HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study employs the ordinary least square regression analysis to examine the impact of
human capital development on economic growth of Nigeria, using annual time series date
from 1981 to 2015. The empirical results show that human capital development has
significant impact on economic growth, as proxy by the gross domestic product. In line with
theory, the human capital development indicators namely secondary school enrolment,
tertiary school enrolment, total government expenditure on health and total government
expenditure on education exhibit positive and statistically significant impact on economic
growth of Nigeria which implies that these indicators are indispensable in the achievement of
growth in the Nigerian economy. However, life expectancy and primary school enrolment
exhibit a negative and statistically insignificant impact on economic growth of Nigeria. The
study concluded that the Nigerian government should ensure to allocate adequate resources
for the development of human capital in order to enhance economic growth in Nigeria. The
study also recommended that going forward the government and policy makers should
increase its total expenditure on education, ensure sufficient budgetary allocation on health
expenditure, and ensure a standard is set across all secondary and tertiary institutions in the
country so that proper human capital required for any individual to become productive and
economic growth is enhanced.