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Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.
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| Title: | Urbanisation and Gross Domestic Product Performance in Nigeria (1985-2020) |
| Author(s): | MOMODU Austin Ayodele, EWUBARE Dennis Brown & ABU Aminu |
| Abstract: | This study examined the consequences of urbanization on the economic performance of Nigeria. Over the years, the nation has been weighed down by high incidence of poverty, deprivation and the associated consequences. This has largely been blamed on the poor economic performance of the country. However, little or no efforts had been made to look the other way round by examining how ills associated with urbanization had negatively affected the performance of the nation's economy. This study therefore, carefully examined how the nation's economy has been affected by urbanization over the past three decades. The specific objectives of the study include the determination of the influence of urbanization components such as urban literacy rate, urban population growth rate, infant mortality rate and income inequality represented by Gini index, as the independent variables of the study, on gdp per capita, the dependent variable of the study using the Error Correction Model (ECM) as technique of analysis. The series show stationerity and long run relationship. The ECM results revealed that urbanization has a negative relationship with gdp per capita. The results further showed that the coefficient of determination is 0.67 implying that that 67% of the changes in the dependent variable are explained by the changes in the independent variables. The overall model is also statistically significant at 5% level of significance. We also note that the ECM is rightly signed as it shows that the speed of adjustment is 90%. It is statistically significant at 5% level of significance. The implication of the finding is that urbanization has not been helpful in promoting the growth of the Nigerian economy. The government therefore needs to take urgent action to checkmate the ills associated with urbanization. Among such actions include the complete over haulage of all the poverty alleviation strategies/programmes so far embarked upon by the authorities so as to enable their impacts to be felt directly by the poor; the making of new or review of existing policies to focus on promoting institutional values and reducing corruption; stemming rural urban drift through adequate investment in businesses and social facilities in rural areas, and providing educational/skill acquisition programmes for the urban poor, among others. |
| Keywords: | Urbanization, effect, GDP, Nigeria, Economy |
| Journal: | Economic and Social Science Review (ESR) |
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