The size of the informal economy in Nigeria: a structural equation approach

Dell’Anno, Roberto; Adu, Omobola

doi:10.1108/ijse-12-2019-0747

Cited by 15 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…This has led to an increase in employment in the services sector and hence its contribution to unemployment reduction in Nigeria. Thus, the services sector, characterised mostly by informality, has become a hub of employment for the majority of unemployed people in Nigeria (Folawewo and Orija, 2020; Dell'Anno and Adu, 2020). Informality is not only the characteristic of the services sector but also of the agricultural sector though not at the rate of the services sector.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing Okun’s law at sectoral level: evidence from Nigeria

Raifu

2022

IJDI

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Purpose Researchers have long been interested in testing the validity of Okun’s law due to its macroeconomic policy implications. However, most of the studies have focused on testing the law using aggregate data on unemployment and output. In recent times, attention has been shifted to testing the law at the sectoral level. In light of this, the purpose of this study is to examine the response of unemployment to sectoral outputs in Nigeria using the data that covers a period from 1981-2020. Design/methodology/approach To test the validity of Okun’s law at the sectoral level, both difference and gap methods of specifying Okun’s law are used. Furthermore, the author also uses a series of estimation methods, which include ordinary least squares (OLS), dynamic OLS (DOLS), fully modified OLS (FMOLS) and canonical cointegration regression (CCR). Findings The results, based on the difference model, are mixed irrespective of estimation and data filter methods. For the gap model, Okun’s law holds for all sectors irrespective of estimation techniques (especially DOLS, FMOLS and CCR) when the Hodrick–Prescott filter method is used to filter data. However, the author discovers that the coefficients of Okun’s law vary across the sectors as the response of unemployment to services sector output is greater than the rest of the sectors. When the Hamilton filter method is used to filter data, the results appear to be mixed across the sectors. The results are almost ditto when all the sectoral variables are put in one model. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the validity of sectoral Okun’s law in Nigeria, the leading economy in Africa.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing Okun’s law at sectoral level: evidence from Nigeria

Raifu

2022

IJDI

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“…When discussing the future policy options for the gig sector it is necessary to recognize that, in many ways, gig work in Lagos is embedded in the informal economy (Aiyegbajeje, 2019). Informality in Nigeria is substantial and still growing, with estimates pointing to 38.83% to 57.55% of the country’s gross domestic product coming from informal work (Dell’Anno & Adu, 2020). As observed by Onwe (2013, p. 60), “the informal sector has the potential to provide the needed impetus for employment generation” though elsewhere it has been observed that the “existing policy responses to growth of the informal sector have not been encouraging” (Meagher, 2011).…”

Section: Discussion and Policy Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this article, we review the existing literature on the gig economy focusing in particular on the quality of work (Berg et al, 2018; D’Cruz, 2017; Heeks et al, 2020; Wood et al, 2019). Our unique contribution is looking at gig work against the backdrop of the informal economy, which is where the majority of the working population in L&LMICs earn their wages (Chen & Carré, 2020; Dell’Anno & Adu, 2020). We use an illustrative case study of the e‐hailing sector in Lagos, Nigeria, based on a semi‐structured survey of 138 e‐hailing drivers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Offline contexts of online jobs: Platform drivers, decent work, and informality in Lagos, Nigeria

Cieslik

Banya²,

Vira

2022

Development Policy Review

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Motivation:The Sustainable Development Goals targets include decent work for all by 2030 but progress in sub-Saharan Africa has been slow. Over the past five years, the platform work sector (e-hailing platforms in particular) has expanded considerably on the continent, providing work opportunities to the growing urban populations. The quality of this work, however, is heavily contested. Purpose: We deepen and extend our understanding of the gig economy in sub-Saharan Africa and assess its potential for creating decent work. Our unique contribution lies in looking at the gig economy in comparison to the local threshold (the informal economy) as opposed to wage employment. Methods and approach:We first review the literature on the gig economy, the informal sector, and decent work in low-and lower-middleincome countries. We then draw on a case study of e-hailing in Lagos, Nigeria, to assess the sector's potential to create decent work. We discuss our findings against the four pillars of the International Labour Organization's Decent Work Agenda: productive employment, labour standards, social protection, and social dialogue. Findings: We find that e-hailing platforms may offer certain gains compared to regular taxiing in the informal sector but these are context-and platform-specific. Examples include access to insurance, credit, and cash transfers. Gig work remains embedded in the informal economy: it is unregulated and does not abide by labour standards nor offer social protections. We also find evidence of well-organized labour movements. Policy implications: E-hailing may be productive work, as platform intermediation facilitates outreach and matching, translating into increased wages. This happens with the added cost of longer working hours in the absence of labour standards. We propose exploring the role of digital records kept by platforms (e.g. income volume and regularity, or customer ratings data) to facilitate the progressive transition of transport workers towards formality. We also recommend fostering industry standards (such as fair work certification) to protect workers' rights.

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“…The pandemic disrupted the work-life schedule of individuals with far-reaching consequences on the overall livelihood of such persons [35]. This impact may be worse for Nigeria, where most Nigerians are employed in the informal sector where income is made daily [43]. Also, being highly educated is a predictor of satisfaction in cultures where education is considered an achievement in Nigeria [41,44,45].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wellbeing during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic among adults in Nigeria: Associations with psychosocial and pandemic-related factors

Ibıgbamı

Oginni

Oloniniyi

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: Psychosocial factors including stress are determinants of wellbeing. However, there is a shortage of information about how these relationships were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic among adults in Nigeria.Objectives: To determine the associations between wellbeing, and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, psychological distress (anxiety and depression), and perceived social support among adults in Nigeria during the first wave of the pandemic.Methods: Wellbeing (assessed using the WHO Wellbeing Index) was the outcome variable while the explanatory variables included anxiety and depressive symptoms (assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), perceived social support (assessed using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support) and perceived impact of the pandemic (assessed using perceived disruptions of life-domains). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between the outcome and explanatory variables. The models were adjusted for sociodemographic profile (highest level of education, employment status and payment status).Results: Low self-perceived impact of the pandemic was significantly associated with higher odds of high wellbeing (AOR: 2.59; 95% CI: 1.69-3.95; p<0.001). Other factors associated with significantly higher odds of high wellbeing were high perceived social support (AOR: 2.40; 95% CI:1.78-3.22; p<0.001) and having tertiary education (AOR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.07-2.13; p=0.020). In contrast, experiencing anxiety symptoms were significantly associated with lower odds of high wellbeing (AOR: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.14-0.41; p<0.001)).Conclusions: Measures for enhancing the wellbeing of adults resident in Nigeria may include strategies to ameliorate the impact of the pandemic, strengthening social support systems, and promoting optimal physical and mental health.

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The size of the informal economy in Nigeria: a structural equation approach

Cited by 15 publications

References 18 publications

Testing Okun’s law at sectoral level: evidence from Nigeria

Testing Okun’s law at sectoral level: evidence from Nigeria

Offline contexts of online jobs: Platform drivers, decent work, and informality in Lagos, Nigeria

Wellbeing during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic among adults in Nigeria: Associations with psychosocial and pandemic-related factors

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