Government spending and poverty reduction in Nigeria: Trend and impact analysis

Israel Ejomafuvwe Kwode *

Department of Accounting, Business Administration and Economics Admiralty University of Nigeria.
 
Review Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2024, 24(02), 2136–2148
Article DOI10.30574/wjarr.2024.24.2.3536
 
Publication history: 
Received on 09 October 2024; revised on 19 November 2024; accepted on 21 November 2024
 
Abstract: 
Public spending is an important macroeconomic tool used to promote economic development and poverty reduction. Poverty in Nigeria is endemic with over 133 million people in multidimensional poverty in spite of various government interventions in reducing/ eliminating poverty. This study investigates the nexus and impact of government expenditure on poverty. Data were obtained from official government publications sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The data were analysed using regression analysis. The outcome of the analysis reveals that government spending has positive relationship with poverty but has little impact on poverty reduction and negatively associated with poverty index. The study recommends that government should as a deliberate policy, increase allocation to the economic and social sectors, such as: education, agriculture, health, transport and communication, in view of their direct impact on the poor. The enforcement of budget discipline in all its three dimension was also recommended to ensure that allocations are not misdirected.
 
Keywords: 
Multi -dimensional poverty; Public spending; Allocation; Economic growth
 
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