Foreign Direct Investments and Human Capital Development in Nigeria: A Firm-Level Analysis of Manufacturing and Information and Communication Technology Industries

The emerging trend of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Nigeria is diverging in favour of technology, ICT, and manufacturing, which are becoming more sensitive for the evolution of the labour force. With the low levels of technology advancement, skill accumulation, and human capital stock in developing countries, and Nigeria especially, FDI inflows have been identified as major sources of technology, managerial, and technical know-how spillover to developing countries. The accruing knowledge spillover effects of FDI inflows are critical for human capital development to propel technological progress and sustainable economic growth. Therefore, this study investigated the impacts of FDI on human capital and the economic prospects of workers in Nigerias manufacturing and ICT sectors and highlighted the country specific conditions needed to adequately internalize FDI spillover effects on Nigeria's human capital. This study's data analysis is based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The findings revealed that FDI inflows impact human capital development in Nigeria. Meanwhile, the kind of FDI inflows, the measure of human capital development and the sector matter in the relationship, as aggregated analysis yields little knowledge benefit. Specifically, this study revealed that all the types of FDI, except merger and acquisition, have varying impacts on the components of human capital development, while efficiency-seeking FDI is the most important. The policy implication from this study re-emphasizes the need for further improvement in the regulatory environment, general ease of doing business and incentive management.