Title:
HUMAN CAPITAL, UNEMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA

Authors:
Ogunjobi, Joseph Olufemi, Dr. Ekiran, Joseph Ojo, Adesanmi, Oriola Oyewole, Nigeria

Abstract:

The paper examines the impact of human capital and unemployment on economic growth in Nigeria between 1981 and 2020, using Johansen Co-integration and Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) techniques to achieve the objective of the study. The theoretical framework of the study was derived from Solow Swan New-classical growth model. We ascertained the stationarity of the time series properties of the study, using Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF). The result of findings of the study showed that the level of human capital in Nigeria is not sufficient to stimulate economic growth in the country. The study further confirmed that growth in unemployment rate has adverse effect on economic growth in the country during the period of study. The study therefore recommended that government should place priority on financing human capital through health and education expenditures and embark on self-employed programmes to solve the problems of unemployment with the aim of attaining sustainable economic growth in the country.