GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA.

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of government expenditure on economic development in Nigeria, with six specific objectives, six research questions, and six hypotheses. An ex-post-facto research design was employed, focusing on data from 1981 to 2023 sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the World Bank. The population encompassed the Transport and Public Administration Sectors of Nigerian economy, with a purposive sample size of 43 annual observations. Secondary data were collected for their reliability and consistency. The study utilized descriptive statistics, inferential statistics (Multiple Regression and Moderated Multiple Regression), for analysis with help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version25. The results indicated that while transport services expenditure significantly enhances GDP and HDI, public administration expenditure has no significant impact, and corruption strongly moderates the effect of government expenditure on economic outcomes in Nigeria. The study concluded that effective management of government expenditures and stronger anti-corruption measures are essential for improving public spending efficiency. The study further recommended that enhancing transport infrastructure investment, optimizing public administration expenditure, strengthening anti-corruption measures, improving governance efficiency, and implementing transparency reforms will maximize the impact of government spending on economic growth and human development in Nigeria.