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Migration has been a topical issue in the European Union. The Successful exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union and the movement of refugees from the Middle East have drawn a lot of attention to the topic. This study investigates the relationships between trade, governance performance, and migration across 23 European countries from 1998 to 2017. Findings from our sys-GMM regression reveal that migration is negatively related to trade while the relationship between Governance and trade is majorly negative. while real GDP and FDI spur the level of trade openness. It is therefore recommended that; the authorities in the EU review and improve regulatory institutions in the region to enable the growth of the export sector in the region. Also, migrants must be integrated into the EU economy to enable them to contribute high skilled labour services and innovative ideas which will lead to growth in economic activities, especially in the export sector.

PurposeThis paper aims to assess the role of the hisbah institution in ensuring ethical business practices in Nigeria. The aim is to correct the erroneous impression that the institution is meant only to serve spiritual and social purposes in the society devoid of economic contribution.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a literature survey approach to describe the economic dimension of the institution and its specific role in ensuring that businesses are conducted in line with Islamic business ethics.FindingsThe paper confirms that absence of discussion on the economic role of the hisbah institution in complementing the effort of regulatory and monitoring authorities in the inspection of weights and measures, quality of food products, manipulation of prices, supplies and production, monopolistic collisions, cheating and fraud, has made many people in Nigeria mistake it for an institution whose primary occupation is to prevent and control moral decadence and social vices in such societies.Practical implicationsThe paper concludes that the task ahead of shari'ah implementing states in Nigeria therefore is to maximally exploit hisbah's economic role in view of its relevance to the modern economy.Originality/valueThe paper attempts to fill the vacuum in the contemporary literature on the economic role of hisbah in Muslim societies.

Background: Enuresis is a common dilemma among minors, which is under-documented and under-disclosed. The plight has a negative effect on the quality of life, with an adverse bearing on social and academic development. The recognition of its strains on the family added to the aforementioned necessitated the designation of every last Tuesday of May as annual bedwetting day to create complacent personality among subjects faced with this challenge. Enuresis has worldwide distribution; however, the national prevalence of enuresis is unknown in Nigeria. Objective: The aim of our review is to determine the prevailing prevalence of juvenile enuresis in the country and its regions. Materials and Methods: We used electronic databases to explore reviews and select studies, and then extracted necessary data from the appraisals on prevalence and incidence of enuresis among children and adolescents from Nigerian communities. STATA 12 random effect meta-analysis of observational studies was used to compute the pooled prevalence and other estimates. Results: Twenty-four studies fall within the inclusion criteria. The combined pooled population studied was 15,172 (n = 3567 children and adolescents). The pooled prevalence of enuresis was 28.19% (22.37%–34.00%) (95% confidence interval). Conclusion: This study showed that enuresis is hyperendemic among Nigerian children and adolescents.

This paper examines the effect of audit quality attributes on earnings management of listed oil marketing companies in Nigeria. Secondary data were extracted from nine companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) from 2009 to 2014 and analyzed using panel multiple regression technique. The result of Hausman specification test suggests that the fixed effect regression model is most appropriate for the dataset. The result of the fixed effect regression model showed that audit firm size, auditor industry specialization, client importance and audit committee financial expertise are positively associated with earnings management of the firms at 1%, 5%, 1% and 5% level of significance respectively. In contrast, auditor tenure and the interaction between audit committee financial expertise and auditor industry specialization were negatively and significantly associated with earnings management of the firms at 5% level of significance respectively. The paper therefore concludes that audit quality has significant effect on earnings management of listed oil marketing companies in Nigeria. In line with the findings, the paper recommends among others that public companies who hire the services of audit firms in Nigeria should judge audit firms on the basis of performance in prior assignments and not just the size of the audit firm in view of the fact that audit firm size is not associated with less earnings management of Nigerian firms. Also, regulatory authorities such as SEC should come out with a policy that will encourage audit firms in Nigeria to specialize along industry lines of companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to enable effective audit service. Regulatory bodies such as SEC and Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) should also come out with a policy that makes it mandatory for Nigerian companies to publish both audit and non-audit fees paid to their auditors. The disclosure of both fees will enable users of audited financial statements in Nigeria to determine the level of auditor client importance and consequently, the reliance to place on the auditor’s report.

