PUBLIC EDUCATION EXPENDITURE AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

George-Anokwuru Chioma Chidinma

Abstract


This study carefully examined the influence of public education expenditure on unemployment in Nigeria from 1980 to 2023. To achieve the above objective, data on unemployment rate, both capital and recurrent government spending on education, as well as inflation rate, were collected from the statistical bulletin of Nigeria's central bank. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag -ARDL method was used for analysis. The ARDL Bounds test showed there is a long-term connection between the above variables. The findings showed that in both the long and short term, government capital spending on education had a positive but not significant effect on unemployment in Nigeria. However, government recurrent spending on education had a negative and significant effect on unemployment. The inflation rate had a negative effect on unemployment in the long run and a positive effect in the short run. The study found that only the recurrent part of government spending on education has helped to reduce unemployment in Nigeria during the study period. Therefore, the government should ensure enough funding for the education sector and quickly implement fiscal responsibility laws to improve accountability and careful use of funds in the education sector. This will improve the quality of teaching, curriculum content, and learning facilities, which in turn will make students more competitive in the labour market, increase workers’ productivity by equipping them with cognitive and technical skills required in modern economies, ensures graduates possess relevant capabilities demanded by employers, promotes innovation, creativity, and business creation capacities and helps produce job-ready graduates aligned with labour market needs.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


public expenditure, education, unemployment rate, UNESCO and ARDL

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abayomi, T. O. (2012). Analysis of government expenditure on education in Nigeria: Implications for national development. Journal of Educational Policy and Management, 4(2), 45–58.

Acs, Z. J., Audretsch, D. B., Lehmann, E. E., & Licht, G. (2017). Entrepreneurship, growth, and public policy. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511805950.002

Adebayo, A. (2021). Youth unemployment and skills mismatch in Nigeria. Journal of African Labour Studies, 5(2), 45–60.

Adebayo, A. O., & Anyanwu, J. C. (2022). Education, skill mismatch, and unemployment in Nigeria. Journal of African Development Studies, 14(2), 55–70.

Ademola, S. A., & Omokeji, O. O. (2018). Education and unemployment nexus in Nigeria. African Journal of Economic Review, 6(1), 1-17.

Ajenifuja, K. O. (2019). An empirical analysis of education expenditure and unemployment rate in Nigeria. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 10(8), 121-127.

Akinyemi, J. O., & Abiodun, F. O. (2023). Education financing and labour market outcomes in Nigeria. Journal of Education and Development Economics, 15(2), 77–95.

Bampasidis, G., & Sekeris, P. (2020). The impact of education spending on unemployment: Evidence from Greece. Journal of Economic Development, 45(3), 1-27.

Becker, G. S. (1993). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis (3rd ed.). University of Chicago Press. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c3730/c3730.pdf

Biagi, F. & Lucifora, C. (2008). Demographic and Education Effects on Unemployment in Europe, Labour Economics, 15(5), 1076-1101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2007.09.006

Blanchard, O., & Johnson, D. R. (2017). Macroeconomics (7th ed.). Pearson. Retrieved from https://www.pearson.com/se/Nordics-Higher-Education/subject-catalogue/economics/blanchard-macroeconomics-ge.html

Blinder, A. S. (2008). Keynesian economics. The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. Retrieved from https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/KeynesianEconomics.html

Central Bank of Nigeria (2003). Contemporary Economic Policy Issues in Nigeria, Abuja. Retrieved from https://library.cbn.gov.ng/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=1582

Central Bank of Nigeria (2011). Annual Economic Report, 31st December, 2011. Retrieved from https://www.cbn.gov.ng/Out/2012/publications/reports/rsd/arp-2011/Table%20of%20Contents%20and%20Summary.pdf

Central Bank of Nigeria (2012). Annual Economic Report, 31st December, 2012.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Annual Economic Report (2013). Retrieved from https://www.cbn.gov.ng/out/2015/rsd/cbn%202013%20annual%20report.pdf

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Annual Economic Report (2014). Retrieved from https://dc.cbn.gov.ng/cbn_annual_report/2/

