Abstract

This study investigated the impact of trade liberalization on economic growth in Nigeria. In order to achieve the objectives of examining the trend in trade and growth and impact of trade liberalization on economic growth, times series data were sourced and analysed using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (ARDL). Findings from the study revealed that oil export and non-oil import impacted positively and significantly on economic growth both in the short and long runs. The results also show that oil and non-oil imports retarded economic growth in both short and long run periods. Specifically, oil import was found to significantly diminished economic growth in Nigeria. Nigeria imports refined petroleum products hence spends huge financial resources to finance its imports. This has affected the economy negatively as funds meant for other developmental purposes are spent on petroleum products importation. Based on these findings, the study suggests increase in oil export by providing conducive environment for oil operations, improvement in non-oil export by diversifying the products base of the economy and building local capacity in oil exploration and refining in order to end petroleum products imports in Nigeria.