GLOBALIZATION, INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA

Abstract

To achieve a meaningful pace of economic growth, most developing countries throughout the world embark on various policy reforms, and one of the policy reforms adopted in Nigeria was globalization and trade liberalization. While such policies have not provided the desired effects due to their linkage effect, the adoption and implementation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to supplement government efforts in these economies has brought considerable results. However, this technical advancement is expected to have a rapid impact on Nigeria's economic development. The policy on ICT adoption began shortly after the civilian regime took control in the year 2000. The country's licensed telecommunication service providers have had some noticeable macroeconomic effects, such as job creation and the expansion of the scope of small and medium businesses, faster service delivery, lower transportation costs, increased security, and higher national output, as well as an increase in teledensity of both fixed and mobile lines. The model's findings revealed that current telecommunications investment had no effect on GDP growth, but that investments made in the preceding two years had a considerable impact on current GDP, even though government spending slowed growth. A similar discovery was made about computer usage and how it influences investment decisions in Nigeria's telecommunications sector.