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
author/Mohammed Yakubu Ahmed
journal/FUJPAM Vol. 3, No. 2