for the extraction and exploitation of the region’s natural resources, which has undoubtedly boosted the expansion of African commodities such as oil and minerals, as well as promoting rapid economic growth in several countries in the continent. Regrettably, Africa’s labour has been largely ignored, as most oil and mineral investments are capital-intensive and are likely to displace labour in local production, while also jeopardizing the continent’s job prospects. The study looked at the impact of FDI in the oil sector on labour employment in ten oil-rich African countries from 1995 to 2018 as part of its investigation into the new scramble and labour in Africa. Methodology/approach: The study used the Instrumental Variable (IV) regression in the context of the system Generalized Method of Moment (SGMM) estimator, based on dynamic panel modelling. Findings: The findings suggest that foreign investments in the oil sector have a positive, but not significant, impact on African labour employment. This suggests that during the review period, foreign investment in the oil sector did not result in a considerable increase in productive job opportunities in the oil-rich African countries. This study established that the new scramble for Africa in the shape of foreign investments in the oil sector did not result in job creation in the region. Originality/value: First, there is sparse literature on oil sector FDI-employment relations in Africa and this study extends literature by employing 10 oil-rich African nations. Second, unlike prior studies, this study applied advanced econometric techniques to account for the problems of unobserved heterogeneity specific to individual countries, cross-sectional dependence, serial correlation and endogeneity issues which are common in panel data regression. Third, this study will assist policymakers in the region to develop policies that will maximize the gains from the oil sector in Africa.