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This paper analyses the effects of per capita income, income inequality, female literacy rate, fertility rates and female labour force participation rate on child mortality rate in a panel of 85 countries across the globe for the period 2000-2020. The study uses the panel fixed effects instrumental variable method with the fertility rate as an endogenous variable in the model. The panel IV estimates show a significant negative effect of per capita income and female literacy rate and a strong positive impact of fertility rate on child mortality. But, there is no significant role for income inequality and female labour force participation in controlling child mortality. In countries where there is persistent child mortality, the policies should focus on bringing down the fertility rates through education, especially female literacy and more so on the usage of contraceptive usage. The strong positive relationship between overall economic development and the levels of death rates strengthens the argument that economic development is the best contraceptive. Controlling child mortality rates is an advantage to the population with considerably less pressure on resource use and an even greater advantage to the growth of the economy.

Keywords: Child mortality, fertility, endogeneity, instrumental variable, panel fixed effects

This paper sought to empirically investigate the relationship between government size and economic growth in Tanzania by using annual time series data for the period 1967-2020, a period for which reliable data was available. Estimation by Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds cointegration approach revealed the existence of a long-run and short-run relationship between economic growth, government size and other covariates of the estimation model. The results revealed the long-run effect of government size on economic growth was negative and was positive when it increased, suggesting the inexistence of a BARS curve in Tanzania during the sample period. Even though, the results supported the conventional views that price stability and openness of the economy are good for economic growth. While the results revealed the existence of a positive effect of population growth on economic growth, the effect of gross domestic investment was unexpectedly negative, both over the short and long-run period. The results suggest quadrupling the government size (consumption) is good for growth over the long run but not over the short run period. Also, the importance of price stability and commitment to openness of the economy to promote economic growth is underscored by the results.

Keywords: BARS curve, economic reforms, ARDL model, developing country.

JEL Classification: H50, O47, O55.

This study attempts to optimise Zambia’s manufacturing finance based on Newly Industrialised Country experiences to generate quantitative non-dominated policy options along with their output targets and quantified instruments. It applies multi-objective particle swarm optimisation with crowding distance on four manufacturing finance models, namely; access to working capital finance, access to investment finance, domestic private start-up investment and foreign private start-up investment. Holding exogenous factors such as manufacturing output constant, the study finds that Zambia’s prevailing manufacturing finance is below its potential. This implies that a reconfiguration on the input side may yield better outcomes, with positive ramifications on manufacturing development. The study makes a wholistic set of recommendations, including, promotion of innovation hubs; conglomeration and large firm formation; promotion of technological adoption and facilitating base research and development; increasing education and health funding and enforcing work health and safety regulations; strengthening institutional transparency and accountability; promoting firm financial literacy; incentivising financial sector coverage; and incentivising resource-based manufacturing industries. The study makes two contributions. It pioneers a novel approach to manufacturing finance policy generation in which policy makers are given numerous non-dominated quantified policy options. Secondly, it offers a customisable optimised manufacturing finance model on which policy simulations may be conducted.

Keywords: Manufacturing, finance, policy, optimisation, Zambia, Newly Industrialised Countries.

JEL Subject Classification Codes: P52, O14, O16

This study examined the impact of intra-African trade openness on Nigeria’s economic growth for the period of 1990 to 2022. Real GDP is used as a proxy for economic growth and it is regressed against intra-African imports, intra-African exports, unemployment and trade openness using by OLS technique. Intra-African imports and exports had a significant impact on Nigeria’s economic growth in the long run and short run respectively. For instance, a 1% change in imports and exports resulted in 20.7units and 76.98units increase in GDP respectively in the long run. In the long run, a 1% change in openness caused a 97units decrease in GDP. The study recommended an increase in Nigeria’s intra-African trade if at all and to practice openness especially to help conserve foreign exchange. The Nigeria first mindset (meaning openness which hurts Nigeria must be avoided) must be adopted.

Keywords: African Continental Free Trade Area, Economic Integration, Intra-African Trade, Economic Growth, Nigeria, Trade Openness.

The macroeconomic determinants of capital flows has been extensively discussed in the literature since the seminal paper of Lucas (1990) that considered push and pull factors as core determining factors of international capital flows. However, recent empirical studies have turned out with mixed findings thus justifying the need for further study. This paper empirically investigates this relationship for Nigeria with data ranging from 1980 to 2020 using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. The findings revealed that both push and pull factors collectively influenced the various types of capital flows. When studying the interactive effect of the push - pull factors on capital flows to Nigeria, it was observed that the interaction of push factors with the pull factors influenced all types of capital flows to a considerable extent. Specifically, the long run hypothesis of statistical significance holds for the effect of global liquidity on FDI; the effect of global real GDP growth rate on FPI; the effect of risk aversion on FPI and international bank credit; the effect of global interest rate on FDI, FPI and international banks’ credit; the effect of domestic real GDP growth on international banks’ credit; the effect of exchange rate on FDI; the effect of monetary policy rate on FDI and FPI; and the effect of inflation on FPI. In terms of policy implications, the governments should focus on efficient macroeconomic policy implementation to improve the domestic macroeconomic environment to withstand global shocks in the periods of crisis so as to pull foreign capital for economic productivity.

