ABSTRACT

This study was intended to examine if international trade has any impact on Nigeria’s economy growth and to see if it impacts positively or negatively. This study was guided by the following objectives; To examine the factors that hinders the success of international trade in Nigeria, To examine also the trade policies i.e. restrictions Nigeria has imposed on international trade and how favorable such policies has been, To examine the impact of the exchange rate system in Nigeria, To make necessary policy recommendations based on the findings of the study. In other to adequately capture and empirically investigate and analyze the impact of international trade on the economic growth of Nigeria, a multiple regression econometric model was used. In the investigation on the impact of international trade on economic growth, a unit root test was carried out on the data using the Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test to know if the data are stationary, if integrated at order zero (0), if integrated at order one (1), if integrated at order two (2). Secondary data gotten from secondary sources particularly from the Central Bank Of Nigeria statistical bulletin and the National Bureau of Statistics were used and data was analyzed using the regression statistical tool at 5% level of significance which was presented in frequency tables and percentage. The study findings revealed that National savings plays an important role in the process of economic growth as it provides for investment which in turn creates employment opportunity for its labour force, thus increasing their income and aggregate demand and thus leading to economic growth. In our estimated model, we found national savings as positively influencing economic growth. Trade openness in any economy is as a result of globalization. Labour productivity also determines the growth of any economy. This study is useful to researches as it provides an econometric evidence of the impact of international trade on the growth of the Nigerian economy.