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Annual Economic Report (2015). Retrieved from https://www.cbn.gov.ng/out/2016/rsd/central%20bank%20of%20nigeria%20annual%20economic%20report%20-%20draft.pdf

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Annual Economic Report (2016). Retrieved from https://www.cbn.gov.ng/Out/2018/RSD/CBN%202016%20ANNUAL%20REPORT_WEB.pdf

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Annual Economic Report (2017). Retrieved from https://www.cbn.gov.ng/out/2018/rsd/cbn%202017%20annual%20report_web.pdf

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Annual Economic Report (2018). Retrieved from https://www.cbn.gov.ng/out/2021/rsd/annual%20report%202018combined.pdf

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Annual Economic Report (2019). Retrieved from https://www.cbn.gov.ng/Out/2020/RSD/CBN%202019%20ANNUAL%20REPORT-FINAL.pdf

Chandra, V., & Sharma, K. (2015). Education and unemployment: A panel cointegration and causality analysis for the states of India. Journal of Economic Development, 40(1), 1-22.

Ding, H. (2014). Unemployment and Welfare State: What do the Data Tell Us? Journal of Social Science for Policy Implications, 2(2), 197-226. Retrieved from https://jsspi.thebrpi.org/journals/jsspi/Vol_2_No_2_June_2014/11.pdf

Gbosi, N. G. (2015). Contemporary Macroeconomic Problems and Stabilization Policies (2nd edition). Spirit and Truth Publishers, Benin City, Nigeria.

George-Anokwuru, C. C. & Okowa, E. (2021). Entrepreneurship Financing and Unemployment in Nigeria. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management United Kingdom, IX (1), 156-167. Retrieved from https://ijecm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/9111.pdf

Grimaccia, E. & Lima, R. (2013). Public expenditure on education, education attainment and employment: a comparison among European countries. XXVIII Conference of the Italian Association of Labour Economists (AIEL), Rome, September 2013. Retrieved from https://www.aiel.it/page/old_paper/Grimaccia_Lima.pdf

Gujarati, D. N. (2007). Basic Econometrics. Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd., Delhi. Retrieved from https://zalamsyah.staff.unja.ac.id/wp-content/uploads/sites/286/2019/11/7-Basic-Econometrics-4th-Ed.-Gujarati.pdf

Hasanov, F. J. (2019). The impact of government education expenditure on unemployment in Azerbaijan: Evidence from the ARDL bounds testing approach. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, 7(4), 25-41.

Idowu, T., & Bello, S. (2020). Public expenditure on education and employment generation in Nigeria. African Journal of Economic Policy, 27(1), 101–118.

Inimino, E. E., Tubotamuno, T., & Shaibu, D. O. (2017). Public Education Expenditure and Economic Growth in Nigeria. International Journal of Economics and Business Management, 3(6), 42-58.

Keynes, J. M. (1936). The general theory of employment, interest and money. Macmillan. Retrieved from https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/125515/1366_keynestheoryofemployment.pdf

Mahdi, S. S., & Shahid, M. (2017). An empirical analysis of the relationship between education expenditure and unemployment in Pakistan. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 8(7), 1-8.

Meghir, C., & Palme, M. (2005). Educational Reform, Ability, and Family Background, American Economic Review, 95(1), 414–424. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/4132688

Naseri, M. R., & Shahrestani, M. R. (2019). The impact of education expenditure on the unemployment rate in Iran. Journal of Education and Learning, 8(4), 1-10.

Nigeria Labour Force Statistics Report Q1 2024.

Ogunmuyiwa, M. S., & Adeshina, F. S. (2021). Government expenditure and unemployment in Nigeria: A macroeconomic perspective. Journal of Public Policy and Economics, 4(1), 77–89. Retrieved from https://gjournals.org/GJSC/Publication/2022/1/PDF/070722068%20Nwamuo.pdf

Ogunyomi, O., & Ojikutu, R. (2021). Technical and vocational education financing and graduate employability in Nigeria. International Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 12(3), 33–50.

