Per Capital Income and Health Outcome in Nigeria

Abstract

This study looked at the relationship between Nigerian health outcomes and per capita income. Investigating the long-term relationships between life expectancy and per capita income, government health spending, interest rates, and unemployment rates is the aim of the study. The secondary data needed for the analysis came from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin and the World Bank development indicators. The Auto-Regressive Distributed Lagged (ARDL), also known as the bound testing approach to co-integration, was used to estimate the equation. Our research revealed a long-term co-integration relationship between the variables. There is a demonstrated positive long-term relationship between life expectancy and per capita income, but a negative long-term relationship between life expectancy and government spending on health, interest, and the unemployment rate. Based on our findings, the study recommends that the federal government increase the annual budget allocation to the health sector to 15% based on the United Nations and World Health Organization benchmark, ensure a favorable investment environment that can improve health standards and per capita income, and implement measures for appropriate monitoring of funds allocated to the health sector.