New Perspectives On Nigerian Economic Reform

A report on development economics in action, by a crucial player in Nigeria's recent reforms. Corrupt, mismanaged, and seemingly hopeless: that's how the international community viewed Nigeria in the early 2000s. Then Nigeria implemented a sweeping set of economic and political changes and began to reform the unreformable. This book tells the story of how a dedicated and politically committed team of reformers set out to fix a series of broken institutions, and in the process repositioned Nigeria's economy in ways that helped create a more diversified springboard for steadier long-term growth. The author, Harvard- and MIT-trained economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, currently Nigeria's Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance and formerly Managing Director of the World Bank, played a crucial part in her country's economic reforms. In Nigeria's Debt Management Office, and later as Minister of Finance, she spearheaded negotiations with the Paris Club that led to the wiping out of $30 billion of Nigeria's external debt, 60 percent of which was outright cancellation. Reforming the Unreformable offers an insider's view of those debt negotiations; it also details the fight against corruption and the struggle to implement a series of macroeconomic and structural reforms. This story of development economics in action, written from the front lines of economic reform in Africa, offers a unique perspective on the complex and uncertain global economic environment.

The main aim of this chapter is to review the different perspectives of the structural transformation of the Nigeria economy as well as the effects of the various development policies on the economy. The structure of an economy is the institutional as well as organizational framework which determines how resources are owned, allocated and distributed in an economy. The alteration in the structure of the Nigerian economy in the desired direction should ensure the achievement of economic growth and development. The objectives and goals of Nigerian economic development are also highlighted to see how far the country has fared in her effort to achieve sustainable development and improvement of the welfare of the people.

The story of how oil--and oil money--transformed political life in two major producer-nations

"Following years of economic stagnation, Nigeria embarked on a comprehensive reform program during the second term of the Obasanjo administration. The program was based on the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) and focused on four main areas: improving the macroeconomic environment, pursuing structural reforms, strengthening public expenditure management, and implementing institutional and governance reforms. This paper reviews Nigeria's recent experience with economic reforms and outlines major policy measures that have been implemented. Although there have been notable achievements under the program, significant challenges exist, particularly in translating the benefits of reforms into welfare improvements for citizens, in improving the domestic business environment, and in extending reform policies to states and local governments." The authors argue that the reform program must be considered as 'initial steps on a long journey'; consequently, they have outlined a number of outstanding issues that need to be addressed by future Nigerian administrations.

Nigeria has experienced significant economic progress since publication in 1999 of the first edition of Perspectives on Nigerian Economic Development. Two main drivers of this progress have been the beneficial return to democratic rule and the implementation of key economic reforms, particularly in pursuing external debt relief, implementing excess crude account to stabilize revenue volatility, introducing contributory pension schemes and taking steps to privatize key sectors such as telecommunications. This volume is focused on issues relating to good political and corporate governance and national development; budget and fiscal policy; the Nigerian financial and capital markets and banking. Part one deals with the issues of globalisation and how Nigeria can play in the emergent environment. Part two (Managing the Nigerian Economy), Part three (Strengthening the Nigerian Banking Sector and Part Four (Entrepreneurship and Corporate Governance) proffers ways and means of handling these intertwined aspects of national challenges. The final part - Key Sector Issues deals with three vital areas - Education, Transportation, and Oil and Gas.

Created as a result of British colonialism, Nigeria emerged as a nation-state during the mid-20th century. Toyin Falola presents statistical data on Nigeria's economy that illustrate the nature of the changes made throughout the mid-20th century.

There is long-standing debate on how population growth affects national economies. A new report from Population Matters examines the history of this debate and synthesizes current research on the topic. The authors, led by Harvard economist David Bloom, conclude that population age structure, more than size or growth per se, affects economic development, and that reducing high fertility can create opportunities for economic growth if the right kinds of educational, health, and labor-market policies are in place. The report also examines specific regions of the world and how their differing policy environments have affected the relationship between population change and economic development.

This paper outlines the main characteristics and the development of the centrally planned economic sysetm in Romania before the beginnings of the transition to a market eonomy it then presents the design, objectives, and implementation of the reform program.

This volume makes a major intervention in the debates around the nature of the political economy of Pakistan, focusing on its contemporary social dynamics. This is the first comprehensive academic analysis of Pakistan's political economy after thirty-five years, and addresses issues of state, class and society, examining gender, the middle classes, the media, the bazaar economy, urban spaces and the new elite. The book goes beyond the contemporary obsession with terrorism and extremism, political Islam, and simple 'civilian–military relations', and looks at modern-day Pakistan through the lens of varied academic disciplines. It not only brings together new work by some emerging scholars but also formulates a new political economy for the country, reflecting the contemporary reality and diversification in the social sciences in Pakistan. The chapters dynamically and dialectically capture emergent processes and trends in framing Pakistan's political economy and invite scholars to engage with and move beyond these concerns and issues.