NEXUS BETWEEN ECONOMIC GROWTH, POVERTY, OPEN DEFECATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN NIGERIA

Economic growth is associated with an increase in environmental pressures which result in raising concerns about the sustainability of development track especially in developing countries like Nigeria. This study used annual time series data from 1999-2023 to examine the relationship between economic growth, poverty, shadow economy, open defecation and environmental degradation in Nigeria. Utilizing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) technique, the empirical results revealed that economic growth and shadow economy reduce environmental damage in the long run while poverty and open defecation practices harm the environment. Hence, this study put forward recommendations toward growth expansions, proper underground sector oversight and regulation to reduce environmental damage coupled with putting efforts toward poverty reduction and open defecation practices eradication.