ANALYSING URBANIZATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT NEXUS IN NIGERIA WITH THE ROLE OF ENERGY POVERTY
Muhammad Mustapha Abdullahi and Ahmed Malumfashi Halliru
Volume 3 Issue 2
Abstract
The study examined the impact of urbanization on unemployment in Nigeria by employing annual time series data spanning over the period 1980 to 2022 using Johansen cointegration technique to analyze the long run and short run dynamics. The empirical results showed that urbanization significantly reduces unemployment in the short run but the impact is not significant in the long run. The results also indicated that trade openness is another important variable that significantly reduce unemployment both in the short run and long run. However, energy poverty increases unemployment in the short and long run but surprisingly human capital increases unemployment in Nigeria. Therefore, to reduce unemployment, it is recommended that more investment in infrastructure especially energy should be made to keep pace with the rate of urban growth. There is also the need for the development of new cities as well as promoting rural development to reduce influx of people into cities while encouraging the importation of capital and intermediate goods. Key Words: Unemployment, Urbanization, Energy Poverty, Human Capital and Trade Openness.
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