Keywords: capital flows; push factors; pull factors; ARDL; Nigeria

JEL Codes: C82; F21 · F32 · F41 · F47

This study investigated the effect of the use of fixed income securities on financial performance of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria. Fixed income securities which were the independent variables were measured as government bond, corporate bond, treasury bill and commercial paper while financial performance which is the dependent variable was measured as total asset of deposit money banks in Nigeria. Employing the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression estimation technique as embedded in Eview 8.0 econometric software to analyse the time series data which are secondary in nature as obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin with the period ranging from 1991 to 2021, the study found the following: Government bond does have positive and significant effect on the financial performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria. There is positive but not significant relationship between corporate bond and the financial performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria. Treasury bill does positively and significantly affect the financial performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria. There is positive and significant effect of commercial paper on the performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria. Flowing from the foregoing findings, the study concluded that fixed income securities have significant effects on the financial performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria and therefore recommends that the Federal and the sub national governments of Nigeria should cultivate the habit of floating bonds in the domestic market in their borrowing decisions. This would not only encourage the development of the Nigerian Capital market but would encourage deposit money banks and other entities to patronage the market for their portfolio investment decisions.

Keywords: Fixed Income Securities, Financial Performance, Deposit Money Banks, Government Bond, Corporate Bond

Nigeria is a country heavily dependent on revenues from its endowed oil and gas resources; however, revenues from these resources are fraught with price shocks due to regional and global events. This situation is affecting availability of funds for provision of public goods and services and economic growth of the nation. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the performances and potentials of revenues from taxation as an alternative to revenues from oil and gas. To achieve this aim, secondary data on revenues from oil, taxation and total revenues are collected from the data base of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and Federal Inland Revenue Service. Collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistical tools of tables, figures, and percentages while public policy analytical framework and optimal tax theory underpin the study. Result from the study revealed that revenue from taxation is dominant in 10 out of 13 years covered by the study and accounts for 55% of total revenue collected 2010-2022. Therefore, it could be concluded that taxation has shown excellent performances to serve as an alternative to oil and gas revenue in Nigeria. Similarly, taxation is prosperous as an alternative to oil and gas revenue.

Keywords: Oil and gas revenue, Taxation, Alternative, Public policy analysis, Optimal taxation theory

JEL Codes: E60, F62, F65, H20

Objective: This paper investigates contagion epidemic in a multivariate time-varying asymmetric framework, focusing on three European countries, namely United Kingdom, France and Italy, during the epidemic corona-virus. Methods: Specifically, both a multivariate Gaussian copula model and the Asymmetric dynamic conditional correlation (ADCC) approach are used to capture non-linear correlation dynamics during the period January 22, 2020-April 30, 2020. The empirical evidence confirms a contagion effect from the epidemic country to all others, for each of the examined corona virus. Results: The results also suggest that Italy is more prone to epidemic contagion, while the numbers of deaths turmoil has a larger impact than country-specific epidemic corona virus. Conclusion: Our findings imply that policy responses to an epidemic corona virus are unlikely to prevent the spread among countries, making fewer domestic risks internationally diversifiable when it is most desirable.

Keywords: Corona virus, dependency, contagion, Asymmetric Dynamic Conditional Correlation

This study investigates the relationship between capital structure and the performance of 10 selected consumer goods in Nigeria. The research utilizes a quantitative design and data was sourced from annual reports of the firms with complete financial records. The correlation analysis indicates a negative relationship between all independent variables total debt (TD),age( AGE), debt to equity ratio (DE), and long-term debt to capital employed (LDCE) and return on investment (ROI), while only return on assets (ROA), TD, and DE exhibit significant associations with firm performance. TD and DE negatively impact firm performance, emphasizing the intricate dynamics of capital structure decisions. Multiple regression results reveal a positive but statistically insignificant effect of DE on ROI. Conversely, DE significantly positively influences ROA, underlining the importance of an optimal debt-equity mix for enhanced financial outcomes. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers, firms, and financial professionals, aiding efforts to bolster the financial health and competitiveness of
consumer goods manufacturers in Nigeria's evolving economic landscape.

Keywords: Capital Structure, Firm Performance, Equity, Debt, ROA, ROI

Studies on the relationship between income inequality and economic growth have attracted much interest, particularly in lowincome countries, such as Nigeria. While some scholars posit that income inequality stimulates economic growth, others argue that it has a negative effect, leading to an increase in a country’s poverty level. This study examines the empirical relationship between income inequality and economic growth in Nigeria by assessing whether an inverted U-shaped connection exists between these two variables, as predicted by the Kuznets hypothesis. This study employs an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, and the findings indicate an inverted U-shaped relationship in the short run. The research further reveals that inflation and the real exchange rates exhibit a statistically significant and negative correlation with income inequality in the long-run. Likewise, evidence suggests that political stability has a statistically significant positive long-term correlation with income inequality, while in the short term it seems to improve income inequality in Nigeria. Additionally, in the short run, real exchange rates reveal a statistically significant association that exacerbates income inequality.

Keywords: Inequality, economic growth, gini coefficient, Kuznets curve