Anarah1, Samuel Emeka, komolafe Oluwaseun Joseph2, Ahaneku Chinwe Evangel3, Chioma. E. Agbanaje4 and Godwin Chinwe Maureen5
1,2,3,4 &5Department of Agricultural Economics, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka
Corresponding author: se.anarah@unizik.edu.ng
This study, spanning the period from 1991 to 2022, undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the intricate linkages between climate change and economic welfare using income inequality as a proxy in Nigeria. Secondary data, obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the National Bureau of Statistics, the National Planning Commission, the Nigeria Meteorological Centre, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), were used. The research employs a robust methodological framework, integrating sophisticated econometric and statistical tools such as the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model together with the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) tests. The Gini coefficient for income inequality at a national level was typically calculated using the Lorenz curve, which illustrates the cumulative proportion of income relative to the cumulative proportion of the population. These methodologies are meticulously applied to a longitudinal dataset comprising key climatic variables, temperature, rainfall, sunshine duration, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide emissions, as well as indicators of economic welfare (income inequality) at the national level. Climate change variables (rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, sunshine duration, and carbon dioxide emissions) and selected macroeconomic variables (foreign direct investment in agricultural sector, entire domestic private investment, area of land under cultivation for each selected food crop, government capital expenditure in agriculture, rate of inflation, and real exchange rate) have no significant effect on economic welfare (evaluated using the GINI coefficient for income inequality) in Nigeria.