Human Capital Development, Economic Rejuvenation and Stable Long-Term Growth: The Case of Nigeria

Abstract

The paper investigates the relative impact of human capital development on economic rejuvenation and growth in Nigeria form 1981 to 2010, using the bounds testing approach to cointegration. The study utilized a combined proxy of education and health to capture the influence of human capital on growing and consequently rejuvenating an economy. Fixed capital and human capital were found to be positively associated with economic growth in both the short and long run, while Granger-causing economic growth in the period of study, implying the imperatives of using them to rejuvenate an economy. The stability of the coefficients of the estimated model is confirmed by the CUSUM and CUSUMSQ tests. The paper showed that for Nigeria’s economic rejuvenation and long-term stable growth, emphasis should be placed on deliberately developing the country’s vast human resources.