Corruption and FDI inflow to Nigeria: a nonlinear ARDL approach Suleiman Zangina and Sallahuddin Hassan Department of Economics, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Changlun, Malaysia Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to empirically explore the asymmetric relationship between corruption control and foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilized the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) bounds test technique for the time-series analysis covering the period 1984-2017. Findings – The findings reveal that corruption inhibits FDI inflow and corruption control has asymmetric effects on FDI inflow to Nigeria. The coefficient of positive shock or changes in respect of corruption control is positive as well as statistically significant during the long run, while the coefficient of negative shock is negative, but statistically insignificant. This implies that improvement in corruption control encourages inflow of FDI to the country, whereas a decrease in corruption control has an insignificant effect. Practical implications – Nigeria needs to intensify its corruption control efforts to effectively enhance the conduciveness as well as attractiveness of its business operating environment for FDI inflow. Originality/value – This paper is among the first to use time-series analytical process to empirically verify the asymmetric association of corruption control and FDI inflow in Nigeria. In this regard, the insight generated by outcomes of the study will enable specific inferences to be drawn from the empirical findings by policy makers, academic researchers and business practitioners. Keywords FDI, COC, Corruption, NARDL, Asymmetric Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction The essential role of foreign direct investment (FDI) as a growth and development catalyst has been widely researched and documented in the economic development literature; yet, the resultant contention remains largely unresolved. Nonetheless, substantial research efforts have continued to be channeled toward identifying the main determinants of FDI as well as its effects on growth and other associated impacts. The reasoning behind these concerted efforts both at the level of academics and policy making is mostly linked to the potential benefits derivable from FDI by the host countries. Among the key benefits of FDI is the bridging of savings–investment gap, particularly in developing countries suffering from paucity of funds to meet their gross investment requirements. In addition, its contribution to technology transfer, generation of employment, stimulation of domestic competition and economic growth has been well recognized (Asiedu, 2002; Quazi, 2014). Arising from the foregoing, it is, therefore, not surprising that various countries and regions, particularly developing economies, have been making deliberate efforts to identify appropriate means of enticing inflow of sufficient FDI to accelerate sustainable growth and poverty reduction (Asiedu, 2002). This is why, FDI-oriented policies are regarded as key priorities in the developmental framework of developing economies of Africa such as Nigeria. As a result, there has been an increasing drive to attract FDI inflow to Nigeria and Corruption and FDI inflow 635 Journal of Financial Crime Vol. 27 No. 2, 2020 pp. 635-650 © Emerald Publishing Limited 1359-0790 DOI 10.1108/JFC-09-2019-0116 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1359-0790.htm