The Effect of Government Policy on Sustainable Job Creation through Small-Scale Enterprises in Nigeria

    Abstract

    It is a known fact that Nigeria has grappled with a rising unemployment rate due to its rapidly expanding population and economic instability, posing a significant challenge for the government. This paper assesses the effect of existing government policies on sustainable small scale enterprises (SSEs) in employment generation in Nigeria. The specific objective of this study is to contribute to the existing literature on assessing the effect of existing government policies on SSE development in employment generation in Nigeria. Such effect can either be short-run or long-run impact. The study employed quantitative approach, where secondary data were sourced and used. The study's data were sourced from the Central Bank Statistical Bulletin, International Monetary Fund(IMF), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the World Development Indicator (WDI) database, spanning from 1992 to 2022. The findings reveal that for the short-term effect, inflation, GDP growth per capita, and total Savings have a negative impact on Self-employment furthermore, total government expenditure and total credit to small scale enterprise have a positive impact on Self-employment in Nigeria. As the government invests in a variety of projects and programs, it ignites growth in the economy while for long-term effects of government policies on SSEs Development, effective government policy is in strengthening SSEs to create wealth and provide employment opportunities. Savings which negatively impact self-employment in the short run, exhibit a positive impact in the long run. The study concludes that total government spending and credit to small scale enterprise positively impact self-employment in both long run and short run. This means that fiscal policy and credit policy play a crucial role in wealth creation and employment generation capacities of SSEs, and therefore recommended among others that government should invest in Infrastructural projects to create a favourable environment for self-employment through various interconnected mechanisms and implement flexible credit policies that can make it easier for small-scale enterprises to access credit.

    Key words: Assessment, Government policy, Job Creation, Small Scale Enterprises

    DOI: www.doi.org/10.36349/fujpam.2024.v3i02.011

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    author/Mohammed Yakubu Ahmed

    journal/FUJPAM Vol. 3, No. 2 

    Pages