Title: Behind the model, beyond the numbers: The 2019 Social Accounting Matrix for Nigeria
URL: https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC137964
Year: 2025
Authors: El Meligi, A; Ferreira, V; Nechifor, V; Boysen, O; Ferrari, E
Journal: Publications Office of the European Union
Abstract: A Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) is a comprehensive and economy-wide database that records data on all transactions taking place in an economy over a specific period, typically one year. The SAM serves two primary objectives. Firstly, it presents the economic structure and interrelationships among economic agents in the region under analyses. Secondly, it provides a database for analysing the economy’s performance and simulating the effects of policy interventions through multisectoral linear models and computable general equilibrium (CGE) models. This paper presents the 2019 SAM for Nigeria, offering a suitable database for implementing and evaluating the country's social and economic policies. The study outlines how to pass from a standard structure of the SAM to a detailed scheme by explaining all the accounts included, and covering key aspects of its construction and estimation. Considering the characteristics of the Nigerian economy, this SAM shows a special structure to reflect the Home Production for Home Consumption (HPHC) concept and a high disaggregation of the agricultural sector. Furthermore, this SAM presents a high level of disaggregation by encompassing labour and household characteristics, considering regions and rural and urban areas. The SAM is used as a database to perform a descriptive analysis of the Nigerian economy.
