Human Capital Development and Sustainable Economic Growth in Nigeria: Evidence from Sustainable Development Goal 8

This study examined the effect of human capital development on sustainable economic growth in Nigeria within the context of Sustainable Development Goal 8. A quantitative ex-post facto research design was adopted using annual data obtained from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators. Sustainable economic growth was proxied by GDP per capita growth, while human capital development was measured by government expenditure on education, secondary school enrolment, and tertiary school enrolment. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and separate Ordinary Least Squares regression models were estimated using the available overlapping observations for each indicator. The results showed that government expenditure on education had a positive but statistically insignificant effect on GDP per capita growth (β = 20.666, p = 0.146, R² = 0.199). Secondary school enrolment had a negative and statistically insignificant effect (β = -0.132, p = 0.252, R² = 0.068), while tertiary school enrolment had a positive and statistically significant effect (β = 1.526, p = 0.044, R² = 0.679). The findings indicated that the contribution of human capital development to sustainable economic growth varied across the educational indicators examined. The study concluded that tertiary school enrolment exhibited the strongest positive relationship with GDP per capita growth, whereas government expenditure on education and secondary school enrolment did not produce statistically significant effects. The study recommended improving the effectiveness of education expenditure, strengthening the quality of secondary education, and sustaining policies that support tertiary education participation in Nigeria.

Human capital development, sustainable economic growth; education, SDG 8; Nigeria.

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