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This study investigated the impact of social expenditure (expenditure on education and health) on
economic growth in Nigeria for the period 1989-2020. Secondary data were collected from World Bank
Development Indicators and the Central Bank Statistical Bulletin (2021). The variables used include real GDP,
education expenditure, health expenditure, inflation rate, debt service payment, real interest rate and real
exchange rate. To check if the variables were stationary, unit root test was carried out and cointegration analysis
was done to ascertain the existence of long run relationship between the variables and economic growth in
Nigeria. The Autoregressive Distributive Lag model (ARDL) was used to estimate the model and the error
correction model was used as well to identify the short run effect of social expenditure on economic growth. Based
on the objectives of the study, the empirical evidence revealed that health expenditure in the long run, had a
positive and significant impact on economic growth. However, for the period under consideration, education
expenditure had a significant negative impact on Nigeria's economic growth. This study also investigated the
short-run impact of social expenditure on economic growth in Nigeria, and it was found empirically that only
health expenditure had a significant positive impact on economic growth, while education expenditure had
significant negative impact on growth. In line with these findings, the educational system should be supervised to
guarantee that funding intended for education are used appropriately. Finally, since health expenditure has a
major positive effect on economic growth, the government of Nigeria must double its budgetary allocation to the
sector.
