Environmental quality, health capital and economic growth in Nigeria, 1970-2013
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Date
2016
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Economics,Obafemi Awolowo University
Abstract
The study appraised the Nigeria’s environmental policies and environmental-health issues in Nigeria and; assessed the nature of relationships between economic growth and environmental quality in Nigeria. Furthermore, it investigated the direction of causation among environmental quality, human health capital and economic growth in Nigeria and; also determined the threshold level between environmental quality and human health capital; plus the threshold between economic growth and environmental quality in Nigeria. In addition, the dynamic interactions of human health capital in an environment–growth setting in Nigeria. These were with a view to determining the interconnections among the environment, human health and economic growth for sustainable development in Nigeria.
Annual secondary data covering the periods between 1970 and 2013 were employed for the study. Data on carbon emissions, fossil fuels, rainfall, Gross domestic product (GDP), per capita income, life expectancy, and GDP per capita were sourced from the World Development Indicators (WDI), and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) bulletin. Tables, graphs, the Generalised Method of Moment (GMM), Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS), Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), VECM causality estimates, and break-point estimates were used to analyse the data.
The results showed that despite the laudability and comprehensive nature of the Nigerian environmental policies, the challenges of environmental degradation emanating from desertification, poor waste management, as well as crude production technology indicates a situation of poor or non-implementation of polices. Also, it was discovered that air pollutants have direct bearing with health conditions and posterity in Nigeria. The results also showed that an increase in environmental quality increased economic growth, but the result was not statistically significant (t = -0.8; p > 0.05); while an increase in economic growth reduced environmental quality, which was equally not statistically significant (t =1.0; p > 0.05). Similarly, increases in per capita income emanating from economic growth does not induce high preferences for clean environment in Nigeria (t = 5.6, p < 0.05; t =6.3, p < 0.05). Furthermore, a bi-directional causation was found between environmental quality and health capital (F= 10.16878, p < 0.05; F = 8.178776, p < 0.05), as well as a uni-directional causation between health capital and economic growth (F = 47.45995, p < 0.05). Also, the threshold analyses revealed that beyond an optimal degradation point of 6%, life expectancy will be impaired severely (t = 2.89, p < 0.05), and beyond an optimal degradation point of 15%, death rate will be accelerated significantly (t = 3.3, p < 0.05), Likewise, below the optimal growth point of 25%, economic growth was significantly affecting environmental quality negatively (t = 3.4, p < 0.05). Last, environmental quality, human-health capital and economic growth converged in the long-run.
The study concluded that the relationships and feedback relationships among environmental quality, human health capital and economic growth indicates continuous interdependencies among variables within the ecosystem. Also, an improvement in environmental quality in Nigeria will enhance human health capital through its effect on longevity and posterity. Similarly, despite the low priority for clean environment in Nigeria, production processes and economic activities that are eco-friendly will engineer sustainable development.
Description
xvii,216p
Keywords
Environmental quality, Health, Economic growth, Human health
Citation
Adejumo,O.O (2016). Environmental quality, health capital and economic growth in Nigeria, 1970-2013. Obafemi Awolowo University