Effect of Total Active Voice Call Subscribers on Economic Growth in Nigeria: An Application of Cross-Sectional Panel Data Model

Abstract

This study assesses the effect of active voice calls on Nigeria's economic growth rate. The data utilized in the study was extracted from telecom reports produced by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and it was gathered between 2017 and 2021, the period following the economy's first spell of consecutively negative growth since it emerged from recession. The data were subjected to regression using fixed effect (FE), random effect (RE), and pooled ordinary least squares (POLS). The study's findings showed that the RE regression model was the most effective. Additionally, it was shown that there is a positive and significant correlation between the total number of total number of active voice call subscribers (TNAVCS) and Nigeria's annual economic growth rate (GR). The conclusion suggests that as the total number of active voice call subscribers rises, so does Nigeria's annual economic growth and development, with the total number of active voice call subscribers accounting for more than 86% of the annual economic growth rate and the stochastic error term accounting for the remaining percentage. Therefore, it can be concluded that the main elements that have favorably impacted Nigeria's annual economic growth rate during the study period are the total number of active voice call users. Therefore, this study suggested that the total number of active voice call users is a significant factor that favorably influences Nigeria's annual growth rate.