Public Health Spending and Economic Growth: Fresh Evidence from Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70861/ujed20250103003Keywords:
ARDL, Economic Growth, government expenditure on health, NigeriaAbstract
Given that the linkage between public health spending and economic growth remains unclear, it is crucial to explore how the public health spending affect economic growth in Nigeria. This study provides empirical evidence on the public health spending and economic growth nexus in Nigeria, using annual data spanning 1986–2024. Employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bounds Test approach, the analysis captures both the short-run and long-run dynamics of this relationship. The findings indicate that a one percent increase in government expenditure on health is associated with a 0.7011 percent rise in economic growth in the long run. Robustness checks confirmed sensitivity to alternative measures, particularly when health spending was assessed on a per capita basis. The study supports the health-led growth hypothesis in Nigeria and recommends continuous monitoring and evaluation of health policies and programmes to ensure effective resource allocation and achievement of intended outcomes.
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