ANALYSIS OF SOME SELECTED HEALTH INDICATORS ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study employs the ARDL (bounds test) approach to co integration and error correction analysis to investigate the long run and short run effects of health indicators on economic growth in Nigeria in the period from 1990 to 2021, while controlling for the effects of capital health expenditure, recurrent health expenditure and life expectancy rate. Data were sourced from CBN Statistical Bulletin, NBS Data and World Bank Data Bank. The result validates the Mushkin’s health led growth hypothesis as total expenditure on health is observed to have had positive and no significant long run and short run effects on the GDP. Further evidence from the analysis is that life expectancy also impacts negatively on GDP in the long and short run and highly significant. The effect of life expectancy is observed to be positive in the short run, but negative statistically not significant in the long run. The paper recommends, inter alia, increased budgetary allocation to the health sector to enhance its contribution to the growth of Nigeria’s economy. It also recommends creation of more investment opportunities and improvement on the welfare of the people.