GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES AND NATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA FROM 1980 - 2019

Abstract

The study investigated government expenditures and national economic development. The study
adopted both correlational and ex-post facto designs. Thus, the population of the study was the entire Nigeria. Covering thirty-nine (39) years (1980-2018) of federal government of Nigeria
expenditure and its economic development index in Nigeria. The instrument for this study was secondary data. The research questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Whereas the formulated hypotheses were tested using panel regression analysis. The results of the findings were that; there is a positive and significant relationship between expenditure on administration and real gross domestic product; there is a positive but insignificant relationship between expenditure on economic services and real gross domestic product. On the other hand, there is a positive but insignificant relationship between expenditure on administration and the human development index (HDI). There is a negative and insignificant relationship between expenditure on economic services
and the human development index (HDI). There is a positive but insignificant relationship between expenditure on social and community services and the human development index. Thus, based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made, among others, that proper and better continued management of government expenditure on administration has impacted significantly on real gross domestic product. To increase the development rate of the economy, the
government must adopt stringent controls on its capital expenditures on economic services, such as infrastructure, agriculture, power, or electricity and transportation, so as to reduce fraud, fund diversion, and mismanagement. The government should increase its capital social and community service expenditure allocation bearing in mind its multiplier effects on long-run economic growth.
Digitalization of pension and gratuity payments, bureaucratic management and published payment of public debts in order to increase the balance deficit balance of payment and better currency valuation. The study recommends that spending on capital administration expenses should be reduced while more money should be invested in providing the enabling policies and environment for private sector initiatives to strive for human capital development in Nig