Explaining Nigeria's import demand behaviour: a bound testing approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical analysis of the aggregated import demand behavior for Nigeria using annual data between 1980 and 2006. Design/methodology/approach – The bounds test analysis was used to estimate the long-run relationship between imports and its determinants. Findings – Test results show that imports, income and relative prices are cointegrated. The estimated long-run elasticities of import demand with respect to income and relative prices are 2.48 and -0.133, respectively. Originality/value – These results suggest that the Marshall-Lerner condition are not satisfied for Nigeria.