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This paper aims to explore how women entrepreneurs in informal settings, especially in the fishing sub-sector in rural communities, relate to different dimensions of innovation. Specifically, this paper examines how women entrepreneurs engage in process, managerial and technological innovations. This paper also examines how they fund their business, develop their products across the value chain innovatively and how it influences their business output and welfare.

A face-to-face structured interview was administered among 100 women entrepreneurs in the fishing agriculture sub-sector in the Anam community, Anambra East LGA, in Anambra State. The study uses the multiple logistic regression model, descriptive analysis technique and it is quantitative in approach. The research is situated within the Local Innovation Systems and adopts diffusion innovation theory.

The study established the following: level of education and learning capabilities are significant predictors of process innovation capabilities among women-owned enterprise in informal settings; level of education, years of fishing experience and learning capabilities are significant predictors of technological innovation capabilities among women-owned enterprise in informal settings; and level of education is the only significant predictor of management innovation capabilities among women-owned enterprise in informal settings.

This paper focuses attention on the issue of innovation by women who operate in the informal sector of the fishing sub-sector in the agricultural value chain with attention for their productivity and welfare.

Human capital flight from Nigeria to developed countries has remained a topical issue. This paper aims to empirically analyze the push factors for the migrants who explore the various legal migrant schemes from a macro perspective. The authors examine human capital development and its role in contributing to human capital flight to more developed counties.

This paper is anchored on the push–pull model. Using secondary data from 1990 to 2019, the authors look at the relationship between human capital flight and variables such as life expectancy, infant mortality rate, population growth rate and Nigeria’s unemployment rate. The auto-regressive lag model (ARDL) was adopted to estimate the empirical relationship among these variables.

The results from the ARDL model suggest a positive relationship exists between population growth rate and migration rate. A negative relationship was, however, observed between life expectancy and migration rate. This study also found that an increase in the infant mortality rate negatively impacted migration significantly. Therefore, an increase in infant mortality rate lowered the migration rate. Finally, an increase in the unemployment rate increased migration; however, insignificantly.

The findings from this study are limited to the push factors influencing migration out of Nigeria. These factors are also restricted to variables for which data can be derived under the study’s scope. The results of this study have far-reaching implications, especially for policymakers and citizens alike. Better human capital development through enhanced life expectancy and reduced population in Nigeria will reduce the migration rate. Therefore, this study calls for the doubling of developmental and infrastructural efforts at all levels of governance.

This paper’s importance lies in its ability to elucidate push factors that influenced migration out of Nigeria empirically. An empirical approach to the subject matter will explain these factors and the degree to which they influence migration. This will guide the policy-making process in curbing brain drain, which is a major challenge in Nigeria.

Population growth has remained a key issue facing developing economies in the world. While developed countries are experiencing diminished or negative population growth, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria are having population growth above the economic growth rate. With the deadline for the sustainable development goals approaching, attention is increasingly being focused on population growth and human capital development. Extant literature focused on population growth, human resource utilization and economic growth but this study aims to examine the effect of population growth on human resource utilization.

Using secondary data for the period 1990-2018, the study conducted unit root test and co-integration analyses to determine the stationarity and correlation in the long-run in the variables. The study used the error correction model to ascertain the speed at which shocks can be corrected in the long-run. Granger causality test was also carried out to ascertain the direction of causality among the variables.

The empirical results revealed that population growth has a negative and significant effect on human resource utilization. The study also revealed that unidirectional causality runs from employment rate to population growth rate and a unidirectional causality runs from employment growth rate to expected years of schooling. The Nigerian Government needs to not only control population growth but also focus on the quality of education.

The paper provides insights into the relationship between population growth and human capital utilization in Nigeria focusing on the 1986-2018 period.

Understanding matching patterns and determinants of attracting quality talents is an under-researched area, especially from a firm perspective. Firm’s recruitment strategies have an impact on the sorting patterns in the labour market which remains undetermined. This paper aims to explore the drivers of attracting and recruiting quality talents. Also, the role of policies including the national labour laws, industry norms and localised firm policies have on hiring practices and drivers in a developing country.

This study is underpinned by network theory, equity theory, social exchange theory and resource-based theory. The authors leveraged on a mixed methodology that is a structured questionnaire administered to 200 firm representatives in Lagos and interviews with key informants from the demand side for labour.

The study revealed that firms can leverage on salary, brand name, referral, job security as core factors in attracting and recruiting quality talents. Also, digitisation is a key strategy leveraged on attracting and recruiting quality talents. Techniques such as the use of social media, traditional media, online interviews, physical interviews have proven to help in selecting quality talents.

Specifically, the paper throws light on how firms use different recruitment channels for hiring workers, and how the use of these channels affects the quality of matches. Furthermore, the role of social networks, wages and benefits for firm recruitment and matching efficiency was well highlighted.

Health improves the proficiency and output generated by individuals. It also raises physical as well as mental abilities, which are required for the growth and advancement of any economy. Many infant diseases have been recognised via contemporary technology in a bid to tackle these diseases. However, children within the African continent (Including Nigeria) die en masse from diseases. This has made the government of Nigeria allocate sizeable part of the nation's budget to healthcare system. The allocation to health is, however, yet to translate to improved health condition for Nigerians. It does not measure up to the World Health Organization's (WHO) standards for apportioning budget to the health sector. This study also analyses empirically the impact of healthcare expenses on the mortality level of infants as well as Nigeria's neonatal mortality level.

The paper focuses on Nigeria. Vector auto regression model techniques, unit root tests and cointegration test were carried out using time series date for the period between 1986 and 2016.

The outcome has revealed that expenditure on healthcare possesses a negative correlation with the mortality of infants and neonates. The study discovers that if the Nigerian government raises and maintains health expenditure specifically on activities focused on minimising infant mortality, it will translate to reduction in infant mortality in Nigeria.

This paper has contributed exhaustively to solution to poor expenditure on healthcare, especially child mortality, in Nigeria.