People of NOVAFRICA: Arinze Nwokolo
Arinze Nwokolo is an Assistant Professor (Senior Lecturer) of Economics and Finance at the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Navarra, Spain, and was a CSAE Fellow at Oxford University, and served as a Research Associate at the Navarra International Development Centre, Spain. His research spans development economics, corporate finance, political economy, and behavioral economics, focusing on issues like conflict, financial inclusion, SME growth, climate change, and the long-term impacts of healthcare policies in Africa.
NOVAFRICA affiliate, Professor Arinze Nwokolo interest in development economics began during his PhD at the University of Navarra, Spain, when he engaged with Professor Pedro Vicente , from the NOVA School of Business and Economics visiting as a fellow of the Navarra Center for International Development (NCID. Vicente’s work on development economics in Nigeria sparked Arinze´s curiosity, prompting him to spend three months at NOVA SBE with Pedro Vicente as his supervisor “I did tell him I wanted him to be my co-supervisor for the PhD and he agreed” he recalls. This engagement deepened his research on African economic development. His interest in the field further solidified during his postdoctoral research at Oxford’s Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE), where he collaborated with leading scholars and gained a broader perspective on policy-relevant economic research. “I realized that there were more interesting things that could be done in development. And there was a niche for me, especially considering that there was very little economic research on Nigeria” he notes. In addition, he highlighted the NOVAFRICA Conference as a key platform for networking and learning from researchers working across different parts of Africa. He describes it as “one of the conferences I always like attending” appreciating the opportunity it provides to engage with experts beyond Nigeria and gain diverse perspectives on economic and development issues across the continent.
Involvement with NOVAFRICA broadens Arinze´s perspective on economic development across Africa, particularly in Lusophone countries like Mozambique and Angola which are the major focus areas of NOVAFRICA research. He recognizes the value of NOVAFRICA’s research in these regions and its role in highlighting diverse economic and social dynamics. “If you spend so much time in Nigeria, you start to think that Nigeria is the whole of Africa, but in reality, you miss out on the nuances and unique experiences of other African countries, which are just as important” reinforcing the importance of cross-country research in shaping effective development policies.
One of Arinze´s significant and pioneering project involves the multisectoral evaluation of “The impact of gas flaring on agriculture, productivity and labor allocation in Nigeria”. “ This paper shows the impact of gas flaring on the environment and climate change. Gas flaring reduces agricultural productivity by over 50% and shifts labor from agriculture to the service sector by a similar margin. Farmers work fewer hours due to pollution, as areas with gas flaring have significantly higher levels of pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, and black carbon. This is a critical issue that affects over 2 million people in the Niger Delta, with serious health and economic consequences”.
Arinze interest involves studying large economies in Africa “my strategy has been to study big economies—what is the impact, and what are the big development questions for Africa’s largest economies?” This He highlights his study in South Africa, Africa’s second-largest economy, on “The Impact of Rugby on National Building in South Africa,” which examines the 1995 and 2023 Rugby World Cup victories and their role in fostering national unity across racial and ethnic groups. Given the widespread popularity of rugby among South Africans of all backgrounds, the research examines whether these victories led to measurable improvements in intergroup relations. Most importantly, after the South Africa 2023 rugby victory, he notes that “people were happy and they almost forgot about their economic challenges because rugby was a unifying factor for them. They even released a documentary, Chasing the Sun, about how rugby brought South Africa together after winning the 2019 Rugby World Cup. So the idea is, “Can we see that with data?” Using data from before and after each Rugby World Cup, the paper analyzes whether winning the tournament affected perceptions of national identity, racial integration, and social harmony. Preliminary findings suggest that rugby victories significantly improved relations between different racial groups, with evidence suggesting that moments of national pride helped bridge societal divides, even during times of economic hardship”.
In contributing to broader economic development goals, Arinze’s research focuses on health: the long-term impact of South Africa’s 1994 free health care policy and how it affects adult mental health today; education: stress management training for women entrepreneurs; political economy: the impact of oil price shocks on civil conflict in Nigeria; terrorism and ethnic identification (co-authored with Robin Harding).
Beyond this diverse research, Arinze’s work is driven by curiosity. He advises aspiring researchers _NOVAFRICA Student Group and the broader audience to “focus on the big, unresolved questions in development economics. He emphasizes the importance of studying general equilibrium effects, not just partial equilibrium outcomes, and urges scholars to consider how policies and interventions affect the broader economy, not just specific sectors. He also encourages more research on Africa’s larger economies, such as Nigeria and South Africa, as “lessons from these contexts can have broader implications for the continent’s economic development.
Arinze expects the working paper on South African rugby to be published in the second quarter of this year. He is currently working on securing additional data from the South African Health Commission. He is also excited about his work in academia and research: “There are so many interesting questions to be answered,” he says, and the contributions from these can shape policy and improve lives across Africa.
Arinze at the 2024 NOVAFRICA Conference on Economic Development
WRITTEN BY: Mercy Uba
