Journal of Economics and Development Studies

Unemployment and Productivity Nexus: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria
Ogbeide-Osaretin, Nwamaka Evelyn PhD; Ishiwu NkirukaVictoria

Abstract
This study scrutinized the unemployment and productivity nexus in Nigeria drawn on time series data on unemployment, labour productivity as a measure of productivity, population growth, labour productivity rate and government expenditure in the educational sector for the time1990 to 2017. The VAR model was employed when co integration was not found amidst the variables confirmed by the bound testing result. The outcome revealed that unemployment responds unsubstantially and positively to jolt in productivity in the short run but negatively in the long run while previous levels of unemployment had a positive inconsequential impact on current productivity levels. Productivity reacts negatively to jolts in educational sector‟s expenditure while population growth noteworthy and positively affects unemployment. We therefore advocate intensification of expenditure in the educational sectors and population reduction towards enhancing productivity for long run reduction of unemployment.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jeds.v7n4a11