AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF MANUFACTURING SECTOR ON THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF NIGERIA (1981 – 2010)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Prolonged economic recession occasioned by the collapse of the world oil market from the early 1980s and the attendant sharp fall in foreign exchange earnings have adversely affected economic growth and development in Nigeria. Other problems of the economy include excessive dependence on imports for both consumption and capital goods, dysfunctional social and economic infrastructure, unprecedented fall in capacity utilization rate in industry and neglect of the agricultural sector, among others (Ku et al, 2010; Adesina, 1992). These have resulted in fallen incomes and devalued standards of living amongst Nigerians.

Although the structural adjustment programme (SAP) was introduced in 1986 to address these problems, no notable improvement took place. From a middle income nation in the 1970s and early 1980s, Nigeria is today among the 30 poorest nations in the world. Putting the country back on the path of recovery and growth will require urgently rebuilding deteriorated infrastructure and making more goods and services available to the citizenry at affordable prices. This would imply a quantum leap in output of goods and services.

The path to economic recovery and growth may require increasing production inputs - land, labour, capital and technology - and or increasing their productivity (Kayode and Teriba, 1977). Increasing productivity should be the focus because many other countries that have found themselves in the same predicaments have resolved them through productivity enhancement schemes. For instance, Japan from the end of the World War II and the United States of America from the 1970s have made high productivity the centre point of their economic planning and the results have been resounding. Also, middle income countries like Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and India have embraced boosting productivity schemes as an integral part of their national planning and today they have made significant in-roads into the world industrial markets.

Given the importance of high productivity in boosting economic growth and the standards of living of the people, it is necessary to evaluate the productivity of the Nigerian manufacturing sector. This will be useful in ascertaining the relative efficiency of firms, sub-sectors and sectors. A knowledge of the relative efficiency of industries in relation to economic growth and development could aid government in planning its programmes and policies, especially in deciding on