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Open Access Knowledge and Scholarship

Date of Award

6-2020

Culminating Project Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Applied Economics: M.S.

Department

Economics

College

School of Public Affairs

First Advisor

Mana Komai Molle

Second Advisor

Ratha Artatrana

Third Advisor

Lynn Collen

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Keywords and Subject Headings

Trade policy, Error Correction Model, OLS, Trade, Nigeria, Economic Growth, Human Capital Index, Time Series

Abstract

This study examines the trade-growth nexus in Nigeria during the period 1970 – 2015. In the empirical investigation, real gross domestic product is employed as the dependent variable while real imports, real exports, real gross capital formation, and oil rent as a percentage of GDP are explanatory variables. Two different models were employed in this study – a single equation error correction model (ECM) and a log-log Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression model. In the OLS results, all of the explanatory variables returned a positive sign, with the exception of oil rent as a percentage of GDP but this is consistent with existing literature. Despite the widely cited benefits that international trade has on economic growth, there continues to be a divide on its contributions. Contributing to this debate is a bedrock of this study. The evidence here adds to existing literature to state that trade contributes to economic growth. This study recommends that policymakers should develop the right mix of policy to boost human capital development, capital formation, export promotion, and to develop a diversified economy that is less dependent on oil rent.

Comments/Acknowledgements

Sincere appreciation goes to Dr. Ratha Artatrana, Dr. Mana Komai, and Dr. Lynn Collen for their guidance during the course of this research.

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