Abieyuwa Ohonba
@uj.ac.za
Lecturer, School of Economics, College of Business and Economics
University of Johannesburg
EDUCATION
PhD Economics
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Development Economics, Macroeconomics, Health Economics and Gender Studies
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Augustine Adebayo Kutu and Abieyuwa Ohonba
EconJournals
The failure of the South African economy to achieve the desired economic expansion raised a serious concern to investigate the potency of trade liberalization policy adopted in the country. This is evidence in macroeconomic indices such as high level of unemployment, poverty and most importantly sluggish economic growth. It is against this back drop that this study was spurred to conduct an analysis of the impact of trade liberalization on economic growth in South Africa covering the period of 1986-2022. The mixed order of integration revealed by the unit root test informed the decision to adopt the ARDL method of estimation. The main findings of interest in this study is the existence of a strong positive relationship between trade liberalization and economic growth in South Africa. Thus, the study concludes that economic integration is healthy for the national economy and hence more liberalization policies should be strategically embrace. The study recommends that the African governments especially South Africa should further open it economic border to allow for free trade with other economies of the world.
Augustine Adebayo Kutu and Abieyuwa Ohonba
Creative Publishing House
The study examines the impact of foreign capital inflows on economic growth in Nigeria between 1984 to 2020. Four core channels of foreign capital inflows were adopted which consist of foreign direct investment (FDI), official development assistance (ODA), and remittances (REM) as the explanatory variables and GDP as the dependent variable. The overall finding revealed that foreign capital inflows have a long-run impact on economic growth in Nigeria except for official development aids. Specifically, the ARDL long-run result revealed that FDI and REM exert strong positive effects on GDP. This implies that FDI and REM are key factors that promote economic growth in Nigeria. Granger causality shows a uni-directional relationship running only from remittance to GDP, implying that remittance is a predictor of economic growth in Nigeria. Interestingly, a bi-directional causal effect exists between FDI and GDP (both are influencers of each other). This generally implies that international capital inflow is one major promoter of economic growth in Nigeria. Therefore, the study recommends that Nigeria should pursue workable foreign investment policies that are geared towards attracting inflows of foreign capital which is expected to help generate meaningful economic growth by improving the pace of industrialization and creation of more job opportunities for the teeming youths.
Augustine Adebayo Kutu and Abieyuwa Ohonba
EconJournals
This study explores the dynamic relationship between crude oil price volatility and revenue generation in Nigeria over a 41-year period from 1981 to 2021. It encompasses an analysis of key variables, including total revenue (REV), oil price (OPV), oil revenue (ORV), non-oil revenue (NRV), and exchange rate (EXCHR). The study employs the Auto Regressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) model to examine the long-term and short-term impacts of oil price volatility on revenue generation. This study reveals that crude oil price volatility (OPV) failed to exert strong impact on total revenue (REV) in Nigeria in the distance period. Oil revenue (ORV) exhibits a strong and positive influence on total revenue, highlighting its pivotal role in revenue generation. Non-oil revenue (NRV) also significantly contributes to total revenue, emphasizing the importance of diversifying revenue sources. Exchange rate (EXCHR) fluctuations do not significantly predict changes in total revenue. Based on the findings, policy recommendations include diversifying revenue sources, enhancing non-oil revenue collection, effective oil revenue management, promoting economic diversification, strengthening tax infrastructure, and adopting prudent budgeting practices.
Gbenga Wilfred Akinola and Abieyuwa Ohonba
MDPI AG
Economic theory argues that foreign direct investment (FDI) and external debt are expected to enhance economic growth in any given economy. Consequently, this study (i) investigated the relationship between foreign direct investment, external debt servicing, and economic growth in Nigeria; (ii) investigated how foreign direct investment and external debt impact Nigeria’s economic growth; and (iii) analyzed the direction of causality among the three macroeconomic variables. Descriptive statistics, time series autoregressive distributive lag, and robust Granger causality tests were adopted as the estimating techniques. The results showed that from 2011 to 2022, Nigeria’s FDI continued to decline, Nigeria’s external debt servicing continued to grow on an upward trajectory, and the growth of the GDP has been meandering. ARDL analysis results confirmed that the lag of FDI and current exchange rate exert positive effects on current economic growth in Nigeria, with a 1% increase in FDI, current external debt, and current exchange rate increasing growth by 1.49%, 1.58%, and 0.02%, respectively. Results from the Granger causality showed that FDI and external debt do Granger cause GDP in Nigeria. Policymakers should focus on prudent debt management practices and strive to reduce domestic debt levels.
