Do Dependency Ratios Matter for Savings? Empirical Evidence from Nigeria
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Date
2026
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Crawford Journal of Economics and Management
Abstract
Nigeria, like many developing countries, is experiencing significant demographic shifts marked by a youthful population and a gradually increasing aged segment. Understanding how the age composition of the population affects national savings is critical, as savings mobilization plays a key role in investment and economic growth. Given the country's rapid population growth, rising dependency ratios, and evolving labour market dynamics, this study examines the impact of population age composition on savings in Nigeria from 1983 to 2022 using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration. The study found that LAB, ODR, and YDR have a significant positive relationship with savings in the short run, whereas they exhibit a negative relationship in the long run. However, INF has a negative effect on savings both in the short run and long run. The study concluded that population age composition negatively affects savings in Nigeria. This study, therefore, recommends that the government expand access to financial services and maintain a stable macroeconomic environment by addressing inflation, which negatively impacts savings and investment capacity.
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Citation
Olanrewaju, T. A.,et al. (2026). Do Dependency Ratios Matter for Savings? Empirical Evidence from Nigeria. Crawford Journal of Economics and Management. Vol. 3(1); 12-24.