1ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA NSUKKA

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

(20th - 21st JULY 2018,): CALL FOR PAPERS
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
(20th - 21st JULY 2018,): CALL FOR PAPERS
 Economic Diversification in Developing T Countries: The Way Forward for Nigeria heme:
BACKGROUND
D
uring the last decade, there has been deep concerns
about the risks of Nigeria's over-dependence on the oil
and gas sector and the urgent need to diversify the
economy. Historically, the non-oil sector, particularly the
agricultural sector, was the mainstay of the Nigerian economy
during the 1960s and early 1970s. For instance, in the 1960s, the
agricultural sector accounted for 85% of Nigeria's foreign
exchange earnings, 90% of employment generation, and about
80% of gross domestic product (CBN, 2010). However,
following the so-called “oil syndrome” in the 1980s, the oil
sector has dominated the Nigerian economy, accounting for over
90% of foreign exchange earnings and more than 80% of
government revenue. Since then, the economy has continued to
witness the coexistence of vast natural resource wealth and
extreme poverty, a problem commonly referred to as the
“resource curse”.
Identifying this as a problem in the early 80s, the Nigerian
government adopted the 1986 Structural Adjustment
Programme (SAP), for diversifying the Nigerian economy and
enhancing productivity growth in a stable macroeconomic
environment as its focus. Unfortunately, the oil sector still
accounts for more than 80% of total export earnings and total
government revenue. More so, economic stagnation, high
unemployment rate, runaway inflation, increasing widespread
poverty, rising informal sector, collapse of basic infrastructure
and social services, persistent external sector imbalances,
struggling financial system and low output growth now
characterize the economy.
The foregoing paragraphs indicate the need to correct the
existing structural distortions and put the Nigerian economy on
the path of sustainable growth and development. Hence, this
conference is designed as a platform for policy makers,
researchers from different fields, academics, professionals,
government functionaries and agencies, industrialists, NGOs,
CSOs, and other stakeholders to exchange ideas and evolve
concrete proposals to enhance productive growth in the non-oil
sector, and be extricated from the clutches of the so-called
“Dutch disease”.
CONFERENCE STRUCTURE AND OBJECTIVES
CONFERENCE SUB-THEMES
* Economic Diversification in history: what can we learn?
* The politics of Economic diversification in resource
 rich countries
* Challenges and prospects of economic diversification
* Agriculture and Economic diversification in Nigeria
* The financial system and economic diversification
* Governance structure and economic diversification
* Research and economic diversification in developing
 countries
* Diversification of the Nigerian Economy: The role of
 industrialization
* Economic diversification and economic development:
 The policy options
* Entrepreneurship development and economic
 diversification in Nigeria
* Engineering, ICT, indigenous technology and economic
 diversification in Nigeria
* Corruption and economic diversification in Nigeria
* School curriculum and economic diversification in Nigeria
* Infrastructure and economic diversification in Nigeria
 Religion and economic diversification
Rule of law, peace, security, conflict resolution and
 economic diversification
 Regional integration and economic diversification
 SMEs and economic diversification in Nigeria
 International trade policy and economic diversification
 Creativity, innovation and Economic Diversification
 Institutional Quality and Economic Diversification
 Tourism, entertainment and economic diversification
* Social aggregates, Culture and Economic Diversification.
Ecosystems and economic diversification
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We invite authors to submit abstracts of not more than 250
words in any of the sub-themes. The abstracts should be in
standard MS word, Times New Roman and single spacing. It
should include title of the research paper, author(s) name(s),
institutional affiliation(s), email address, phone numbers,
three to five key words, and JELClassification codes.
Abstracts should be submitted before 22nd April 2018,
24.00 Nigerian Time (GMT+1) to:
and copy
Successful authors will be
notified by 30th April 2018, and will be expected to submit
full papers by 10th June 2018.
Normal Registration: NGN15,000 or US$50.
Early Registration NGN10,000 or US$30.
(before June 30th, 2018)
Students: NGN5,000 or US$20.
All registration will close by 10th July 2018.
Distinguished administrators and policy makers invited and
expected at the Conference include: His Excellency, Dr
Akinwumi Adeshina, President, African Development Bank
(AfDB); Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, Former
Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Mr Tony
Okpanachi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer,
Development Bank of Nigeria, among others.
conference.ecounn@gmail.com
nathaniel.urama@unn.edu.ng
The Conference Registration Fee should be paid to:-
Department of Economics, UNN.
ECO Bank. Account Number: 5412001639.
 Sort Code: 050250185
The Conference Registration Fee should be paid to:-
Department of Economics, UNN.
ECO Bank. Account Number: 5412001639.
 Sort Code: 050250185
Conference Venue: PAA, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria.
Date:20th-21st July 2018. Time: 8.00 am -5 pm each day.
Carefully selected papers from the conference will form the
foundation of an edited book: Economic Diversification in
Developing Countries: The Way Forward for Nigeria. Others will
be published in a special issue of the Departmental journal,
“Journal of Economics and Allied Research”.