IMPACT OF NATURAL RESOURCES ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS FROM (1981-2021)

Abstract

This work examined the impact of natural resources on economic growth in Nigeria. The scope of the work was for forty (40) years between 1981 and 2021. The main reason for this was to check the impact of natural resources on her economy following the Pre-SAP period, SAP period, and the Post-SAP period after we had our independence. The objectives of the work were to check if natural resources have an impact on the growth of the Nigerian economy and what was the main division of natural resources within her economy. The study adopted the use of ADF (Augmented Dickey-Fuller test), the co-integration test, and the causality test. The result of the causality test showed that there is causality between natural resources and economic growth in Nigeria. The ordinary least squares (OLS) test showed that a percent change in the independent variables which were crude petroleum, crop production, and coal resources would affect the dependent variable which is GDP by 98%.Also, the findings showed that crop production and coal have a positive impact on GDP while crude petroleum has a negative impact. The study recommended that proper checks should be made by the government on the growth of this sector as it has a great impact on the growth of the Nigerian economy. Investment should be made by the government to aid the productivity of this sector and thereby triggering the growth of the economy.