INDUSTRIALIZATION AND HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT: A PATHWAY TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Investing in human capital development is expected to drive industrialization, thereby creating sustainable economic growth and development. This study primarily evaluates the impact of human capital development on industrial contributions to GDP. The study specified a model using industrial contributions to GDP as the dependent variable and government expenditure on education and health as the independent variables. Applying the ARDL econometric technique on a data set of 1995 to 2024 drawn on the variables, the findings from the analysis revealed a positive and bidirectional relationship between the dependent and independent variables. The impact of government expenditure on education and health on industrial contributions to GDP was non-significant. Therefore, the study recommended that the government should offer subsidies and incentives to industries investing in human capital development, such as training subsidies or tax incentives, as this should create significant impacts.