The Impact of Tariffs on Trade Openess in Nigeria From 1985 to 2016

Scientific Study from the year 2018 in the subject Economics - Foreign Trade Theory, Trade Policy, grade: 2.1, University of Nigeria, course: ECONOMICS, language: English, abstract: This study however, empirically examined the impact of tariff rate on trade openness in Nigeria, relying on annual time series data spanning the period 1985-2016 and using the Engel-Granger two step co-integration test to establish the existence of a stable long run equilibrium relationship among the variables at a 5% level of significance The debate over the effect of tariffs on trade openness is relatively virgin in international trade literature The study employed the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression technique and the pairwise granger causality test to validate the nature of the relationship existing between trade openness and tariff rate in Nigeria. Sequel to the regression result, it is found that although tariff variable is statistically insignificant, it has a negative effect on the degree of openness. Similarly, the granger causality reveals a uni-directional causality existing between TOPEN and TARF running only from trade openness to the rate of tariff. The study therefore recommends that since TARF has proven to be an insignificant determinant of trade openness and is thus granger caused by the degree of openness, the government should leave tariff rate to be determined by the invisible hand of the free market-economy and not bother in fixing the tariff rate for the purpose of restricting the free flow of international trade.