Fast-tracking sustainable economic growth and development in Nigeria through international migration and remittances

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the possibility of fast-tracking sustainable economic growth and development in Nigeria through mainstreaming of the benefits of international migration and inflow of remittances from abroad. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology employed in this research is the planned and systematic collection of qualitative and quantitative data on selected macro-economic variables from the publications of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for a period spanning 36 years (1970-2006). A multiple regression analysis was carried out, using E-view statistical package, to validate the prospect of fast-tracking sustainable economic growth and development in Nigeria through international migration and remittances links. Findings – There are four findings from this research: there exists a negative relationship between the gross domestic product (GDP) and inflation rate (IR); there exists a negative relationship between GDP and net inflow (NI); there exists a positive relationship between the GDP and foreign private investment (FPI); and there exists a positive relationship between the GDP and external reserve (ER). Practical implications – The major practical implication of this paper is that government, financial institutions, immigration departments and Nigerian professionals in Diaspora have a monumental role to play for positive, timely and accurate documentation of international migration data and inflow of remittances for developmental purposes. Originality/value – This research paper supports the neo-classical migration theory and segmented labour market theory in economics.