Ojewumi, T. O., & Oladimeji, S. O. (2016). Public expenditure on education and budgetary allocation in Nigeria: A comparative analysis with selected African countries. International Journal of Education and Development, 8(3), 112–127.

Okafor, C. (2021). Education expenditure and human capital development in Nigeria. African Journal of Economic Review, 9(1), 45–60.

Onye, K. U., & Alawuba, P. N. (2022). Government expenditure and economic growth in Nigeria: A disaggregated analysis. International Journal of Development and Policy Studies, 8(3), 101–120.

Opuala-Charles, S. & Oshilike, I. V. (2023). Educational Investment and Unemployment in Nigeria, International Journal of Development and Economic Sustainability, 1193, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.37745/ijdes.13/vol11n3120

Pesaran, M. H., & Shin, Y. (1999). An Autoregressive Distributed Lag Modelling Approach to Cointegration Analysis. Econometrics and Economic Theory in the 20th Century: The Ragnar Frisch Centennial Symposium, Strom, S. (ed.), Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/econometrics-and-economic-theory-in-the-20th-century/an-autoregressive-distributedlag-modelling-approach-to-cointegration-analysis/0A3624D5C624BED6E2A963190403653A

Romer, P. M. (1990). Endogenous technological change. Journal of Political Economy, 98(5, Part 2), S71–S102. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=226703

Samuelson, P. A., & Nordhaus, W. D. (2010). Economics (19th ed.). McGraw-Hill. Retrieved from https://www.abebooks.com/9780071263832/Economics-McGraw-Hill-nineteenth-international-0071263837/plp

Schultz, T. W. (1961). Investment in human capital. The American Economic Review, 51(1), 1–17. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/1818907

Snowdon, B., & Vane, H. (2005). Modern macroeconomics: Its origins, development and current state. Edward Elgar. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Modern_Macroeconomics.html?id=z-c4AgAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Stiglitz, J. E. (2010). Freefall: America, free markets, and the sinking of the world economy. W.W. Norton. Retrieved from https://business.columbia.edu/sites/default/files-efs/imce-uploads/Joseph_Stiglitz/2010_Lessons%20from%20the%20Global%20financial%20Crisis%20Seoul%20Natl%20Uni%20Oct.pdf

Todaro, M. P., & Smith, S. C. (2015). Economic development (12th ed.). Pearson Education. Retrieved from https://discovered.ed.ac.uk/discovery/fulldisplay/alma9924476906402466/44UOE_INST:44UOE_VU2

Todaro, M. P., & Smith, S. C. (2020). Economic development (13th ed.). Pearson.

Umo J. U. (2012). Economics: An African Perspective. Millennium Text Publishers Limited Plot 6B, Block 22, Humanities Road, Unilag Estate, Magodo, Isheri, Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved from https://www.abebooks.com/9789781630682/Economics-African-perspective-Umo-Joe-978163068X/plp

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). (2021). Economic report on Africa 2021: Reimagining education for structural transformation. UNECA.

World Bank. (2020). Nigeria education sector analysis: Expanding opportunities for learning and skills development. World Bank Group. Retrieved from https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/550991611075036170/pdf/Appraisal-Stage-Program-Information-Document-PID-Better-Education-Service-Delivery-for-All-Operation-Additional-Financing-P173309.pdf




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejsss.v12i1.2125

Copyright (c) 2026 George-Anokwuru Chioma Chidinma

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The research works published in this journal are free to be accessed. They can be shared (copied and redistributed in any medium or format) and\or adapted (remixed, transformed, and built upon the material for any purpose, commercially and\or not commercially) under the following terms: attribution (appropriate credit must be given indicating original authors, research work name and publication name mentioning if changes were made) and without adding additional restrictions (without restricting others from doing anything the actual license permits). Authors retain the full copyright of their published research works and cannot revoke these freedoms as long as the license terms are followed.

Copyright © 2016 - 2026. European Journal Of Social Sciences Studies (ISSN 2501-8590) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library. All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and standards formulated by Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002), the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing (2003) and  Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities (2003) and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Copyrights of the published research works are retained by authors.