Empirical Analysis of Human Capital Development and Poverty Reduction in Nigeria (1981-2022)

This study examined the impact of human capital development on poverty reduction in Nigeria covering the period 1981-20222. Data for the research were annual times series data on total education expenditures, total health expenditures, and inflation extracted from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin 2020 and poverty rate, out-of-pocket expenditures, and human development index collected from World Development indicators. The methodology adopted in the study is linear regression with the application of the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) technique. Other diagnostic tests which include unit-root test, autocorrelation, and normality test were carried out in the study. The major findings of the study were that total education expenditures (TOEDXP) have a positive and insignificant contribution to poverty reduction in Nigeria, total health expenditures (TOHEXP) have a positive and insignificant contribution to poverty reduction in Nigeria, and out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE) have a positive and insignificant contribution to poverty reduction in Nigeria. It is therefore the recommendation of the study that the government should also increase its expenditure on health and education. It is a fact that health is wealth and therefore, there is a need to provide a good environment, health facilities, an increased rate of doctor to patient ratio, health workers motivation and increased remuneration amongst others and also government should increase its expenditure on education as this would improve the standard of living of the citizens.