This paper discusses the social welfare role of wealth in Islam. The paper, which is based on literature survey, posits that Islam prescribes a social welfare role on the wealth of the rich towards the economically disadvantaged members of the society. It explains the means by which wealth could be created, enhanced, preserved and distributed for the benefit of oneself and the society at large. It also maintains a balance between individualism and collectivism with regard implementation of wealth distribution policies by assigning the roles to individuals, the family, the community and finally the State. The paper concludes that in order to effectively discharge the responsibility, the principles and ethics of ownership of wealth in Islam should be strictly adhered to, and a balance should be made between income and expenses, between self-desire and community service, between creating wealth and hoarding it, between wealth accumulation and distributive justice.

This paper analytically appraises the various components of financial reforms in Nigeria and its impact on the banking industry. The paper uses literature survey approach to focus on the salient features of the reforms and how it affects the Nigerian banking industry from 1892 when banking started to 2010 when the new banking regime that is currently being implemented sets in. The paper confirms that a financial system, which channels financial resources efficiently to deserving sectors of the economy, is a powerful mechanism for economic growth of any country. It posits that as a key component of the financial system, banks are expected to intermediate between surplus and deficit units of the economy and collect deposits from savers in order to channel them to borrowers, transform the quality of capital with respect to size, maturity and risk, and help make the overall economy more efficient by raising the level of investment and savings. The paper concludes that in view of the fact that stability of the banking system is critical to every country, institutional, legal and operational reforms in the financial system should be put in place as appropriately and timely as required.

This study assesses the impact of higher education on worker productivity and salary in Kaduna State. The study administers a total of 100 closed ended questionnaire based on Likert five-scale to employers of workers in the State who while in the employment of their organisations pursued different types of higher education with the approval of their employers; and tests the hypotheses using Pearson’s chi-square. The study finds that higher education has significant positive impact on the productivity of workers in Kaduna state but affects their salaries/wages only to some extent. Based on the findings, the study recommends that the State should continue to encourage workers to pursue higher education in order to improve their productivity in the workplace and increase the salaries/wages of employees to commensurate with their level of education.

The institutions of Zakah and Waqf are among several instruments instituted by Islam to combat poverty and enhance welfare in the society. While Zakah helps generate a flow of funds and recruit the necessary manpower, Waqf provides the material infrastructure and creates a source of revenue for use in, among others, social welfare enhancing activities both at family, community and state levels. This paper discusses the role of Zakah and Waqf institutions in poverty alleviation. The paper is analytical with presentation based on survey of relevant literature with a view to adding to existing literature and synthesizing opposing views on the socio-economic role of Zakah and Waqf and the process of their revitalisation in the modern time. The paper posits that Zakah serves as a unique mechanism of compulsory transfers of income and wealth from the haves to the have-nots in the community. Through Zakah, every individual in the society is assured of minimum means of livelihood, which provides social security system in an Islamic society. Waqf on the other hand, has been used to provide the material infrastructure and create a source of revenue for use in, among others, social welfare enhancing activities both at family, community and state levels. The paper concludes that to activate and revitalise the Zakah and Awqaf systems in Muslim societies and communities, there is dire need for reform in their management formulars and to address the unsettled issues inherent in the institutions.

