The attainment of full employment and price stability are one of the most widely used measures of economic health. Inflation and unemployment are an integral part of an economy; however, there is a need to balance both such that neither inflation nor unemployment is too high. The persistent rise in inflation and unemployment rates has called for the need to investigate the relevance of Philip's postulation of a trade-off between inflation and unemployment in Nigeria. In addition to the interdependency or independence of these variables, there is also a need to access factors that may contribute to the increasing inflation and unemployment rates in Nigeria. These will enable policymakers to formulate policies that affect inflation and unemployment and pay attention to other variables that may directly or indirectly affect inflation and unemployment. Therefore, the study aims to test the validity of Philip's curve hypotheses and examine possible causes of inflation and unemployment in Nigeria. The study used secondary data sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the World Bank. Vector Autoregressive and Error Correction methods were adopted for the analysis. The study revealed that there is no significant relationship between inflation and unemployment in Nigeria. Inefficiencies from the government's side and insufficient domestic investment were observed to be the possible causes of unemployment, whereas; exchange rate depreciation and money supply are blamed for the rising price levels in Nigeria. The study concludes that the problems of inflation and unemployment arise from inefficiencies in both monetary and fiscal policies. Efficient use of fiscal and monetary policies was recommended to raise employment and output in all sectors to meet the steaming local demand and export. Also, the full implementation of economic diversification policies is recommended. Furthermore, the study recommends increasing government spending on social infrastructure and incentives to firms to promote investment in Nigeria. These will have an overall effect of increasing output, reducing unemployment and achieving non-inflationary growth in Nigeria.
Government expenditure is an essential instrument for achieving full employment, price stability, improved standard of living, economic growth and other macroeconomic objectives. However, questions regarding the efficacy of government expenditures to attain these objectives have continued to rise due to the alarming rate of unemployment, inflation, poverty and other socio-economic problems in Nigeria. This has called for the need to investigate the allocation of resources to some selected sectors and their resultant impact on the Nigerian economy. This study examined the effect of various components of Government Expenditures on Economic Growth in Nigeria for periods between 1981 and 2020. The analysis was based on Secondary data. The study adopted the Error Correction model and Granger Causality Test. The short-run model revealed that the components of government expenditures like recurrent expenditures on agriculture, health and education have an insignificant negative impact on economic growth. Recurrent expenditure on debt servicing and road and construction indicated a positive and negligible impact on economic growth. Concerning capital expenditures, government capital expenditures on social services were shown to have a negative and significant impact on economic growth. In contrast, government capital expenditures on economic services indicated a positive and insignificant impact on economic growth in Nigeria. In the long run, all the components of government expenditures employed showed a significant effect on economic growth. The research finding establishes no clear conclusion about whether Keynesian or Adolf Wagner's law is operational in Nigeria. The study concludes that the Nigerian economy is on the wrong path to sustainable growth and development. The study recommends that the government should increase its allocations to priority sectors like health, education, agriculture and infrastructures. Furthermore, the government should stimulate investment and output using monetary and fiscal policies to increase internally generated revenue and reduce government borrowing. Lastly, the study emphasises the need to improve government spending efficiencies, transparency in budgetary processes, and strict monitoring of government projects.
Sub-Saharan Africa has been characterized as having a high prevalence of malaria and HIV. The present COVID-19 outbreak compounds and complicates Nigeria's health and socio-economic problems that require stringent public health measures, improved health facilities and achievable economic policies to tackle. The impact of COVID-19 on national economies depends on the level of preparedness and responsiveness to shocks. This perspective dissected the structure of the Nigerian economy and the effect of the pandemic on Nigeria's economy, having given mild health implications. The study adopted an exploratory research design and thus, relied on the past socio-economic situation in Nigeria to explain how Nigeria was affected by the pandemic. This perspective concludes that the socio-economic foundation in Nigeria is weak. These weak socio-economic settings have made the economy vulnerable to external and internal shocks. This study recommends that the Nigerian government provide adequate and internationally standard training facilities for her health workers and ensure that they are paid well and as when due. To build a resilient economy that can survive external and internal shocks, there is a need to diversify the economy's economic base fully. Alongside achieving economic diversification, there is the need to improve the existing agricultural-industrial link. The Central Bank should adopt effective monetary policy measures to facilitate credit to private sectors to promote investment in key sectors in the economy. There is a need to increase stimulus package for all industries and households to sustain and improve employment and consumption levels. There is a need to improve efficiency in government spending. The government should sincerely invest in infrastructures to reduce the cost burden on the private sector. Furthermore, there is a crucial need to increase government investment in the health and education sector to prepare the nation for any other health emergency and build its human capital.
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