Akinola Gbenga Wilfred and Abieyuwa Ohonba
MDPI AG
The consumption of fossil fuel significantly contributes to the growth of South Africa’s economy but produces carbon dioxide (CO2), which is detrimental to environmental sustainability with overall effects on health outcomes. This study sought to (i) examine the impacts of fossil energy consumption-related CO2 emissions on the under-five mortality and infant mortality rates in South Africa and (ii) analyse the causal relationship between fossil energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and mortality rates in South Africa. Linear and nonlinear ARDL bounds and the Toda–Yamamoto causality test were used to establish the equilibrium property in the long run and the causal effects of the models’ variables. Health outcome data include the under-five mortality rate (MTR1) and infant mortality rate (MTR2). Other explanatory variables include fossil energy consumption (FOC), inflation (Inf), carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), and government expenditure (GEH). It is evident from the results of linear ARDL that the first lag of the under-five mortality rate in the short run has a positive and significant impact on the under-five mortality rate in South Africa. Holding the other variables constant, the under-five mortality rate in South Africa would increase by 0.630% for every 1% increase in its lagged values. Fossil energy consumption has a positive and significant effect on the under-five mortality rate in South Africa. This significant relationship implies that a 1% increase in fossil energy consumption increases the under-five mortality rate per 1000 persons per year in South Africa by 0.418% in the short run, all things being equal. The results from the Toda–Yamamoto causality test revealed that there is no causality between the under-five mortality rate and both the consumption of fossil fuel and CO2 emissions in South Africa. The results from nonlinear ARDL presented four separate scenarios. In the short run, during increasing levels of CO2 in the initial period (lag of CO2), a 1% increase in CO2 would decrease the under-five mortality rate by 1.15%. During periods of decreasing levels of CO2 in the short run, a 1% increase in CO2 would increase the infant mortality rate by 0.66%. Again, during previous and current periods of decreasing levels of FEC, a 1% increase in FEC would increase the infant mortality rate by 0.45% and 0.32%, respectively. In the long run, during periods of increasing levels of CO2, a 1% increase in CO2 would decrease the infant mortality rate by 4.62% whereas during decreasing levels of CO2, a 1% increase in CO2 would increase the infant mortality rate by 2.3%. The risk posed by CO2 emissions and their effects on humans can then be minimised through a government expansionary policy within health programmes.
Abdulrazak Abdulrahman Abubakar, Jules Clement Mba, and Abieyuwa Ohonba
LLC CPC Business Perspectives
Understanding the interconnectedness of cryptocurrencies based on their underlying technology is crucial for effective portfolio management and risk assessment. To establish the tail dependence structure and risk spillover between cryptocurrencies, this paper used the daily closing prices of the top eight proof-of-stake-based cryptocurrencies and the top ten proof-of-work-based cryptocurrencies from September 22, 2020 to April 7, 2023. This study applied the C-vine copulas and CoVaR measures. The outcome of the copula findings for the proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies illustrates that Ethereum exhibits strong resilience during market downturns, acting as a buffer for other proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies with pairwise tail dependence coefficients ranging from 0.45 to 0.67. Bitcoin Cash emerges as a portfolio diversifier within the proof-of-work ecosystem, absorbing 45% to 75% of volatility spillovers. However, from the proof-of-stake CoVaR analysis, ETH, DOT, and MATIC rank highest in systematic importance before April 2022, signifying their significant risk transmission role, and for the proof-of-work CoVaR analysis, Bitcoin (BTC) is the primary risk transmitter in the cryptocurrency portfolio, having a positive CoVaR of 0.15. Ethereum and Bitcoin are identified as the dominant risk transmitters within their respective groups, highlighting their potential to amplify systemic risk. This study provides valuable insights for investors and policymakers navigating the increasingly complex cryptocurrency landscape.
Bosede Ngozi Adeleye, Busayo Aderounmu, Oluwarotimi Owolabi, Victoria Okafor, and Abieyuwa Ohonba
Elsevier BV
Abieyuwa Ohonba and Gbenga Wilfred Akinola
EnPress Publisher
This paper examines the effect of governance in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Specifically, this study investigates (i) the interacting impact of government efficiency, regulatory quality, and the rule of law alongside other socioeconomic variables to determine foreign capital inflow (FCI) based on each economic SSA bloc; and (ii) the characteristic drivers of FCI, impacting economic growth in the SSA countries. Descriptive statistics, static models, least square dummy variables (LSDVs) and the dynamic system general method of moment (GMM) were employed as the study’s estimating techniques. Based on the result of the LSDV, food security and the rule of law significantly impact FCI in the sub-economic blocs in the region. Only six countries across the four economic blocs responded to food security and the rule of law in the model. The dynamic system-GMM provided evidence of five socioeconomic variables and three governance variables contributing to FCI. The findings revealed (i) regulatory quality and the rule of law are governance variables that significantly impacted FCI; and (ii) food security failed to significantly impact FCI in the SSA region. However, inflation, life expectancy, the human capital index, exchange rate and gross domestic product (GDP) growth impacted FCI significantly. In the aggregate, inflation, regulatory quality, exchange rate and the human capital index exhibited positive relationships, while other variables such as life expectancy, government effectiveness and the rule of law appeared significant but inversely impacted FCI in the SSA region. The key policy implication recommendation from this study is that a good legal framework could moderate the flow of foreign capital in favour of growth as it creates a strong foundation for sustainable economic development in the region.
