EFFECTS OF GOVERNMENT RECURRENT AND CAPITAL EXPENDITURE ON HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study evaluated the impact of government recurrent and capital expenditure on human capital development in Nigeria between 1980 and 2023. This study was conducted to find out how recurrent and capital expenditures by government in Nigeria have affected human capital development. This study adopted the multiple linear regression method of analysis to link the variables in the study and Ordinary Least Squares method was adopted to analyze the specified model. This study used secondary data from Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletin of various years and other periodicals. The study also used Human Development Index as proxy for human capital development as dependent variable while government capital and recurrent expenditure, corruption index and inflation rate are used as independent variables. The findings from the study revealed that government capital expenditure and inflation have affected human capital development more than recurrent expenditure and it is equally observed that there is no positive effect of corruption on human capital development in Nigeria. The study further revealed that, government recurrent expenditure has a significant positive effect on Human capital Development. From the findings of the study we conclude that since recurrent expenditure does not have much impact on human capital development as capital expenditure, government should spend more on capital projects than recurrent projects as this will provide more opportunities for human capital to be developed in Nigeria.