Changing Macroeconomic Strategies in Nigeria from 1960 to 2019: Lessons from the Past and Roadmap for the Future

Abstract

In 2017, the Nigerian government launched the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) in response to the multidimensional economic crises facing the country. Earlier works had reviewed the rapid changes in economic frameworks in Nigeria from 1960 to 2011, which included the development plans, Structural Adjustment Programme and National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies. With this background, this paper went further to include the latest macroeconomic management framework in Nigeria, the ERGP, and how it fared up to 2019, as an input into future economic development frameworks. The setting for this study is Nigeria and the method adopted was desk research. The lessons from the past (1960 to 2019), which were the main findings of earlier studies and the current paper, included policy instability, increasing loss of compassion by the government and concentration of all development efforts at the center. Recommendations included resuscitating the bill on Project Continuity, adapting the model in which medium term plans are built into an existing long term plan, irrespective of the government in power, greater involvement of other tiers of government, assessing the poverty impact of government policies, and handling the introduction of new macroeconomic frameworks with a change management mindset.. This paper is of great significance as the ERGP ends in 2020 and the government which has just returned to power is thinking of new economic strategies to move the economy forward. Furthermore, while others examined some of these frameworks, this paper examined all the economic strategies adapted in Nigeria from 1960 to 2019.