Budget Performance and Human Capital Development of Relevant Sectors in Nigeria

The disparity between budget and human capital development over the years questions the performance of budget in Nigeria. Budget performance measures are expected to be positive if human capital development will improve in any nation. Therefore, the study investigated the effect of budget performance on human capital development in Nigeria. The study employed descriptive longitudinal research design and inferential statistics. Secondary data were extracted from annual budget and human development reports. The population for this study comprised all the twenty-four (24) federal Ministries in Nigeria. A sample size of 4 ministries (education, health, agriculture and rural development, science and technology) were purposively selected. Data collected were analysed using Autoregressive Distributed Lag model. The results of the short run effect of budget performance on human capital development showed that budget effectiveness (t = 4.1593, P 0.01), budget efficiency (t = 4.3163, P 0.01), inflation rate (t = -2.2254, P 0.05) all had positive and significant effect on human capital development. The long run result revealed that budget effectiveness (t = 4.6777, P 0.01), budget efficiency (t = 3.6078, p 0.05), budget discipline (t = 2.6789, P 0.05) and debt burden (t = 2.1050, p 0.1) had positive and significant effect on human capital development. The study concluded that budget performance has significant effect on human capital development.