Public Expenditure and Human Capital Development in Nigeria.

Abstract

Human capital development is a veritable tool for achieveing sustainable and inclusive growth in any economy. Since no nation grows without the contribution of the people therein, thus the roles in which the quantity and quality of a country’s labour force plays is pivotal. The focus of this study is to examine how public expenditure and economic growth could be used ehhance the human capital development of Nigeria. The analysed data was sourced from the Global Development Indicators covering the years 1981 to 2021. Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) regression technique was used. The method was used to test the complexity of the interactions between the various human capital components. Findings from the study revealed that Nigeria's economic growth is directly impacted by public spending on the different aspects of human capital development. Also, investments in health and education have a favourable and considerable impact on Nigeria's economic growth. The study further concludes that since human capital is a significant factor in determining economic growth; it could be recommended that the country should invest more in the quality of human capital through health and education to raise the standard of living for individuals and the welfare of society.