Assessment of the Contribution of Blue Economy on Sustainable Economic Development in Nigeria

Abstract This study evaluated the role of blue economy to sustainable economic development in Nigeria. The study was inspired by the desire to seek other avenues in enhancing human wellbeing other than the conventional oil-based growth. In particular, the research analyzed how fisheries output, port throughput, marine tourism revenue and offshore oil and gas impacted the results of human development. It has been pegged on the Resource-Based View, Sustainable Development Theory and Endogenous Growth Theory. Ex-post facto research design was embraced and annual time-series data on the sample population studied period 1990 to 2024. Secondary databases such as international development indicators, national statistical agencies were used to source out data. The study employed descriptive statistics and Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root test and Johansen cointegration test together with parsimonious error correction model with a level of significance of 5%. The results indicated that port throughput and offshore oil and gas are positively and significantly related with human development whereas fisheries output and marine tourism have positive but insignificant correlations. The results also confirmed that there exist long-run equilibrium relationships among the variables that the blue economy activities have an overall impact on sustainable development in the long run. The paper concluded that the blue economy potential in Nigeria has a huge potential to promote human development, but the impact of the blue economy is still uneven as a result of structural and institutional issues. The study proposed several recommendations among them being the need to allocate more funds in the development of fisheries, to modernize the port infrastructure, to improve the management of oil revenues and to strategically develop the marine tourism. The research adds to the body of knowledge by combining the blue economy indicators with the outcomes of the human development process, which offers a multidimensional approach to sustainable economic development. Keywords: Blue economy, Human Development Index, Fisheries output, Port throughput, Marine tourism, Offshore oil and gas, Sustainable economic development, Nigeria