Human Capital Development as a Catalyst for Environment Sustainable Development in Nigeria: A VECM Approach

A.O. Babasanya; A.G. Ogunleye; O.O. Ogunyomi

A.O. Babasanya Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State
A.G. Ogunleye Osun State University, Osogbo, Osun State
O.O. Ogunyomi Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State

Keywords: Human capital development, environment sustainable development

Abstract

This study investigated the long-run relationship between HCD and environment sustainable development based on Lucas production function and the environment Kuznets framework. The econometric methodology employed was vector error correction model (VECM), which is used to estimate the short and long-run equilibrium convergence and the rate of speed of adjustments among cointegrating vectors, as well as the relationship between the included explanatory variables and dependent variable. The study covered the period 1977-2013, using an annual time series for eight variables, including the dependent variable, the ratio of total natural resources rent to gross domestic product was proxied by environment sustainable development. The results revealed that HCD was the strongest exogenous variable that speedily shocked other cointegrating variables to actualize stable environment sustainable development in the short run for the study period in Nigeria. In the long run, the results found that HCD had a weak positive relationship and insignificant impact on environment sustainable development in Nigeria in the period 1977-2013. The study recommended that for reliable environment sustainable development in the long run, the government should intensify favourable policies on institutional quality and economic infrastructure; in the short run, government should intensify favourable policies on HCD, since it is a catalyst to affect other included variables within a short period to converge to long-run equilibrium.

Author Biographies

A.O. Babasanya, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State

Department of Economics, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State

A.G. Ogunleye, Osun State University, Osogbo, Osun State

Department of Economics, Osun State University, Osogbo, Osun State

O.O. Ogunyomi, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State

Department of Economics, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State

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