Oluwaseyi Olopade, Beatrice Desiree Simo-Kengne, and Abieyuwa Ohonba
Universidad de Oviedo
Shifts from firm-level investment efficiency occur due to market imperfections and informationasymmetry. This translates to an increased cost of capital, which leads to over or under-investments. This study demonstrates the absence of a direct association between investmentefficiency and financial constraints in African firms, complementing the efficient markethypothesis. We observed firms across different industries listed on the JSE from 2009 to 2019.Empirical results from panel data analysis reveal that financial constraints drive improvedinvestment levels and firms in this region depend on external funds – specifically credits – toinvest.
Charles Shaaba Saba, Nicholas Ngepah, and Abieyuwa Ohonba
Informa UK Limited
Abstract This study examines the impact of general/national, provincial and local government capital on employment in South Africa. The study spans from 1993 to 2017 for a panel of 269 South African municipalities. The study employs the Granger causality test and the System Generalised Method of Moments (SGMM) estimation techniques. Findings show bidirectional causality between the variables of interest in the eight economic sectors. The results from the SGMM show that general/national government capital contributes more to total employment and the categories of employment (that is, different skills levels) in the economic sectors compared to provincial and local government capital. This suggests provincial and local government capital has not adequately contributed to citizens’ different skills development and employment levels. Therefore, this article recommends synergised and well invested national, provincial and local government capital at all levels of skills development to equip citizens, create jobs, and grow the South African economy.
Abieyuwa Ohonba and Kokunre Agbontaen-Eghafona
Informa UK Limited
The terms “trafficking in persons” (TIP), “human trafficking,” and “modern slavery” all represent the heinous act of “recruiting, harbouring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for compelled labour or commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud, or coercion” (US State Department 5). Regrettably, trafficking in persons is seen as a “mammoth economic enterprise, providing traffickers with financial resources and technological capabilities to enhance and shield activities from public scrutiny and interferences” (Abdulkadir 209). In 2016, Nigeria was ranked 23 out of 167 countries by the Global Slavery Index. Nigeria has remained a source, transit, and destination country for the human trafficking of women and children for forced labor and sex trafficking (US State Department 265). According to the US Report, Nigerian women and girls are involved in forced prostitution throughout Europe. Nigerian women and children are also in North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia as captives in the sex trade or in forced labor. Nigerian gangs are also known to have subjected very many Nigerian women to forced prostitution in the Czech Republic and Italy. These Nigerian women are also in Malaysia as prostitutes and drug mules for their traffickers. The European Union Agency for law Enforcement (EUROPOL) has identified Nigerian-organized crime related to trafficking in persons as one of the greatest law enforcement challenges to European governments (US State Department 265). Edo State in Nigeria has been labeled as the most endemic source of human trafficking in Nigeria (Aghatise 7; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime [UNODC]/United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute [UNICRI] 25; UNICRI/UNODC 6; Braimah 17). Edo State reportedly ranks as highest in this ignoble trade, and at a time 94% of all women trafficked for the purpose of prostitution from Nigeria to Europe came from Edo State (UNODC, Measures to Combat 12). Benin City is the capital of Edo State and singlehandedly accounts for seven of every 10 persons trafficked from Nigeria (Danish Immigration Service [DIS] 6).
Abieyuwa Ohonba, Nicholas Ngepah, and Beatrice Simo-Kengne
Informa UK Limited
ABSTRACT This study empirically assesses the relationship between mothers’ education and child health using continuous and binary proxies of child health outcomes. A panel, using four waves of the National Income Dynamic Study and a battery of estimation techniques, was employed. The results suggest that maternal education plays a large and significant role in explaining child health outcomes in South Africa. Our results also suggest that maternal education is relevant in respect to stunted growth (stunting). However, the effects of maternal education vary along races, implying levels of inequality. The effects are stronger in the black and coloured populations, possibly due to educational deficits. This suggests a need in improving the educational opportunities for these groups. We suggest that maternal education can significantly contribute to reducing the high degree of inequality in South Africa.