FOREIGN AID AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Eseosa Joy Sowemimo and Milton Iyoha, Ph D

ABSTRACT

Foreign aid is considered a crucial tool for lifting African countries out of poverty and for fast tracking their economic and social development. Nigeria has the highest official development Assistance receipts in Africa but despite this, her macroeconomic performance is largely underwhelming. Existing literature is divided on the effectiveness or otherwise of aid in propelling growth. This paper investigates this issue using data from Nigeria. Interestingly, analysis from this study found a “U” shaped curve which implies that the benefit from aid is first negative before it becomes positive. The study posits that the reason for this peculiar aid-growth relationship in Nigeria is the rigidities in our macroeconomic and institutional frameworks. The study rather emphasizes government expenditure as a veritable tool for driving growth. It  concludes that if government  expenditure is channelled towards boosting domestic savings and investment as well as used for funding human capital development projects, it is likely that foreign aid will become an additional source of funding that can produce a significantly positive effect on the growth rate of the Nigerian economy.

 

FOREIGN AID AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS