TITLE:
Causal Relationship between Industrial Action and Economic Growth in Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Lydia Bose Jolayemi, Osuolale Fatomilola
KEYWORDS:
Industrial Action, Strikes, Economic Growth, Man-Day Lost, Granger Causality
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.7 No.5,
May
19,
2020
ABSTRACT:
The paper examines the direction of causality between industrial action and economic growth in Nigeria over the period 1986-2018 using endogenous growth model. This was with the view to determining whether or not man- day-lost to industrial crisis in the country through high numbers of industrial action Granger caused economic growth in Nigeria. Annual time series data such as man-day-lost, Gross Domestic Product, Consumer Price Index, Labour Force Participation and Gross Capital Formation were source from Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin, National Bureau of Statistics Annual Reports and World Bank Development Indicators. Data were analysed using co-integration and Vector Error Correction Model Granger causality techniques. Results reveal that there exists long-run relationship between industrial action and economic growth in Nigeria. The causality test revealed unidirectional causality running from economic growth to industrial action, while it finds no empirical support for the reverse causation. This implies that whenever economy is growing, citizen may agitate for higher wage increment and thereby leads to higher industrial action in the country. The study concluded that, there exist long-run causal relationship between industrial action and economic growth in Nigeria.