Response of the Nigerian construction sector to economic shocks

Abstract

The construction sector (CS) is an economic barometer that mirrors the state of the economy. Therefore, the construction sector is susceptible to economic impacts. This study investigated the impact of economic shocks (measured with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)) on construction sector performance. The study used econometric methodology which involves several sequential procedure including unit root test, cointegration test, causality and exogeneity tests. The data used was the Annualized time series data about GDP and construction sector. The data were extracted from the United Nations Statistics Division  database based on the year 2010 US Dollars price over a forty seven (47) year period (1970-2016). The study found that the GDP significantly caused the construction sector output in all tests investigated. The study concluded that the construction sector significantly responded to economic shocks in both the short and long run. The study recommended that government should develop a policy framework that supports a concurrent development of the economy and the construction sector in Nigeria.