FISCAL POLICY AND EMPLOYMENT GENERATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

<p>This paper investigated the influence of fiscal policy on employment generation in Nigeria. The analyzed data, spanning 1981 to 2020 were obtained from the statistical bulletin of Nigeria’s apex bank and the country’s Bureau of Statistics. The Error Correction Model was applied as the main analytical tool. The results showed that aggregate government expenditure has a positive but insignificant influence on the employment rate. In addition, total tax revenue and external debt service have negative and insignificant influences on the employment rate in Nigeria. What this suggests is that fiscal policy tools of aggregate government expenditure, total tax revenue and external debt service have not effectively helped to increase the level of employment in Nigeria. Generating from the findings, this paper suggested that government should maintain fiscal prudence and ensure that total tax revenue is efficiently and effectively utilized to provide infrastructural facilities and social amenities that will help the various sectors of the economy to function very well thereby generating enough employment in the country.</p><p><strong>JEL:</strong> O15; E24; J21; H60</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0954/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>