Papers by EKPE J O H N POLYCARP
Lapai Journal of Economics, Oct 3, 2023
Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and the largest exporter of crude oil in Africa, yet Nig... more Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and the largest exporter of crude oil in Africa, yet Nigeria has a huge foreign debt portfolio and weak institutions. It is against this backdrop that this study examines the impact of foreign debt and institutional quality on economic performance in Nigeria. Data used for the analysis were quarterly data that ranges from 1996Q1 to 2019Q1. Foreign debt service was used as a measure of foreign debt while corruption control and government effectiveness were used as measures of institutional quality. Economic performance which is the dependent variable was measured using Gross Domestic Product. The study also examines how institutional quality influences the relationship between foreign debt and economic performance in Nigeria. Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model was used to specify and estimate the relationship between the variables. The result of the analysis indicates that foreign debt has an insignificant negative effect on economic performance in the short run and also negative insignificant effect in the long run too, corruption control has a significant positive effect on economic performance only in the short run, Government effectiveness does not have a significant effect in the economy, being the two; the short run and the long run, on that account corruption control influences the relationship between foreign debt and economic performance significantly and negatively only in the short run but also positively and insignificantly in long run. Mechanism should be put in place to ensure that foreign debts are properly utilized on the projects they were meant for.
Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and the largest exporter of crude oil in Africa, yet Nig... more Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and the largest exporter of crude oil in Africa, yet Nigeria has a huge foreign debt portfolio and weak institutions. It is against this backdrop that this study examines the impact of foreign debt and institutional quality on economic performance in Nigeria. Data used for the analysis were quarterly data that ranges from 1996Q1 to 2019Q1. Foreign debt service was used as a measure of foreign debt while corruption control and government effectiveness were used as measures of institutional quality. Economic performance which is the dependent variable was measured using Gross Domestic Product. The study also examines how institutional quality influences the relationship between foreign debt and economic performance in Nigeria. Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model was used to specify and estimate the relationship between the variables. The result of the analysis indicates that foreign debt has an insignificant negative effect on economic performance in the short run and also negative insignificant effect in the long run too, corruption control has a significant positive effect on economic performance only in the short run, Government effectiveness does not have a significant effect in the economy, being the two; the short run and the long run, on that account corruption control influences the relationship between foreign debt and economic performance significantly and negatively only in the short run but also positively and insignificantly in long run. Mechanism should be put in place to ensure that foreign debts are properly utilized on the projects they were meant for.
Business education has been considered globally as the basis for entrepreneurial development whic... more Business education has been considered globally as the basis for entrepreneurial development which could result in industrial development and sustainability. This study examined the imperative of Business Education for entrepreneurial development in Nigeria. From the various literature reviewed, it has been established that Business Education is the bedrock of entrepreneurial development. This believe in entrepreneurship has prompted Nigerian government to make entrepreneurship education compulsory in the universities curriculum. Despite the perceived interest of government in entrepreneurial development through business education, it has been found that policy inconsistencies, poor infrastructure developments and over dependent of the country on oil wealth among other elements have posed serious challenges to entrepreneurial development in Nigeria. Despite the observed set back to entrepreneurial development in Nigeria, entrepreneurial development can be achieved through collaboration with other Academic Programmes for Entrepreneurial Development, Collaboration with Employers for Employability Skills' Training and Employer-sponsored Training Methods for Employability Skills. In view of this, it is recommended that for effective entrepreneurial development, Business Education should start from home before a child gets to primary school and continue in primary school up to the university irrespective of the course of study. Government on its part should not only pay lip service to Business Education and entrepreneurial development but should ensure there is enabling macroeconomic environment where infrastructure and facilities for effective entrepreneurial development is available.
Testing the Validity of the Inflation-Unemployment Nexus within the West African Monetary Zone
Path of Science
This study aimed to ascertain the validity of the Phillips Curve in six countries of Gambia, Ghan... more This study aimed to ascertain the validity of the Phillips Curve in six countries of Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone within the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ). The study utilised panel data from these countries varying from 2000 to 2021, which were obtained from the World Bank database. The data were analysed using the Panel unit root test, Johansen Fisher Panel (JFP) co-integration test, Pairwise Dumitrescu Hurlin Panel (PDHP) Causality Tests, and the Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach. The PDHP Causality Test revealed a one-way causality from unemployment to inflation; hence, unemployment causes inflation. The JFP co-integration test conducted since the variables were not all stationary at levels revealed that the two variables are cointegrated, which portrayed some degree of long-run relationship. The significant findings of this study, as presented by the panel ARDL result, indicated that the inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment is only valid in the short run within the WAMZ. This finding supports the argument that there is no trade-off between inflation and unemployment in the long run and the Phillips Curve is a vertical line at the natural unemployment rate.
