The Influence of Government Economic Policies on Nigeria's Economic Development
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15611/eada.2026.2.02Keywords:
economic policy, economic development, sectorial support, exchange rate and gross domestic productAbstract
Aim: By implementing different policies and intervening in the economy, governments have a significant impact on the state of affairs. The purpose of this study was to investigate how government economic policies affect Nigeria's economic growth.
Methodology: The study made use of secondary data sources. Secondary data were gathered from international organizations, statistical agencies, and official publications, including the World Bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the National Bureau of Statistics. This study used quantitative analysis as its only method. The quantitative analysis involved econometric techniques, such as regression (multiple) analysis and panel modelling, to determine the statistical significance and direction of the relationships between the government economic policies and the measures of economic development in Nigeria.
Results: An inverse relationship was found between the real gross domestic product (RGDP), tariffs (TARR), and interest rates (INTR). RGDP had a significant negative correlation (-0.6749) with INTR and a moderately negative correlation (-0.5774) with TARR. The interest rate (INTR) and tariff (TARR) had a positive correlation (0.7233), suggesting a potential association between the variables. There was a fairly positive association (0.7278) between sectoral support (SECSUPP) and the exchange rate (EXR).
Implications and recommendations: According to the study, efforts should be made to bolster the beneficial effects that have been identified, such as advancements in technology or infrastructure, trade policies that could strengthen the exchange rate, and sector-specific government programmes that could strengthen the exchange.
Originality/value: The study contributes to the discussion on the effectiveness of government economic policies in the context of a developing economy by integrating the analysis of multiple policy instruments ─ tariffs, interest rates, sectoral support, and the exchange rate ─ within a single econometric model for Nigeria.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Surajdeen Tunde Ajagbe, Tajudeen Adejare Adegbite
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Accepted 2026-03-26
Published 2026-05-25
