Disparities in Labor Market Outcomes Across Geopolitical Regions in Nigeria: Fact or Fantasy?

28 Pages Posted: 6 Nov 2007

See all articles by Ruth Uwaifo Oyelere

Ruth Uwaifo Oyelere

Agnes Scott College; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: September 2007

Abstract

Differences in geopolitical regions of Nigeria are not debatable. However, there is no clear consensus on the dimension of these disparities. In this paper, claims of geopolitical region disparities in labor market outcomes are investigated using survey data from Nigeria between 1996-1999. Both descriptive and econometric analysis are used to test the null hypothesis that there are no significant regional differences in labor market outcomes in Nigeria. The results are surprising given the anecdotal evidence and general perception of disparities along this dimension. First, similar mean incomes across regions in Nigeria were noted. In addition, returns to education were not significantly different for Northern and Southern Nigeria. Given these findings, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. There is no evidence of significant disparities in labor market outcome across geopolitical regions in Nigeria.

Keywords: regional disparities, labor market outcomes, Nigeria, returns to education, inequality

JEL Classification: O5, I0, J70, O18

Suggested Citation

Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth, Disparities in Labor Market Outcomes Across Geopolitical Regions in Nigeria: Fact or Fantasy? (September 2007). IZA Discussion Paper No. 3082, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1027690 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1027690

Ruth Uwaifo Oyelere (Contact Author)

Agnes Scott College ( email )

141 E. College Ave
Decatur, GA 30030
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
97
Abstract Views
1,183
Rank
489,322
PlumX Metrics