Human capital development in Nigeria: The role of diaspora remittances

Abstract

Diaspora remittances are a major source of development finance especially for developing countries depending on the manner such finances are applied. It is however unclear how these remittances have impacted on the labour force of the countries of origins of migrants. This paper investigates the impact of this source of finances on human capital development in Nigeria. By applying the Ordinary Least Squares technique using thirty-nine-year time series from 1981-2019, a positive and significant causal relationship was found between diaspora remittances and human capital development. Policy recommendations include the establishment of diaspora foundations through the diaspora commissions to cater for the needs of dependents of Nigeria emigrants especially providing their educational and healthcare needs; a family educational endowment fund be established and financed by a % of diaspora remittances, a state of emergency should be declared on education especially by ensuring transparency in both government and private spending on education especially by recipients of diaspora remittances.