EVALUATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PUBLIC SPENDING AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA OVER FOUR DECADES

The study examines the connection between government expenditure with economic growth in Nigeria spanning from the opening quarter of 1981 to the final quarter of 2022. It specifically focuses on government capital spending in the administrative sector, which includes expenditures on education, healthcare, internal security, defense, and community and social services. Various econometric techniques, including the ADF unit root test and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL), were used for analysis. The results indicate that current value of real per capita government administrative spending positively impact real per capita GDP, recurrent expenditure on education and also on healthcare have positive and considerable influence in stimulating economic growth within the short term but are not very meaningful in the long run Interest rate in the short and long run, positively affects real per capita gross domestic product. Also the long run rate of inflation positively impact real per capita growth of the economy. In light of the study's results, the researcher suggests that, given the positive influence of real per capita government spending on administration on economic growth, the government should focus on enhancing and prioritizing administrative expenditures, healthcare and education for long-term growth. Keywords: government expenditure, administrative expenditure