A Case of Growth Without Development: A Comparative Study Between Nigeria and Malaysia

Achieving the goal of economic growth for countries is analogous to increasing levels of productive activity and capacity. Intuitively, attaining this goal translates to higher incomes, higher levels of employment, and lots of goods and services available for consumption. However, evidence over time has shown that higher growth rates may not translate to economic development. This paper, takes a critical look at Nigeria’s economic growth, placing emphasis on the possibility of her economic growth improving the material well-being and trickling down to the citizenry. To achieve this, the paper focused on two important aspects of economic growth; first, its inclusiveness and secondly its potential for future increments given country specific idiosyncrasies. Using comparative analysis between Nigeria and Malaysia, the paper finds that the non – inclusiveness of Nigeria’s growth process as well as inadequacies in the key drivers of economic growth: human capital, financial development, capital accumulation, technology and institutions, have cumulatively hindered Nigeria’s economic growth translating to economic development. The paper advocates for a more inclusive growth based framework that stresses a restructuring of the economy to become diversified as well as to commit resources to the furthering of key drivers of economic growth.