Global System for Mobile Communication and Urban Employment in Nigeria

The research set out simply to assess the impact of Information Communication Technology (I.C.T) on Urban employment in Nigeria. Abuja was used as a case in point since the city was among the first pilot launch sites in 2001. The Global System for Mobile Communication was chosen because its subscription is widespread and can be used to capture the phenomenom. Various works such as Porter (2004), Ian (2003), report that ICT is expanding the economies of developing countries. They further argue that it is generating jobs and income opportunities especially in the informal sector. Probit Model as a choice statistical software/model was used since cross sectional data would be exploited to this end. GSM has further expanded job creation opportunities, which implies that this technology has impacted positively on the Nigerian economy. Data obtained from the field survey suggest that 53.34% jobs (Telecom Branded Pay Phone Booths); 57.7% jobs (Quasi Telecommunication Villages); 66.8% jobs (Telecom dealer, etc employees); 76.58% jobs (Umbrella Pay Phone Operators) and 57.5% jobs (Product Hawkers) are generated monthly. It is therefore a catalyst for the growth of Nigeria s output (GDP).

Autorentext

Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke is a Lecturer in the department of Economics, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria & a Consultant specializing in Telecommunication, Health and Entrepreneurial Economics. He is also the Chairman of DOBBIE, a non- governmental organization which focuses on socio-economic development of poor communities in Nigeria.