Assessment of Youth Unemployment, Security and Corruption in Nigeria: 1986-2015

Abstract

The paper examines impact of insecurity and corruption on unemployment in Nigeria. Unemployment has been on the increase and government's effort aimed at addressing the problem has been ineffective.  This situation is compounded by the fact that high level of corruption prevented the provision of soft and hard infrastructures that would have mitigated against unemployment. An empirical assessment of this issue is scarce as existing literatures mainly focus on the relationship between economic growth and corruption as well as insecurity. The study employed both descriptive and econometric methods to analyze the data. The data obtained from various issues of the Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletins and annual reports as well as Transparency International covered the period 1986-2015. Consequently, the model was estimated using co-integration and error correction method. The study found that unemployment has a long-run relationship with corruption and government expenditure on defence. Thus, in the long run, unemployment had a positive and significant response to changes in corruption perception index (0.72%) and corruption rank (0.28%) contrary to its 2.63% response to government expenditure on defence. Finding also indicate that a 1% increase in corruption perception index, corruption rank as well as a dummy of insecurity led to increase in unemployment by about 0.26%, 0.98% and 0.27% respectively in the short run. Therefore, government may consider improvement in security and eradication of corruption in order to mitigate unemployment. Consequently, the fight against corruption should involves appointment of those with integrity to head the anti-graft agencies.