Nigeria

Using household data from 15 countries in Latin America and Africa, this paper explores linkages between informality and education-occupation matching. The paper applies a unified methodology to measuring education-occupation mismatches and informality, consistently with the international labour and statistical standards in this area. The results suggest that in the majority of low- and middle-income developing countries with available data, workers in informal jobs have higher odds of being undereducated as compared to workers in formal jobs. Workers in formal jobs, in contrast, have higher chances of being overeducated. These results are consistent for dependent as well as for independent workers. They also hold for men and for women according to the gender-disaggregated analysis. Moreover, in the majority of countries considered in this paper, the matching-informality nexus is also related to the extent of informality in a given area: in labour markets with higher informality, informal workers in particular have a higher chance of being undereducated. The paper discusses policy implications of these findings.

This study examines the geographical and temporal evolution of violence in which pastoralists are engaged. Building upon an analysis of over 36,000 violent events in North and West Africa between January 1997 and April 2020 in which 206 pastoralist groups were involved, this paper provides a regional report on wider patterns of pastoralist violence over the last two decades. Pastoralist violence has both expanded and intensified in the region, as is evidenced by the rapid increase in number of events and fatalities over the past decade. A comprehensive understanding of pastoralists’ roles in this violence is thus crucial to facilitating more effective polices towards sustainable peace.

Blockchain is mainstreaming, but the number of blockchain for development use-cases with proven success beyond the pilot stage remain relatively few. This paper outlines key blockchain concepts and implications in order to help policymakers reach realistic conclusions when considering its use. The paper surveys the broad landscape of blockchain for development to identify where the technology can optimise development impact and minimise harm. It subsequently critically examines four successful applications, including the World Food Programme’s Building Blocks, Oxfam’s UnBlocked Cash project, KfW’s TruBudget and Seso Global. As part of the on-going work co-ordinated by the OECD’s Blockchain Policy Centre, this paper asserts that post-COVID-19, Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors and their development partners have a unique opportunity to shape blockchain’s implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine current regional strategies employed to counter extremism in the Lake Chad Basin region. Using the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) as a case study, the paper highlights the importance of non-military actors in shaping African regional military strategies. Regional peace and security frameworks have generally placed a predominant emphasis on member countries’ militaries and their institutions. Unfortunately, such an approach remains incomplete in effectively countering transnational terrorist threats. By assessing current LCBC collaborative mechanisms with non-military actors under the Regional Stabilisation Strategy created in 2018, the paper concludes that there is a need to incorporate more local actors in the regional security framework. Such collaborations will improve civil-military relations while boosting the resilience of member states in combatting Boko Haram and other transnational groups.

This paper uses network analysis to map and characterise live animal trade in West Africa. Building on a database of 42 251 animal movements collected by the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) from 2013-17, it describes the structure of regional livestock trade at the network, trade community and market levels. Despite yearly fluctuations in the volumes and spatial patterns of trade, the paper shows that regional livestock trade operates on well-established trade corridors as animals flow in specific directions. The study also confirms that livestock trade is structured around several national and cross-border groups of markets that exchange more animals than expected by chance. Close to two-thirds of all animals are shipped internationally, indicating that regional animal trade in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is remarkably cross-border. Finally, the paper finds that the hub markets that concentrate the most shipments also handle more animals and trade with more markets. Additionally, peripheral markets have more defined roles as primarily origins or destinations of animal shipments than markets in the core of the network. Of the nine key markets identified, three are close to borders, highlighting the importance of Nigeria as a livestock consumption destination for regional livestock production.

Since the return to democracy in 1999, Nigeria has embarked upon an ambitious reform programme towards greater economic openness and liberalisation. As a result, gross domestic product growth picked up consistently, never going below 5% since 2003. Nigeria has become a top recipient of foreign direct investment in Africa, with inflows having surpassed those to South Africa since 2009. The federal government’s Transformation Agenda recognises private sector development as the main engine for economic growth and includes bold investment reforms. Growth has however not yet been translated into inclusive development and the investment climate still suffers from severe challenges. This Investment Policy Review examines Nigeria’s investment policies in light of the OECD Policy Framework for Investment (PFI), a tool to mobilise investment in support of economic growth and sustainable development. It provides an assessment and policy recommendations on different areas of the PFI: investment policy; investment promotion and facilitation; trade policy; infrastructure investment; competition; corporate governance and financial sector development. It also includes a special chapter analysing the PFI in Lagos State. The Review follows on the request addressed by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment of Nigeria to the OECD Secretary-General in December 2011. It has been prepared in close co-operation with the Federal Government of Nigeria and Lagos State Government.