Agbola, S B (1983) The housebuilding industry in Osogbo, Nigeria: A study in the transformation of the industry in the process of development. PhD thesis, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
Abstract
Prior to 1970, finance was assumed to be the only constraint on the supply of housing in Nigeria. It was thought that if the government could endow the housing sector with sufficient funds the number of housing units produced would meet the demand. Revenue from the petroleum industry in the 1970s provided the capital to test this assumption. The assumption was shattered in the mid-1970s when it was found that increased government investment in the housebuilding industry had served as an invitation to amateur contractors, and had raised the costs of construction and wages, but had had a minimal effect on the quantity and quality of housing. This study identifies and analyzes problems which militate against the increased supply of housing units in the case study area: Osogbo, Nigeria. Small firms, which predominate in Osogbo, were found to be unable to fulfill their contracts on schedule, hampered by a work force that is inadequate both in numbers and training and caught up in organizational inefficiencies; these problems cause high transaction costs (which ultimately determine the final cost of housing). Three factors are shown to affect the management capabilities of Osogbo building firms: education, experience in the industry, and kinship affiliations. The shortage of skilled artisans may be the most critical problem facing the industry in the 1980s. The apprenticeship system, which at one time supplied the bulk of artisans for the industry, has fallen into disuse and has lost its attraction for the young. The newly conceived alternative--a refurbished technical secondary education system--contains many contradictions and has not solved the problems associated with technical education in the past. Two sets of policy recommendations are offered: one, a restructuring of the housebuilding industry that will significantly reduce transaction costs; second, a revitalization of the apprenticeship system using it as a supplement to the technical education program.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Nigeria; apprenticeship; building firms; case study; education; government; housebuilding; investment; policy; training; wages |
| Index terms: | program, wages, building firm, Nigeria, housebuilding, revenue, transaction cost, housing, apprenticeship, case study, transformation |
| Subjects: | economic analysis, data collection methods, construction integration, professional education, business, software systems, construction type, financial analysis, organization, business economics, Geography |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Cost Management, Education, Construction Technology, Geographical Context, Human Resources |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here