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Article
Publication date: 12 August 2024

Isiaka Akande Raifu, Damian Chidozie Uzoma-Nwosu and Alarudeen Aminu

This study explored how institutional quality influences the relationship between military spending and education in Africa.

Abstract

Purpose

This study explored how institutional quality influences the relationship between military spending and education in Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used data from 43 African countries spanning the years 2000–2021. Two estimation methods were employed to address various issues: Fixed Effects with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors and the Two-Step System Generalised Method of Moments. The Fixed Effects with Driscoll-Kraay standard error method was used to obtain reliable standard errors and inferences from the estimated coefficients of the fixed effects model. Meanwhile, the problem of endogeneity between military spending and education was addressed using the Two-Step System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM).

Findings

The results indicated that military spending negatively impacts both the quality and quantity of education. However, both institutional quality and the interaction term (institutional quality*military spending) have positive effects on both measures of education, suggesting that better institutional quality mitigates the negative effect of military spending on education outcomes.

Practical implications

This study shows that institutional quality dampens the negative effect of military spending on education, especially the quality of education. Hence, African countries should prioritize strengthening their institutions to ensure optimal allocation and utilization of government funds for the benefit of their citizens.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine the moderating role of institutional quality in the relationship between military spending and education, focusing on both the quantity and quality of education.

Details

Journal of Business and Socio-economic Development, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2635-1374

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 October 2024

Isiaka Akande Raifu, Joshua Adeyemi Afolabi and Abdulkhalid Anda Salihu

The literature has well-documented the positive economic effects of both leisure and religious tourism. However, certain events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and others, can…

Abstract

Purpose

The literature has well-documented the positive economic effects of both leisure and religious tourism. However, certain events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and others, can impair the positive effect. Hence, the purpose of this study is to simulate the effect of counterfactual changes in religious tourism on Saudi Arabia’s economic growth during the MATAF expansion project and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs novel dynamic autoregressive distributed lag (DARDL) and kernel-based regularised least squares (KRLS) estimation techniques to analyse data spanning 1970–2022.

Findings

The results refuted the positive effect of spiritual tourism, especially during the two events. The simulation results show that a shock in predicted religious tourism will lower economic growth marginally in the short term but substantially in the long run.

Practical implications

The Saudi Arabian government should prioritise strategic infrastructural development such as expanding roads, airports and renovating worship centres during periods of low demand to promote economic growth through religious tourism. This will allow for the accommodation of a growing number of pilgrims without disrupting religious activities. In addition, it is imperative for the government to engage in international cooperation with other governments to proactively avert future pandemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originality/value

Even though many studies have examined the effect of religious tourism on economic growth, to the best of our knowledge, this study is the first one that simulates the effect of counterfactual changes in religious tourism on economic growth during the MATAF expansion project and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9792

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 September 2022

Isiaka Akande Raifu

Researchers have long been interested in testing the validity of Okun’s law due to its macroeconomic policy implications. However, most of the studies have focused on testing the…

180

Abstract

Purpose

Researchers have long been interested in testing the validity of Okun’s law due to its macroeconomic policy implications. However, most of the studies have focused on testing the law using aggregate data on unemployment and output. In recent times, attention has been shifted to testing the law at the sectoral level. In light of this, the purpose of this study is to examine the response of unemployment to sectoral outputs in Nigeria using the data that covers a period from 1981-2020.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the validity of Okun’s law at the sectoral level, both difference and gap methods of specifying Okun’s law are used. Furthermore, the author also uses a series of estimation methods, which include ordinary least squares (OLS), dynamic OLS (DOLS), fully modified OLS (FMOLS) and canonical cointegration regression (CCR).

Findings

The results, based on the difference model, are mixed irrespective of estimation and data filter methods. For the gap model, Okun’s law holds for all sectors irrespective of estimation techniques (especially DOLS, FMOLS and CCR) when the Hodrick–Prescott filter method is used to filter data. However, the author discovers that the coefficients of Okun’s law vary across the sectors as the response of unemployment to services sector output is greater than the rest of the sectors. When the Hamilton filter method is used to filter data, the results appear to be mixed across the sectors. The results are almost ditto when all the sectoral variables are put in one model.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the validity of sectoral Okun’s law in Nigeria, the leading economy in Africa.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 July 2022

Isiaka Akande Raifu, Joshua Adeyemi Afolabi and Olusegun Joseph Oguntimehin Jr

Tourism development is critical for economic transformation, particularly in emerging economies. However, the growing spate of terrorism dissuades international tourists, reduces…

Abstract

Purpose

Tourism development is critical for economic transformation, particularly in emerging economies. However, the growing spate of terrorism dissuades international tourists, reduces tourism receipts and ultimately hampers the tourism sector's performance. Thus, the government intervenes by altering its military spending to curtail terrorism. Against this backdrop, this study examines the moderating role of military spending in the terrorism–tourism nexus in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) to investigate the moderating role of military spending in the terrorism–tourism nexus in Nigeria. The authors employ the data that cover the period 1995Q1–2019Q4.

Findings

The results reveal that terrorism has a catastrophic effect on tourism arrivals in Nigeria while military spending has a positive impact on tourism arrivals. The results further show the moderating role of military spending in the terrorism–tourism nexus is positive and statistically significant. However, the findings are subject to the measures of military spending, terrorism and tourism.

