Public infrastructure expenditure and economic growth in Nigeria: a test of the Big Push Theory

Abstract

This study attempts to test the Big Push Theory by investigating the impact of public infrastructure expenditure on economic growth in Nigeria employing annual data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the World Development Indicators (WDI) covering the period 1983-2018, using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method of estimation. The empirical results revealed that government expenditure on transport and communication (GETC) was positive and significantly influenced economic growth while the other variables which are government expenditures on education (GEDU), government expenditure on healthcare (GEHC); social and community services (GESCS) though were positive, but were insignificant in boosting the economy. This finding supports the Big Push Theory that posits that only massive Government investment efforts in development policies could guarantee a proportionate economic growth in the economy. The study therefore recommended amongst others that Government should massively invest in public infrastructure like education, healthcare, Social and Community services, as bit-by-bit investment over the years had led to wastage of scarce resources.