ABSTRACT

The study examined the effect of government expenditure on the growth rate of gross domestic product between the first quarter of 1981 and the fourth quarter of 2016. accordingly, the study used the method of ordinary least square econometric technique, co-integration test and unit root testing for the purpose of examining the impact of government expenditure (agric expenditure, education expenditure and health expenditure) on the growth rate of gross domestic product in Nigeria. The results of the effect of government expenditure on the economics of Nigeria do. not conform to the a priori expectation. Agric expenditure has no effect on growth rate of gross domestic product in Nigeria and it is positive. Education expenditure has no significant effect on the growth rate of gross domestic product in Nigeria and it is positive. Health expenditure is negatively related lo the growth rate of domestic product in Nigeria and it has no significant relationship. The study recommended government should diversify the economy by giving much attention to the agricultural sector in other to promote growth. from the findings, government expenditure on education was found to be positively related to economic growth, therefore there should be increased expenditure on education through supporting human capital development and creating an enabling environment to product education by paying both academic and non academic workers which leads to growth. And lastly the impact of health expenditure was examined and was found to have a negative relationship with economic growth in Nigeria. therefore the health sector should be one of the important sectors that needs the attention of the government because increased health statues promotes human capital development in the economy which leads to economic growth.