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Review Article
A time series analysis of government expenditure and health outcomes in Nigeria
Submitted: 03 April 2024 | Published: 26 July 2023
About the author(s)
Bosede O. Awoyemi, Department of Economics, Afe Babalola University of Ado-Ekiti, NigeriaAderonke A. Makanju, Research Department, Lagos Business School, Nigeria
Jane Mpapalika, Capacity Building and Collaborations Department, Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA), Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, United Republic of
Rita S. Ekpeyo, Department of Economics, Afe Babalola University of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria
Abstract
Background: Despite a significant share of Nigeria’s budget in the health sector, the health status has not improved, as reflected by poor health indicators.
Objective: This study investigates the linkages between government expenditure and health outcomes in Nigeria.
Methods: The Autoregressive Distributed Lag technique was used to examine the short- and long-run effects of government health expenditure on health outcomes separately. The health outcome was captured by life expectancy at birth and mortality rate.
Results: Findings show a negative relationship exists between health expenditure and mortality rate, implying that a rise in health expenditure leads to a decrease in mortality rate, while life expectancy at birth positively responds to the changes in health expenditure.
Conclusions: As a policy recommendation from this study, the government should pursue increasing health expenditure and partner with the private sector in the form of Public-Private Partnerships to improve the health sector and outcomes.
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