Effects of Trade Openness on Life Expectancy, Infant Mortality and Adult Mortality in Nigeria
Abstract
Despite different policies towards trade openness, Nigeria has seen relatively poor improvements in population health. Developing economies are usually centers for unhealthy goods as a result open trade. This study examines the impact of trade openness on health outcomes in Nigeria. The study used the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag estimation technique for the effects of trade on infant mortality, adult mortality, and life expectancy. The results showed that increased trade openness, real gross domestic product, and real exchange rate decreased infant mortality in both the short-run and long-run. In contrast, increased foreign direct investment led to higher infant mortality. Additionally, increasing net exports reduced infant mortality. Trade openness, real gross domestic product, and real exchange rate improved the adult mortality rate, while changes in other variables had adverse effects on adult mortality. Furthermore, trade openness and net exports improved life expectancy, while changes in other variables reduced it. In conclusion, the study suggests that trade openness taking the country peculiarities into consideration should remain a key goal for economic purposes and for improving human health in Nigeria.
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