Practical implications

The practical implication of the findings is the need for deliberate and strategic budgeting for the Ministry of Defence to combat terrorism, which should not only focus on the procurement of arms and ammunition but also cover the welfare of the military personnel. Nigeria also needs to formulate and implement necessary tourism policies aimed at countering terrorism in a bid to create and maintain a positive image on the global tourist map.

Originality/value

Many studies, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria, had examined the effect of terrorism on tourism but none has examined the moderating role of military spending in the terrorism–tourism nexus. Hence, this study examines the moderating role of military spending in the relationship between terrorism and tourism in Nigeria, a terrorism-prone country with several tourist sites.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9792

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 May 2022

Isiaka Akande Raifu and Sebil Olalekan Oshota

It has been said that oil price shocks affect stock market returns. However, empirical studies remain inconclusive regarding the nexus between oil price shocks and stock market…

Abstract

Purpose

It has been said that oil price shocks affect stock market returns. However, empirical studies remain inconclusive regarding the nexus between oil price shocks and stock market returns. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to investigate the asymmetric impact of oil price shocks on stock returns in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-stage Markov regime-switching approach is used to examine the asymmetric effects of three different structural oil shocks on stock returns. The oil shocks, which include oil supply shock, aggregate demand shock and oil-specific demand shock, are derived using structural vector autoregressive. Monthly data that spans the period between January 1990 and December 2018 are deployed for estimation.

Findings

The linear estimation results show that only oil demand shock negatively and significantly affects the stock market returns. The Markov-switching regime results reveal that oil supply shock has a significant positive impact on the stock returns in a low-volatility state, whereas oil-specific demand shock negatively impacts the stock returns in a high-volatility state.

Practical implications

There is a need for policymakers and investors to take cognizance of not only the positive outcomes of a relatively stable state of oil price but also the negative consequences of a high-volatility state when formulating policy and making investment decisions, respectively.

Originality/value

This study differs from other similar studies in Nigeria that have examined the asymmetric relationship between oil price shocks and stock market return by using a two-stage Markov regime-switching approach. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt at using this methodology.

Details

International Journal of Energy Sector Management, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6220

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 March 2022

Isiaka Akande Raifu and Oluwafemi Mathew Adeboje

The purpose of this study is to examine the existence of discouraged worker effect hypothesis and unemployment invariance hypothesis in Africa, including its five regional groups…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the existence of discouraged worker effect hypothesis and unemployment invariance hypothesis in Africa, including its five regional groups. Specifically, the study tests the existence of co-integration between different categories of labour force participation and unemployment rate, total male and female labour force participation and the unemployment rate for age brackets 15–24, 15–64 and 15+, respectively.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses the data of 52 countries in Africa which cover the period from 1991 to 2018. Three co-integration estimation techniques namely, the Kao co-integration test, Pedroni co-integration test and Westerlund co-integration test are used to validate the existence of co-integration between the labour force participation and unemployment rate. The dynamic ordinary least square is further used to explore the impact of the unemployment rate on labour force participation, while the pooled ordinary least squares (POLS) that accounts for individual country and time effects is employed for robustness check.

Findings

Except for Southern Africa, it is found that the discouraged worker effect hypothesis holds in Africa and the rest of its regions. This suggests that there is a long-run relationship between labour force participation rate and unemployment rate irrespective of age group and gender classifications. To some extent, the authors discover the existence of cross-sectional dependence in the panel. There is also an inverse relationship between labour force participation and the unemployment rate. This implies that when the unemployment rate is high, labour force participation tends to decline. The results are, however, sensitive to the choice of estimation method.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to the examination of linear co-integration between labour force participation and the unemployment rate in Africa and its five regions. The future study can investigate the possibility of a nonlinear or an asymmetric relationship between labour for participation and the unemployment rate.

Social implications

Thus, a policy framework that would generate employment creation is greatly required in Africa.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a pioneer work that addresses the issue of co-integration between labour force participation and unemployment rate for Africa and its five regions taking into consideration gender and age brackets of labour force participation and unemployment.

Details

African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-0705

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 December 2019

Isiaka Akande Raifu and Alarudeen Aminu

The centrality of agricultural sector to the economy, particularly in developing countries, has drawn the attention of researchers to critically examine different factors…

Abstract

Purpose

The centrality of agricultural sector to the economy, particularly in developing countries, has drawn the attention of researchers to critically examine different factors determining the performance of the sector. Given that massive investment is required to ensure maximum productivity in the sector, one of the factors identified is the issue of financing. However, financing agricultural sector in a poor institutional environment can be depressing. In the light of this, the purpose of this paper is to examine the nexus between financial development and agricultural performance in Nigeria with a view to investigating the role of institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed annual data spanning the period from 1981 to 2016. Three indicators of financial development and five institutional variables were used. Besides, for robust analysis, the study also computed an aggregate measure of financial development and institutions using principal component method. Autoregressive distributed lag method of estimation was used to examine the short-run and long-run effects of financial development on agricultural performance in Nigeria.

Findings

The findings showed that financial development has a positive impact on agricultural performance in Nigeria. However, this positive impact is being undermined by institutional variables.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the only study that examines the mediating role of institutional factors such as the rule of law, control of corruption, etc., in the financial development–agricultural performance nexus in Nigeria.

Details

Agricultural Finance Review, vol. 80 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-1466

Keywords

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