Preferment in society was exposed to the two extreme of negligence and excessiveness. Relations in Capitalism are based on monopoly, resulting in an unequal wealth distribution. In Socialism and Communism, relations are based on materialistic equality to diminish the conflicts arising from unequal wealth distribution. Islam stands in the middle course. This paper exposes the role of Zakah in the distribution of wealth and its effectiveness in combating poverty and social menace in the society. The paper is analytical with presentation based on survey of relevant literature. The paper confirms that the Zakah system provides a permanent mechanism from within the economy, to continuously transfer income from the rich to the poor and that once correctly assessed, promptly collected and properly disbursed, it plays the role of solving dangerous problems such as poverty, unemployment, catastrophes, indebtedness, and inequitable income distribution in a Muslim society. The paper recommends that Muslims rich should be encouraged to discharge their obligations.

In recent years, microfinance has emerged as an important instrument to help a large number of “unbankable” members of society, as a tool to help reduce poverty and encourage economic growth in neglected parts of the world. In order to achieve this, the Microfinance Policy, Regulatory and Supervisory Framework for Nigeria was launched on December 15, 2005 with a view to addressing the financial needs of the low income people. As at 31st January 2009, a total of 846 microfinance banks were licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria of which, only 170 are in Northern Nigeria, though the region including Abuja has a population of 75 million out of the total population of 140 million in Nigeria. Kano State, the commercial centre of the North with its population of about 10 million has only six (6) microfinance banks and the highest number of economically active poor, while Yobe State, with its population of 2.3 million has only one (1) microfinance bank. This paper represents a proposal for an effective Islamic microfinance in Northern Nigeria. The paper is descriptive and provides the framework for establishing Islamic microfinance and the specific roles various stakeholders are expected to play in the effort to realise the economic potentials of the Muslim dominated region. The paper posits that unless Islamic microfinancing is given necessary attention in the North, poverty would continue to bedevil development in the region. The paper therefore recommends that stakeholders should try to tackle the problem of poverty in northern Nigeria.

The institutions of Zakah and Waqf are among several instruments instituted by Islam to combat poverty and enhance welfare in the society. While Zakah helps generate a flow of funds and recruit the necessary manpower, Waqf provides the material infrastructure and creates a source of revenue for use in, among others, social welfare enhancing activities both at family, community and state levels. This paper discusses the role of Zakah and Waqf institutions in poverty alleviation. The paper is analytical with presentation based on survey of relevant literature with a view to adding to existing literature and synthesizing opposing views on the socio-economic role of Zakah and Waqf and the process of their revitalisation in the modern time. The paper posits that Zakah serves as a unique mechanism of compulsory transfers of income and wealth from the haves to the have-nots in the community. Through Zakah, every individual in the society is assured of minimum means of livelihood, which provides social security system in an Islamic society. Waqf on the other hand, has been used to provide the material infrastructure and create a source of revenue for use in, among others, social welfare enhancing activities both at family, community and state levels. The paper concludes that to activate and revitalise the Zakah and Awqaf systems in Muslim societies and communities, there is dire need for reform in their management formulars and to address the unsettled issues inherent in the institutions.

Banks in the modern day society, almost everywhere, play a multifarious role, which includes unifying and intermediary roles between the fund-supplying and fund-demanding sides of the society, executing savings and investment functions. Considering the requirements for protection of the rights and interests of innumerable depositors, establishment of stability and confidence in financial markets along with requirements for economic development, banks are expected to ethically pursue their operations in compliance with the principles of integrity, impartiality, reliability, transparency, social responsibility and controlling money laundering. The objective of this paper is to examine ethical dilemmas in the Nigerian banking sector. The aim is to assess the level of unethicality of some Nigerian banking practices and the extent to which they affect the banking ethical climate. Data was collected from primary source through questionnaire and analysed using Kendall coefficient of concordance. The study found that unethical behaviours are prevalent in the Nigerian banking sector, however, the level at which and the extent to which they affect Nigerian banking climate vary. The study recommended that all stakeholders in the banking industry, namely the licensing authorities, shareholders, sponsors/directors, top management, the regulators, and the government, should be up and doing for ethical dilemmas in the Nigerian banking sector to be managed.