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Article Title: A Correlation Analysis of the Demand for Education and Economic Growth in Nigeria: The Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient Approach
by Bakare Adewale Stephen

Abstract:
It is worrisome to realize that despite the increase in the demand for education in Nigeria, labour productivity appears very low. Up till now; graduates of specialized education especially in engineering are unproductive. The poor delivery of the technical Know-how in Nigeria is however problematic. This study thus examined the correlation between demand for education and economic growth in Nigeria. The Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient Approach was employed for the analytical study. The a priori expectation is that there is a positive correlation between the demand for education and economic growth. The result obtained from the estimation demonstrates a positive correlation between demand for education and the level of growth in Nigeria. This implies that higher school enrolment does contribute to growth in Nigeria although the result does not indicate the strength or the degree of the contribution. The results of the finding show that the past values of demand for education could be used to predict the future behaviour of economic growth in Nigeria. The findings and conclusion of the study however stressed the special needs for Nigerian policy makers to promote education as effective ways to combat illiteracy, poverty, hunger and disease and stimulate growth that is truly sustainable and to develop and implement strategies that give young people everywhere a real chance to find decent and productive work.

Keywords: demand for education, economic growth, illiteracy, poverty, spearman rank correlation coefficient

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