An autoregressive analysis of the determinants of private savings in Nigeria

Purpose. Despite the increasing trend of private savings in Nigeria, the country is still characterised by low investment and output growth, thus, suggesting that the average saving rate is still far from being impressive. This study investigates the determinants of private savings in Nigeria. Methodology. Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Model using annual time series data from 1981 to 2016 within the theoretical framework derived from the life-cycle hypothesis is employed in this study. The key variables under investigation are private savings, income, dependency ratio, real interest rate, social security payment, financial development and macroeconomic stability. The data used for analysis are sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin (2016) and World Development Indicator (2016). Findings. The results show that lifetime income and social security payment have significant positive relationship with private saving in the long-run, while adult dependency has significant negative relationship. In the short-run, adult dependency and social security payment have significant positive relationship with private savings. In addition, the result shows that 62% of deviation from the long-run equilibrium level of private savings is annually corrected for by the model estimated. Originality. This research investigates both the long-run and short-run effects of the various determinants of private savings in Nigeria. Thus, the study can serve as eye opener to the important variables that can improve the level of private savings in Nigeria.

Entrapment and institutional collusion: Domestic violence police reports and the ‘couple rule’ in social security law

In Australia’s heavily targeted social welfare apparatus, couples are assessed jointly for their eligibility for social security payment. Specific guidelines for deciding if a social security recipient is a member of a couple are provided by the ‘couple rule’ in section 4(3) of the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth). A plethora of information is used by the Department to decide if a social security recipient is a member of a couple for social security purposes. Of particular concern is the use of domestic violence police reports as evidence of a couple relationship. This article argues that the current use of police domestic violence reports in ‘couple rule’ decisions is problematic. This is because it effectively entraps women in violent relationships, provides a financial barrier to leaving and is used by perpetrators to further control their victims.

The Cape York Welfare Reform Trial – Continuing Acts of Paternalism

<em>The Queensland Government has managed Aboriginal peoples’ property since at least 1897. Today, in four predominantly Aboriginal communities in Cape York and Doomadgee in the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Family Responsibilities Commission can direct Centrelink to manage up to 90 per cent of a person’s social security payment if they fail to meet one of four ‘social responsibilities’. If social security payments could be found to be property, as occurs in European countries, income management of Aboriginal people’s social security payments arguably breaches the </em>Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth)<em> and the </em>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Queensland Discriminatory Laws) Act 1975 (Cth) <em>which require equality for Aboriginal peoples in exercising their right to own and manage property. If social security cannot be found to be property, a court is likely to find income management to be a special measure for the benefit of Aboriginal people.</em>

Pension Adequacy and the Pension Review

It has long been accepted that the adequacy of payments is a key objective of any social security system, where adequacy is defined as the ability of a payment to support a basic acceptable standard of living that is consistent with prevailing community standards. The 2009 Harmer Pension Review directed attention to the adequacy of the pension, an issue that has not been systematically examined in Australia for several decades. This article reviews alternative definitions of adequacy and shows that its basic features have been consistently recognised in official reports conducted over a long period. The deprivation approach is then described and shown to produce estimates that have a direct bearing on this conception of income adequacy. Using the results from two recent surveys, conducted in 2006 and 2010, the article compares levels of deprivation among groups defined on the basis of their principal source of income, including those dependent on an Age Pension and several other forms of social security payment. The results indicate that the adequacy of the Age Pension in 2006 was above that of payments awarded on the basis of disability, unemployment or sole parenthood, and also that the pension increase awarded following the Pension Review reduced deprivation among those who received it. However, the increase was not well targeted to those groups who required further assistance, as indicated by the levels of deprivation they were facing. Further application of the deprivation approach would provide new insights into the nature and extent of existing income inadequacies.