The Interconnections between Life Expectancy, Mortality Rates, Public Health Expenditure on the Economic Growth of Nigeria (1985-2020)

A good healthcare system has been considered as a function of government investment towards restoring the health system in Nigeria. Citizens' well-being is dependent on their health. This study empirically explores the interconnections between life expectancy, mortality rate, and public health expenditure on economic growth. The study is shown using annual time series data between the period 1985 and 2020. Augmented Dickey- Fuller (ADF), Phillips- Perron (PP) was adopted to test for the stationarity of the series. However, the error correction model (ECM) result showed that the model is satisfactory and fit. The ECT is predicted to be negative and significant at 1%, implying that the value of RGDP will converge to its long-run value by 18.58% by using public health spending, mortality rate, and life expectancy as response variables. Findings showed that demonstrates that life expectancy at birth has a significant positive impact on economic growth. Interestingly, this support the Granger causality testing which found that there is a bi-directional connection between the two variables. It was however suggested that government has to step up its efforts by raising the amount of its budgetary allocation to the health sector in order to meet WHO's recommended proportion for the country's yearly budget. The Nigerian government should enact policy requiring the allocation of healthcare resources to initiatives programs that would improve life expectancy.