The impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on employment in Nigeria (1970 -2018)

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows on employment in Nigeria from 1970 to 2018. Globalization has encouraged FDI flows, and this has enhanced economic growth and employment growth in many countries. Nigeria is endowed with natural resources and is therefore able to attract foreign investors, thus creating employment opportunities, however, the country has not been able to attract and sustain consistently high FDI inflows nor has the country been able to grapple with its persistent high unemployment. To assess the research problem, three objectives were set. First, to provide a comprehensive explanation of the trend of FDI into and employment in Nigeria between 1970 and 2018, second to empirically investigate the relationship between FDI and employment; and third, to provide policy recommendations based on the findings of the study. The study therefore adopts the Vector Autoregression and Vector Error Correction model (VAR/VECM) estimation techniques to determine the long-run and short-run impact of the FDI inflows on employment in Nigeria. The results confirm that FDI is positively related to employment in Nigeria. Therefore, this study recommends that the Nigerian government should increase its focus on attracting FDI inflows to contribute to the reduction of the rate of unemployment in the country. Policy measures for macroeconomic stability, to improve security, enhance political stability and infrastructure development should be undertaken simultaneously, both to encourage new FDI investments and to retain the current investors in the country.Economic