Assessment of Financial Intermediation and Economic Growth in Nigeria (1980 -2015)

This paper is on the assessment of financial intermediation and economic growth in Nigeria from 1980 to 2015. Specifically, this study evaluated the impact of financial intermediation and direction of causality between financial intermediation and economic growth in Nigeria from 1980 to 2015. To achieve the objectives, the study employed the unit root test, the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) and the Granger Causality test technique. The results of the unit root test showed that the variables are integrated at I~ (0) and I~ (1). The result of the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) analysis shows that financial intermediation is a positive and a significant determinant of economic growth in Nigeria. This partly explains why the private sector is indeed a good driver of economic growth. This paper recommends that the government should implement policies that will aid easy access to credit from financial institutions by the people in the society for investment purposes.