Speaker
Description
Abubakar, A.
Umaru Musa Yar'adua University Katsina, Nigeria
abdulslm@gmail.com
Track: Inclusion, Equity and Digital Access
Nigeria with HDI score of 0.560 in 2023 occupies 164th position in the HDI ranking and was thus placed among nations with medium human development. Some of the factors that contribute to this include poverty, inequality, low access to capital and technology among others. Access to formal and informal financial resources and services as well as digital technologies has the potential to improve living standards by expanding economic opportunities, enhancing access to education and healthcare, promoting entrepreneurship and reducing poverty. Many policy measures were implemented by Nigerian governments aimed at enhancing financial inclusion and ICT adoption. However, the extent to which these policy measures contribute to human development remains unresolved. Against this background, this study analyses the relationship between financial inclusion, ICT and human development in Nigeria from 1990 to 2023. Using annual time-series data for Nigeria, the study utilizes the HDI as the proxy for human development, financial inclusion is measured by financial Institutions access Index, while ICT is captured by mobile cellular subscriptions and internet usage (percentage of the population using the internet). The study employed structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) technique on data covering the period 1990 – 2023, to explore both the long-run and short-run dynamic relationships among the variables. The findings revealed the existence of a long-run relationship among financial inclusion, ICT, and human development. Specifically, financial inclusion and ICT were found to have positive effects on human development, implying that improved access to financial resources and services and enhanced digital connectivity lead to improvements in education, health outcomes, level of income and overall welfare. The results further indicated that positive shocks to financial inclusion and ICT generate improvements in human development. The study recommends that government and other stakeholders should promote inclusive financial development and strengthen digital infrastructure in order to accelerate human development in Nigeria.