GLOBALIZATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH OF NIGERIA
This empirical study examined globalization and economic growth of Nigeria between the period 1981 to 2012. Secondary data on gross domestic product (GDP) was used as a proxy for economic growth; Globalization (GLO), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Exchange Rate (EXR) and External Debt (EDT) which represented the explanatory variables were sourced from CBN publications. In the course of this empirical investigation, various advanced econometric techniques like Augmented Dickey Fuller Unit Root Test, Johansen Cointegration Test and Error Correction Mechanism (ECM) were employed and the result reveals among others; that all the variables were stationary at level except for Foreign direct investment and exchange rate which were stationary at first difference, meaning that the variables were not integrated of the same order justifying co-integration and error correction mechanism test. The cointegration result indicated that there is long run relationship among the variables with three cointegrating vectors. The result of the ECM test indicates that all the variables except exchange rate and foreign direct investment exerted significant impact on economic growth in Nigeria. Although, all the variables exhibited their expected sign but globalization captured by trade openness exhibited negative relationship with economic growth. The study concluded that Nigeria has not fully reaped the dividend of globalization, hence if Nigeria must benefit from globalization, the government should look beyond the mono-product business (oil sector) and research into other sectors for new products of international standards, develop the home industry and the agricultural sector with a view to increasing the county’s share of non-oil export.
