CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

            The economic system practiced by any country determines the type of economic policy that country produces, that is determines the monopoly of power of power in production and distribution activities with special reference to the ownership, decision making as well as incentive structure operating in the country. Karl Polory (1964) distinguishes three (3) main types of economic system as the traditional (subsistence) planned (command) and market economy. However, the field of comparative economic system breaks the above categories into the capitalism, socialism and communism.

            The economic system operative in Nigeria are basically the capitalism, socialism and communism system. But with the collapse of the communism and socialism economic policies in 1986 to give rise to a unipolar economic system-capitalism the policy of “deregulation” has been found expedient to implement.

            This policy (deregulation) was first mooted during the military era but was given fillip by the present administration.

1.2       STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

            The problems surrounding the deregulation of oil sector which this research topic aims to investigate are:

Does deregulation affect the price of petroleum?

Does deregulation affect the price of goods and services?

Does deregulation encourage the growth of the economy?

Does deregulation improve the standard of living of the people?

1.3       PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

            The major objectives of this study are to access

1)      The effects of deregulation of the oil sector on the Nigerian economy.

2)      The season and problems of deregulation of the Nigeria oil sector.

3)      To proffer solution based on findings on the study that will be useful for deregulation policy and achievement of stable balance of payments.

1.4       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

            The scope of this project will centre around the deregulation of the down stream sector as it affects other sectors of the economy with specific reference.

1.5       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

            This study is significant in the sense that it looks into the deregulation of the Nigeria oil sector as a means of liberalizing the economy and encouraging competition hence, this study is beneficial to both academicians and non academicians as it will enable them know, and it will also suggest solutions to some of the problems associated with the policy.

1.6       HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY

To empirically carry out this research, the following hypotheses have been formulated for testing.

a)      Ho 1: deregulation of the oil sector does not significantly affect the pump price of petroleum products.

b)      Ho 2: deregulation of the oil sector does affects significantly the pump price of petroleum products.