Impact of Capital Inflows on Manufacturing Exports and Economic Growth: An Empirical Evidence from Nigeria

Abstract

A lot of studies have examined the relationship between capital inflows and economic growth in Nigeria; Most of these studies examined either oil export, non-oil export or total exports, without specific emphasis on manufacturing export; given that manufacturing export is fundamental to economic growth. In this case, we examined the dynamic impact of capital inflows on manufacturing exports and economic growth in Nigeria between 1981 and 2017 using annual data. Data collected were analyzed using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) econometric techniques and the results revealed that capital inflows have significant and positive impact on economic growth (t= 4.42884, p< 0.005) both in the short and long run; and positive but statistically insignificant impact on manufacturing exports (t= 0.73, p> 0.05). Therefore, the study concluded that capital inflows have significant impact on economic growth but no impact on the manufacturing exports in Nigeria; and we recommend that the government and monetary authorities’ in Nigeria should formulate economic policies that will promote manufacturing exports through adequate and efficient infrastructural facilities that would encourage the needed capital inflows to the manufacturing sector and increase the production of goods for local consumption and export.