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The coming into force of the African continental free trade area to enhance intra African trade relations has implications for trade openness due to the harmonization of trade liberalization processes in member countries. These countries experience declining levels of trade taxes thereby reducing their overall tax revenue which adversely affects economic growth. However, other empirical evidences reveal that trade openness positively drives tax revenue through increased productivity from importation of inputs leading to economic growth. In view of the uncertainty in the relationship, this study attempts to empirically examine the causal effects of economic growth and trade openness on taxation for selected African countries. In view of the uncertainty in the relationship, this study attempts to empirically examine the causal effects of economic growth and trade openness on taxation for selected African countries by using semiparametric heterogeneous panel causality analysis to estimate the annual dataset from 2000 to 2019. The semi-parametric estimates show a U-shaped effect between growth and taxation, while it reveals elastic opposite direction effect of trade openness on taxation. This result suggests that higher growth tends to have positive influence on taxation, and trade openness show a positive effect on economic growth. The Dumitrescu-Hurlin heterogeneous Granger causality test indicates bidirectional causality between growth and taxation, and a unidirectional causality from trade openness to taxation, and from growth to trade openness which supports the nexus between growth and taxation. Therefore, economic growth and trade openness can predict sustainable tax levels, as such African countries should implement trade openness policies through low tariff rate adjustments to enhance tax revenue performance for economic growth.

Keywords: Taxation; Economic growth; Trade openness; Semiparametric panel; Africa

JEL Classification: C01; C14; H20; H21

The objective of this study is to analyze the effects of financial development on the industrialization of countries in the Great Lakes region. To this effect, we use data from secondary sources mainly from the World Bank databases covering the period 1985 to 2020. Through a methodology based on the Feasible Generalized Least Squares and Autoregressive Distributed Lag model as an estimation technique, the results show that financial development through domestic credit granted to economies, negatively influences the industrialization of Great Lakes countries. This effect is true for the quality of institutional and the total rent of natural resources. In addition, the rate of trade openness, human capital, and private investment have a positive and significant effect on the industrial process of the countries of the region under examination. However, for the financial system to be sufficiently robust and contribute to the process of industrialisation in the region, it is necessary to strengthen positive financial sector reforms appropriately, improve the business climate to enhance private sector participation in industrial transformation, strengthen the accountability and effectiveness of governments in the region and, most importantly, mitigate the effects of war by ensuring long-term political stability to promote better governance structures for industrial development.

Keywords: Financial development, Industrialization, Great Lakes Countries, CEPGL

JEL Codes: C13, G20, N27, O14

This study sought to determine how indirect taxes, such as the value-added tax and customs and excise duties, affected economic expansion. In this study, the exploratory and ex-post facto designs were both used. Given the length of time the data was collected, the research population spans a 10-year period (2009–2018). The 10 years are used as the sample size using the consensus sampling technique. The secondary data were gathered from the CBN statistical bulletin database, and the research employed the ordinary least squares method. Indirect taxes have a substantial impact on economic growth in Nigeria, according to the results of the hypothesis testing; hence it is advised that the government establish policies to increase revenue collection through indirect taxes as a key source of revenue generation in Nigeria.

Keywords: Excise Duties, Value Added Taxes, Indirect Taxes, Economic Growth

This study investigates the asymmetric impact of oil price dynamics on firms’ stock returns at the sectoral level using daily data from 2006 – 2020 in Nigeria. However, most prior works in Nigeria that studied the nexus between oil price fluctuations and stock market returns focused on the aggregate level and employed aggregate indices. A Nonlinear Auto-Regressive Distributed lag econometric model that captures oil price fluctuations (positive and negative oil price change) was explored, in which short and long-run nonlinearities were estimated in both symmetric and asymmetric models. Eleven sectors constituting 100 firms from the Nigerian Stock Exchange were considered. Oil price dynamics impact sectoral stock returns in Nigeria differently. The result indicates that consumer goods, finance, and oil and gas sectorals’ stocks positively respond to oil price asymmetry. Therefore, managers must design better strategies to protect respective sectoral’s stock returns from oil price shocks.

Keywords: Oil price asymmetry, Sectoral analysis, Arbitrage Pricing Theory, Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag model

JELClassification: G Financial Economics, F International Economics, O Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth

The paper empirically examined the effect of financial development, financial crisis, and globalization in Nigeria. The empirical analysis was carried out on time series data from 1986 to 2021 using data extracted from CBN statistical bulletin and World Development Indicator. The researcher employed two empirical models design to capture financial development and financial crises. The vector autoregressive model (VARX) and the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) techniques were employed for the analysis of the data. The outcome of these analyses revealed that the effect of changes in financial developments does not have long-run implications for globalization. Whereas, in the short run, they posit a positive and significant effect on globalization. Furthermore, indicators of financial crisis showcased a long-run negative effect on globalization in Nigeria with exchange rate volatility having negative implications both in the long and short run. The study however recommends that government should design economic policies that will enhance the financial sector and drive globalization in Nigeria. Also, policymakers should develop strategies to expand trade taking cognizance of the implication of high inflation and exchange rate on economic activities.

Keywords: Financial Crisis, Financial development, Globalization, VARX, ARDL

JEL: E50, F01, G01