Financial Structure and Economic Growth in Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigates the financial structure and economic growth in Nigeria. This study is imperative to pursue due to scanty studies especially in this country and conflicting empirical results, which need reinforcing in one direction or the other. The study uses annualized data from the Central Bank of Nigeria and World Bank Development Indicators. The study adopts the Cobb-Douglas form of the production function and estimates the regression equation from the specified model. The study found out that financial structure matters to the economic growth of Nigeria and more to this, the financial structure of the country is a bank-based economy. The study suggests that policies towards capital market improvement should be formulated and implemented so as to assure its optimum credit provision in the economic growth and development.

Keywords: Time series data, capital productivity, financial market and financial structure.