Corruption and Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria (1986-2025)

Corruption and Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria (1986-2025) | Zenodo Skip to main Communities My dashboard Log in Sign up Published April 21, 2026 | Version v1 Journal article Open Corruption and Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria (1986-2025) Authors/Creators Yahaya, Onipe Adabenege (Contact person) 1 Show affiliations 1. Nigerian Defence Academy Description This study examines the relationship between corruption and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in Nigeria over the period 1986-2025, a stretch of nearly four decades that encompasses military rule, democratic transitions, oil price cycles, and recent post-pandemic economic shocks. Nigeria remains one of Africa's largest economies, yet it consistently ranks among the most corruption-afflicted nations in global governance indices, a paradox that sits at the heart of this investigation. While the country's vast natural resource endowment, demographic scale, and strategic geopolitical position should theoretically make it an FDI magnet, actual investment inflows remain volatile, sector-concentrated, and far below the nation's potential. The study employs Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS), and Dynamic OLS (DOLS) regression techniques to isolate the independent effect of corruption on FDI, while controlling for market size, inflation, exchange rate, trade openness, governance quality, regulatory framework, rule of law, infrastructure, oil reserves, and global economic trends. Using annual time-series data primarily sourced from the World Bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Transparency International, the results consistently demonstrate that corruption exerts a statistically significant negative effect on FDI inflows. A one-unit improvement in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is associated with a 0.0401 percentage point increase in FDI as a share of GDP. Governance quality, regulatory efficiency, and rule of law emerge as equally powerful determinants, suggesting that corruption does not operate in isolation but as part of a broader institutional deficit. The study finds robust cointegration among the variables, stable model parameters, and confirms that corruption Granger-causes FDI in a unidirectional fashion. The findings have direct implications for Nigeria's industrialisation agenda, the Tinubu administration's economic reform programme, and the broader African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) investment strategy. Files Corruption and Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria (1986-2025).pdf Files (454.7 kB) Name Size Download all Corruption and Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria (1986-2025).pdf md5:c5b32a7c4d4c15630ac66f7c2cb3afec 454.7 kB Preview Download 103 Views 24 Downloads Show more details All versions This version Views Total views 103 103 Downloads Total downloads 24 24 Data volume Total data volume 11.4 MB 11.4 MB More info on how stats are collected.... Versions External resources Indexed in OpenAIRE Communities Keywords and subjects Keywords Corruption Foreign Direct Investment Nigeria Time Series Details DOI DOI Badge DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19678273 Markdown [](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19678273) reStructuredText .. image:: https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19678273.svg :target: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19678273 HTML <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19678273"><img src="https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19678273.svg" alt="DOI"></a> Image URL https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19678273.svg Target URL https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19678273 Resource type Journal article Publisher Zenodo Published in Journal of International Business Studies, 21(4), 122-157, 2026. Languages English Rights License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International The Creative Commons Attribution license allows re-distribution and re-use of a licensed work on the condition that the creator is appropriately credited. Read more Citation Export Technical metadata Created April 21, 2026 Modified April 21, 2026 Jump up About About Policies Infrastructure Principles Projects Roadmap Contact Blog Blog Support Help FAQ Developers REST API OAI-PMH Contribute GitHub Donate Funded by Powered by CERN Data Centre & InvenioRDM Status Privacy policy Cookie policy Terms of Use This site uses cookies. Find out more on how we use cookies Accept all cookies Accept only essential cookies

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