Nigeria’s economic performance over the past decade represents an improvement in terms of macroeconomic stability and growth. However, this growth has not helped to create sufficient employment to absorb the new entrants to the labor force nor has it been effective in reducing poverty.  Driven by the large increase in petroleum exports a key feature of Nigeria’s export profile is the little product diversification observed and the dramatic growth in trade as a percentage of GDP (to about 50 percent in recent years). While non-oil exports have grown in recent years, they still account for only a small share of the total value of exports. For the five-year period 2002-2006, non-oil exports accounted for an average share of 2.4 percent of total exports. Nigeria’s poor non-oil export performance is only one indication of the country’s inability to appropriate benefits from greater integration in international markets. The TIG program aims at examining this poor performance and proposing policies and strategies which can enable Nigeria to integrate more fully into global markets, and also improve the country’s preparation for participation in international trade negotiations.

Some of the studies to be conducted under this program will include:

 - Trade policy reform in Nigeria since 1999 and its impact on economic growth,

 - Sources of non-oil growth, trade, employment and poverty reduction: what do the numbers tell us,

 - Review of Nigeria’s recent trade and investment relationship with rapidly growing China and India,

 - Foreign direct investment, spillovers and economic growth in Nigeria.