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.