Accounting Information and Managers' Investment Decision Making in Microfinance Banks in Akwa Ibom State
The study sought to determine the influence of accounting information on managers' invest... more The study sought to determine the influence of accounting information on managers' investment decision-making in microfinance banks in Akwa Ibom State. Three specific objectives, three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. A survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of 345 managers from 69 branches of 18 microfinance banks. The 345 managers from the 69 branches of 18 microfinance banks were purposively used because it was manageable size. Out of 345 managers, 300 of them were able to return their questionnaire which was used for analysis. The researcher made instruments tagged 'Accounting Information Questionnaire (AIQ)' and 'Managers' Investment Decision-Making in Microfinance Bank Questionnaire (MIDMMFBQ)' were used for data collection. The instruments were validated by two research experts in the Faculty of Education, University of Uyo and a reliability coefficient of 0.836 was obtained using Cronbach's alpha test. Data were analysed using regression square for research questions, while the null hypotheses were tested using regression statistics. The findings of this study indicated a significant influence of accounting information on managers' investment decision-making in microfinance banks in Akwa Ibom State. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that microfinance banks should use accounting information in investment decision making to avoid unnecessary risks and uncertainties.
Path of Science, Aug 8, 2022
This study aimed to ascertain the validity of the Phillips Curve in six countries of Gambia, Ghan... more This study aimed to ascertain the validity of the Phillips Curve in six countries of Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone within the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ). The study utilised panel data from these countries varying from 2000 to 2021, which were obtained from the World Bank database. The data were analysed using the Panel unit root test, Johansen Fisher Panel (JFP) co-integration test, Pairwise Dumitrescu Hurlin Panel (PDHP) Causality Tests, and the Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach. The PDHP Causality Test revealed a one-way causality from unemployment to inflation; hence, unemployment causes inflation. The JFP co-integration test conducted since the variables were not all stationary at levels revealed that the two variables are cointegrated, which portrayed some degree of long-run relationship. The significant findings of this study, as presented by the panel ARDL result, indicated that the inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment is only valid in the short run within the WAMZ. This finding supports the argument that there is no trade-off between inflation and unemployment in the long run and the Phillips Curve is a vertical line at the natural unemployment rate.
The crux of this study was to determine the influence of labour underutilization on output growth... more The crux of this study was to determine the influence of labour underutilization on output growth in Nigeria using a linear production function. With data of the range 1991 to 2019 which were analysed using the ordinary least squares (OLS), fully modified OLS, and dynamic OLS, the result indicated that the effect of labour force participation rate and employment-population ratio has been positive and significant. Meanwhile, underutilization of labour (unemployment) has been wielding a negative and substantial effect on output growth in Nigeria validating the prediction of Okun's law. In summary, employment generated a positive and significant sway on output growth while unemployment led to output attenuation. With the dynamic OLS being the base model, a unit percent increase in labour force participation rate cause output growth to amplify by 2.0423% on the average; while a unit percent increase in employment to population ratio causes output growth to accelerate by 1.5046% on the average. For the rate of unemployment where the OLS is the base model, a unit percent increase in unemployment is associated with a 1.3512% degeneration in output growth. This points to the fact that for Nigeria to accelerate its growth, there is a need for actionable policies to boost labour employment across different sectors of the economy.
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
The study sought to determine the influence of accounting information on managers' investment dec... more The study sought to determine the influence of accounting information on managers' investment decision-making in microfinance banks in Akwa Ibom State. Three specific objectives, three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. A survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of 345 managers from 69 branches of 18 microfinance banks. The 345 managers from the 69 branches of 18 microfinance banks were purposively used because it was manageable size. Out of 345 managers, 300 of them were able to return their questionnaire which was used for analysis. The researcher made instruments tagged 'Accounting Information Questionnaire (AIQ)' and 'Managers' Investment Decision-Making in Microfinance Bank Questionnaire (MIDMMFBQ)' were used for data collection. The instruments were validated by two research experts in the Faculty of Education, University of Uyo and a reliability coefficient of 0.836 was obtained using Cronbach's alpha test. Data were analysed using regression square for research questions, while the null hypotheses were tested using regression statistics. The findings of this study indicated a significant influence of accounting information on managers' investment decision-making in microfinance banks in Akwa Ibom State. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that microfinance banks should use accounting information in investment decision making to avoid unnecessary risks and uncertainties.
