The Trend Analysis and Long-run Nature between Government Expenditure and Economic Growth in Nigeria

Using descriptive, unit root, and cointegration analysis this study seeks to investigate the patterns and long-run nature of government expenditure and economic growth during the previous decades (1981-2020). For the analysis, the Central Bank of Nigeria provided time-series data. The ADF unit root test revealed that all of the model's variables were only stationary at first difference. Long-run analysis revealed a cointegration between government expenditure and economic growth (as measured by GDP). The unit root test was used to investigate the qualities of the time series data. The ADF unit root test revealed that the data were non-stationary at levels but stationary at first difference. The findings revealed a long-run significant relationship between the two; public expenditure and economic growth (measured as GDP) exists over the long run. This leads us to conclude that economic growth (measured by GDP) to capital expenditure, recurrent expenditure, and debt have long-run pattern of relating in the Nigerian economy.