REMITTANCE VOLATILITY AND HEALTH SECTOR PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA

Abstract

For the past three decades the world has witnessed an unprecedented rise in remittance. This upsurge has necessitated researches in its potential impacts on the various facets of development. In spite of the surging interest on the impact of remittance, there has been paucity of researches on the impact of remittance volatility on health outcomes. This study therefore seeks to investigate the nexus between remittance volatility and life expectancy at birth within the Nigeria context, utilizing the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Error Correction Model (ECM) for the period 1981 to 2018. Findings suggest that while remittance volatility has statistically significant negative impact on life expectancy in the long-run, it was however positive but insignificant in the short-run. Other factors such as income, education status and public health expenditure were also found to be major determinants of life expectancy in Nigeria. Given that remittances are largely susceptible to external shocks, and are beyond the control of policy makers in the recipient countries, relevant measures should be put in place in the home front to significantly cushion the negative impact of such fluctuations on life expectancy in the long-run.