Disparities in labor market outcomes across geopolitical regions in Nigeria: fact or fantasy?

Differences in geopolitical regions of Nigeria are not debatable. However, there is no clear consensus on the dimension of these disparities. In this paper, claims of geopolitical region disparities in labor market outcomes are investigated using survey data from Nigeria between 1996-1999. Both descriptive and econometric analysis are used to test the null hypothesis that there are no significant regional differences in labor market outcomes in Nigeria. The results are surprising given the anecdotal evidence and general perception of disparities along this dimension. First, similar mean incomes across regions in Nigeria were noted. In addition, returns to education were not significantly different for Northern and Southern Nigeria. Given these findings, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. There is no evidence of significant disparities in labor market outcome across geopolitical regions in Nigeria.