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This study empirically examines the relationship between financial intermediary development and economic growth in Nigeria over the period 1981-2011 using the auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to co-integration analysis. The results show that the relationship between financial development and economic growth in Nigeria is not significantly different from what has been observed generally in oil-dependent economies. The relationship between financial intermediary development and economic growth in Nigeria is found to be insignificantly negative in the long-run and significantly negative in the short-run. The results highlight the dominant role of the oil sector in economic activities in Nigeria.

This study employed a multivariate Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) that uses the Granger causality test and generalized variance decomposition analysis to study the relationship between crude oil prices, exchange rate and stock market performance in Nigeria from January 1995 to December 2014. As expected from an oil exporting country, a short-run positive relationship is observed between the Nigerian stock market and crude oil prices and the direction is from crude oil prices to the Nigerian stock market but not the other way round. The short run relationship between exchange rate and Nigerian stock market is observed to be positive and the direction is from the exchange rate to the Nigerian stock market. Exchange rate is also observed to be positively related to the movements in the crude oil prices in the short run with the direction of causality running from crude oil prices to exchange rate. However, the results of a multi-variate Johansen cointegration test suggest the existence negative relationship among the three variables in long run. The Variance Decomposition analysis shows that the Nigerian stock market performance and Exchange rate behaviour are strongly influenced by the movements in Crude Oil prices.

Considering the enormous impact of poor standard of educational system in Nigeria over the years, the study investigated the effects of public education funding on economic growth in Nigeria from 1985 to 2019. The paper used secondary data sourced from both Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin and World Bank’s Development Indicators 2019. The paper employed Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag co-integration, Error correction mechanism and granger-causality tests as technique for data analysis. The ARDL bound test co-integration results revealed that RRETE, RCETE and Inflation have positive relationship with Economic growth. However, RETE, SEDU and PRI have indirect influence on Economic growth in Nigeria. Statistically, only RRETE has a long run causal effect on economic growth. ARDL Error Correction Regression output showed that RETE and RCETE are significant at 10% level while PRI is significant at 5% level this indicates the existence of short run causal relationship with the establishment of ECM long run equilibrium adjustment speed. The causal results revealed unidirectional inference between SEDU and RETE, PRI and RETE, PRI and RRETE with no feedback effect. Therefore, the study recommended educational funding targeted at secondary and primary education system in order to acquire productive skills and knowledge to stimulate economic growth and development in Nigeria. There is need to meet the UNESCO funding ratio for both recurrent and capital expenditure on education sector.

This study examined the trade impact of trade liberalization in the developing economies from 1981 to 2014. It employed the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bound test approach. Two measures of trade liberalization were used to form an index of trade openness, while three measures of financial sector development were used to construct index of financial development using principal component analysis. The result suggested that the long run impact of trade liberalization on the economic growth of Nigerian is found to be negatively significant. The short run impact of trade liberalization on economic growth was found to be positive and significant. In total, the long and short run impact of trade liberalization to economic growth suggested that the Nigeria economy is yet to harness the benefits of international trade. It was also suggested that trade liberalization could enhance economic growth. However, the introduction of other variables in the likes of financial development, labour force and gross capital formation, none played a significant impact on economic growth in the Nigeria. The findings of this study offer some important policy implications. Trade liberalization could be another avenue for economic diversification through foreign direct investment and by so doing there will be improved in gross capital formation and AFRREV VOL. 11 (2), S/NO 46, APRIL, 2017 139 Copyright © International Association of African Researchers and Reviewers, 2006-2017: www.afrrevjo.net. Indexed African Journals Online: www.ajol.info indeed economic growth. Nigeria also needs to create diversified, dynamic and competitive sectors capable of absorbing the more educated labour force to translate human capital to higher economic growth