HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT, INSTITUTIONAL QUALITY, AND GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT PER CAPITA: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examines the impact of human capital development, proxied by government expenditures on education and health, and institutional quality on GDP per capita, a common proxy for poverty, in Nigeria for the period, 1989 to 2022. The study utilised secondary data sourced from the World Bank, Central Bank of Nigeria and the National Bureau of Statistics. Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) was employed with result showing a positive significant effect of Government Expenditure on Education on GDP per capita whereas Government Expenditure on Health brought about a significant negative effect during the years of the study. Further findings showed institutional quality demonstrating a negative and significant effect on GDP per capita. The study recommended significantly larger government spending on education and health while necessary systemic government policies be implemented to boost Nigeria’s institutional quality significantly.