Modelling the determinants of government expenditure in Nigeria

In Nigeria, the government activities vis-à-vis public expenditure has grown rapidly both in absolute, relative and as a share of GDP over the years. These growths in government expenditure have been due to certain factors which are believed to have significant effect on the fiscal operation of the...

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Main Authors: Adamu Jibir, Chandana Aluthge
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2019-01-01
Series:Cogent Economics & Finance
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2019.1620154
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author Adamu Jibir
Chandana Aluthge
author_facet Adamu Jibir
Chandana Aluthge
author_sort Adamu Jibir
collection DOAJ
description In Nigeria, the government activities vis-à-vis public expenditure has grown rapidly both in absolute, relative and as a share of GDP over the years. These growths in government expenditure have been due to certain factors which are believed to have significant effect on the fiscal operation of the country. These perceived implications of government expenditure expansion on the economy necessitate the need to understand factors that are responsible for the growth in government expenditure size. For that, the study employs a slightly modified version of Wagner’s law by incorporating new variables such as oil revenue, trade openness, public debt, exchange rate, oil price, taxation and inflation—to examine their effect on government expenditure size. The study uses time series data for Nigeria spanning between 1970 and 2017. Time series data were analysed using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. The findings of the study reveal that oil revenue, GDP, population, trade openness, oil price, taxation and inflation are important determinants of the size of Nigeria’s government expenditure. The study recommends among others that the revenue base of the country should be diversified beyond oil sector, strengthening of fiscal and monetary policies to ensure stability in price level and exchange rate, the use of fiscal rule through excess crude oil account should also be strengthened to create buffer against fluctuation in oil price and as well appropriate population reduction policies should be undertaken to curtail rapid population growth.
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spelling doaj.art-df855df5e9294acfba9873adcdbfe4c62022-12-21T17:13:46ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Economics & Finance2332-20392019-01-017110.1080/23322039.2019.16201541620154Modelling the determinants of government expenditure in NigeriaAdamu Jibir0Chandana Aluthge1Gombe State UniversityUniversity of ColomboIn Nigeria, the government activities vis-à-vis public expenditure has grown rapidly both in absolute, relative and as a share of GDP over the years. These growths in government expenditure have been due to certain factors which are believed to have significant effect on the fiscal operation of the country. These perceived implications of government expenditure expansion on the economy necessitate the need to understand factors that are responsible for the growth in government expenditure size. For that, the study employs a slightly modified version of Wagner’s law by incorporating new variables such as oil revenue, trade openness, public debt, exchange rate, oil price, taxation and inflation—to examine their effect on government expenditure size. The study uses time series data for Nigeria spanning between 1970 and 2017. Time series data were analysed using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. The findings of the study reveal that oil revenue, GDP, population, trade openness, oil price, taxation and inflation are important determinants of the size of Nigeria’s government expenditure. The study recommends among others that the revenue base of the country should be diversified beyond oil sector, strengthening of fiscal and monetary policies to ensure stability in price level and exchange rate, the use of fiscal rule through excess crude oil account should also be strengthened to create buffer against fluctuation in oil price and as well appropriate population reduction policies should be undertaken to curtail rapid population growth.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2019.1620154ardlgovernment expenditurenigeriawagner’s law
spellingShingle Adamu Jibir
Chandana Aluthge
Modelling the determinants of government expenditure in Nigeria
Cogent Economics & Finance
ardl
government expenditure
nigeria
wagner’s law
title Modelling the determinants of government expenditure in Nigeria
title_full Modelling the determinants of government expenditure in Nigeria
title_fullStr Modelling the determinants of government expenditure in Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed Modelling the determinants of government expenditure in Nigeria
title_short Modelling the determinants of government expenditure in Nigeria
title_sort modelling the determinants of government expenditure in nigeria
topic ardl
government expenditure
nigeria
wagner’s law
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2019.1620154
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