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RAGING POVERTY AND NIGERIAN AGRICULTURE: Some Policy Issues
P.A. Okuneye, E. Fabusoro, K. Adebayo and I.A. Ayinde, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. b_okuneye@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
The paper starts with the premise that agriculture is very important for the less developed countries in that it provides employment for the majority of their populations and is the main source of food supply. African agriculture belongs to the low resource or resource-poor category of the three recognized categories (WCED, 1987). The rural areas where agriculture is the main occupation of the people is characterized by poverty. The poverty situation in Nigeria and measures taken to alleviate the situation are reviewed. There is also a prescient overview on poverty alleviation programmes. It also proposes strategies for sustainable poverty reduction in the country.
ECONOMIC REFORMS AND POVERTY REDUCTION IN NIGERIA
Ben E. Aigbokhan
Department of Economics
Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma
email: baigbokhan@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Economic reforms have been implemented in Nigeria since the early 1980s. The level of commitment to the policies has, however, varied. This explains the level of effectiveness of the policies. Using a simple macroeconomic policy performance score methodology, this paper found that there was a general deterioration in policy performance between 1980 and 1992, and an improvement in the period 1992-1996. There was marked improvement in the period 1999-2004 in some policy components and deterioration in others. The overall policy stance, however, was an improvement, and overall growth performance was also positive.
The incidence of poverty was found to have deteriorated between 1980 and 1992, improved in 1992-96, and presented a mixed picture in the period 1996-2004. An improvement was suggested by some measure indices of poverty, while a deterioration was suggested by others.
The reforms were found to have recorded some success, especially with regard to economic growth. However, because they were accompanied with increased inequality, they had less success in the area of poverty reduction. This, therefore, suggests the need to pay particular attention to the implementation of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) to ensure that it produces inclusive growth.
THE IMPACT OF MACROECONOMIC POLICY AND INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF FIRMS IN NIGERIA
'Tayo Fakiyesi
Department of Economics
University of Lagos, Lagos
email: fakiyesi_tayo@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
The study examines the impact of macroeconomic policy and environment on the performance of firms in Nigeria. The study classifies firms into types of activities and selects a fair number of representative firms from all segments of quoted firms on Nigeria's Stock Exchange to examine the twin impacts of macroeconomic policy and environment on performance of firms in the country. Following earlier works, we assumed that the utility of the share-holders of these firms can be described in maximizing the owners' expected utility of terminal wealth. With these assumptions and a fairly generalised mean-variance function, we derived the profit function as a multivariate function of all the firms acting interactively and constrained by the macroeconomic policy environment.
To implement the analysis, Zellner's (1962) seemingly unrelated regression estimation technique was combined with the vector error correction method. The techniques were used to test for: (i) the dynamics and stability of the system generating the model; (ii) the implications of the different policies of government on the performance of these firms over the period covered by our analysis; (iii) the effectiveness of our method of analysis as compared to other methods in the literature; and (iv) to derive policy implications, if any, for future guidance.
TRADE POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND NEGOTIATIONS IN THE DOHA ROUND: Documentation of Major Issues and Proposals on Africa's Position
S. O. Olofin
Centre for Econometrics and Allied Research (CEAR)
University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
M.G. Plummer
Johns Hopkins University SAIS
Bologna Centre, Bologna, Italy
A. Sanogo
Department of Economics
University of Bamako, Bamako, Mali
ABSTRACT
The minimal or nonparticipation of African economies in the earlier Tokyo (1974-79) and Uruguay (1986- 93) rounds came at a cost. Negotiated results often excluded improved access for the competitive exports of developing countries. The new Doha (WTO, 2001) round ostensibly tagged the 'Development Round' has encouraged greater participation by developing African countries. This paper examines the challenges of policy coherence within the context of the Doha Round and looks at the major outstanding negotiation issues from the perspective of developing Africa. Furthermore, it analyzes the strategic issues, making recommendations on appropriate negotiating positions for Africa.
COSTS AND ADJUSTMENT RESPONSES DURING FUEL SCARCITY IN NIGERIA: A Survey Based Analysis
Adeola F. Adenikinju, Department of Economics, and Centre for Econometric and Allied Research, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. E-mail: adeolaadenikinju@yahoo.com
and
Niyi Falobi, Nigerian Petroleum Development Co. Ltd.Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), PMB 1262, Benin City, Nigeria. E-mail: niyifalobi@hotmail.com
ABSTRACT
The vast oil endowments of Nigeria have not translated into secure domestic oil consumption. Since 1991 domestic oil supply shortages have become a permanent feature of the Nigerian economy. These oil shortages have imposed huge economic and non-economic costs on the economy. This study investigates the causes of the shortages and their impact on the Nigerian economy using a survey methodology. The survey results show that many economic agents on the demand side are willing to pay higher prices if that will guarantee stable oil supply, and that only few players in the market chain benefited from supply disruptions. The results further show that while some economic agents were able to shift or share the burden of the adjustment costs, in general, it is the consumers and the poor that bear the main burden of these shocks.
DETERMINANTS OF AFRICAN TRADE PERFORMANCE
J. O. Saka & S. O. Olofin, Centre for Econometric and Allied Research, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
ABSTRACT
The prospects for sustained growth and development of African economies and their integration into the mainstream of the global economy hinge on their ability to increase their share in world trade as they achieve economic integration. The paper examines the structure and level of intra-African trade and analyses the prospects for realizing the objectives of the EU initiated EPAs that have the primary objective of facilitating African participation in global trade under competitive conditions. The pooled least squares is employed in analyzing determinants of trade in a representative set of regional trade blocs.
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