Determinants of non-oil exports in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines empirically some of the determinants of Nigeria' s non-oil export performance using time series data. It was undertaken within the context of the growing wave of liberalization and the country's increasing degree of openness. The results indicate that non-oil exports performance is significantly influenced by its lag, gross domestic investment and the lag of foreign partners' income in the long run. Although, the influence of relative price, domestic sales among other factors are relatively insignificant, it portends that the performance of non-oil export in Nigeria is open to a network of explanations borne out of the country's economic evolution and supported by established theories and practices overtime. One of the explanations is that considerable efforts had been concentrated on non-oil exports promotions rather than production for export and diversification of exports basket and markets. The findings of this study have immense policy implications on the strategies being adopted by government, most especially towards improving the country's non-oil export performance.