This study examined the role of informal sector in income and employment generation besides the c... more This study examined the role of informal sector in income and employment generation besides the contribution of the sector to tax revenue. First, the description of the size and composition of the informal sector was undertaken using relevant literature and survey information by the relevant government agencies. From the description, it was found that the informal sector is expanding in size by the day because of the inability of the formal sector to absorb the expanding labour force. Consequently, informal sector operation comprises activities in the manufacturing, agriculture, forestry and quarrying, wholesale, retail trade and construction among others. Next, an estimation of the contribution of this sector to employment generation, income generation and tax revenue was undertaken with data obtained from World Development Indicators report of 2019 using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimation technique. From the result it was found that the informal sector by its various components contributes positively and significantly to employment generation and income generation but has not significantly contributed to tax revenue. Poor contribution of the sector to tax revenue had been linked to such factors as political considerations, cumbersome tax mechanism, lack of incentives, poor record keeping and corruption. In view of the findings, it is recommended that government should show more than just a passive interest in the activities of the informal sector by creating a master list of all the informal sector operators in the economy, fight corruption and review the existing legislation to make ease of registration of businesses possible.
The study investigated the impact of external debt on economic growth in Nigeria. The study emplo... more The study investigated the impact of external debt on economic growth in Nigeria. The study employed the Auto regressive distributed lag method, Bounds test and the Granger causality test as analytical technique. The study found that external debt assumes a positive and insignificant relationship with gross domestic product. Also, the ratio of external debt to export indicates a negative and statistically significant relationship with gross domestic product. The study also discovered that exchange rate indicates a positive and significant relationship with gross domestic product. It also found that inflation rate and interest rate assume a negative insignificant relationship with gross domestic product. The study also discovered that there exists a long run relationship between external debt and economic growth in Nigeria and the error correction test result revealed that 67% of the displacement of economic growth from its equilibrium value as a result of the variations in external debt and other independent variables is corrected annually. The granger causality test result shows that external debt has no causal relationship with economic growth in Nigeria. The study recommends that government should diversify the nation's export base so as to increase export earnings and promote industrialization in order to reduce import dependency as a high exchange rate will make our goods more attractive in the foreign market and will increase foreign exchange earnings.
International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), 2020
The study reported the results of the first of its kind placebo controlled randomised trial of Re... more The study reported the results of the first of its kind placebo controlled randomised trial of Remdesivir in patients with severe COVID-19.The references used were recent and looked at other articles where Remdesivir was used whether in vivo or for compassionate use which gave some background to the study. In the above title study, the randomised controlled trials (RCTs) conceptual framework was carried out, that is; assigning patients equally to the two different treatment groups. This trials has unequal ratio as 2:1 and such unequal allocations need justification, but the rationale was not stated in this publication. Such a randomisation needs to overcome scientific and ethical problems and should always publicly declare why unequal randomisation was chosen which was not done in this study. The statistics are not simple to design and power correctly They are complex statistical concerns, and harder for non-experts to assess the statistical validity of the design. The study found that i.v. Remdesivir did not significantly improve the time to clinical improvement, mortality, or time to clearance of virus and adverse effects in patients with COVID-19 compared with placebo, though this outcomes may be affected by the unequal distribution of Comorbidities amongst the groups, gender disparity and limited Pharmacokinetics knowledge of Remdesivir in the severely ill COVID-19 patients. This study shows that Remdesivir in vivo has no clinical significance on the management of severely illCOVID-19 patients.
Drafts by EKPE J O H N POLYCARP
The study investigates the economic effect of debt on economic growth in West Africa. The main ob... more The study investigates the economic effect of debt on economic growth in West Africa. The main objective was to examine the effect of foreign debt as a means of driving growth using some macroeconomic factors such as total external debt stocks and total debt servicing on the resultant effect of the use of debt to drive economic growth in West Africa. Pie chart and line chart was used to illustrate some average ratio of Gross Domestic Product and the effect of debt on West Africa countries. Ghana had the highest debt profile of $15.8billion, followed by Nigeria with $13.7 billion and Cote d'ivorie with $11.2 billion. The data was extracted from World Development Indicators for the period in which the study covered; and the model specified was estimated using panel data from 2000 to 2016. The result shows that debts do have significant effect on growth in the selected West Africa countries with coefficient of-1.96 and it significant at 5 percent level of significance. The negative sign indicates an inverse relationship; that is, the higher the debt stock, the lower the growth rate. The study recommends that government should concentrate in reducing its borrowing, and also plan more on infrastructural growth, and creating employment opportunities for the masses who are unemployed.
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Papers by EKPE J O H N POLYCARP
Drafts by EKPE J O H N POLYCARP