tailieunhanh - Export of services and economic growth in Nigeria

Against the background of rising tradability and the productive nature of services as a result of the revolution in information and communication technology (ICT), this study examined the impact of services exports on economic growth in Nigeria. Time series estimations established a positive relationship between services export and economic growth after controlling for a number of variables. | Journal of Economics and Development August 2018 pp. 23-49 ISSN 1859 0020 Export of Services and Economic Growth in Nigeria Musibau Adetunji Babatunde University of Ibadan Ibadan Nigeria Email Received 02 October 2017 Revised 10 April 2018 Accepted 02 May 2018 Abstract Against the background of rising tradability and the productive nature of services as a result of the revolution in information and communication technology ICT this study examined the impact of services exports on economic growth in Nigeria. Time series estimations established a positive relationship between services export and economic growth after controlling for a number of variables. In addition causality was found to run from export of services to economic growth. This is an indication that services exports offered a new channel for growth that may be of significance for Nigeria especially when it is trying to get out of the slump in crude oil price and diversify her economy. Keywords Services growth exports co-integration Nigeria. JEL code F14 C22. Journal of Economics and Development 23 Vol. 20 August 2018 1. Introduction Traditional theories of economic growth postulated economic growth as the transition from agricultural production to industrial production with the manufacturing sector as the major driver of the growth. Hence the focus on manufactured exports led growth by a wide body of knowledge. Nonetheless one of the stylized facts of economic development is the rising share of services in the total output as per capita income increases Hoekman and Mattoo 2008 Mishra et al. 2011 . In addition the recent rapid growth of China and India has rekindled the debate on the importance of manufacturing and services in the growth process. The two countries have taken two different routes to achieve growth rates of nearly 7 percent per annum. While China has followed a more traditional manufacturing led growth strategy India s growth has been largely .