HUMAN CAPITAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

HUMAN CAPITAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Investment on education and health/nutrition create the human capital necessary for raising the productivity of labour and other factors and the economic well-being of workers and their families. Therefore, it is assumed that investment in human capital is necessary for economic growth and household welfare. However, Economists agree that for an economy to grow, human capital is necessary but not sufficient, hence, technology has been attracting critical attention. These two variables are closely linked as a well educated society is better able to innovate, invent, and adopt new technologies. Apart from human capital and technology, other related factors playing key roles in the economy include; capital stocks of machines and materials, research and development, labour productivity, degree of economy’s openness, and government policies. These factors are studies as role players and their impacts examined on the growth of the Nigerian economy within a theoretically framework called, the National System of Innovation – (N.S.I.). It is in the light of the above that this thesis was designed to study and estimate the relationship between the real per capital G.D.P. and above factors and draw implication(s) for economic growth as a broad objective. The endogenous growth approach OLS. regression model analysis revealed that, in Nigeria, physical capital (both domestic and foreign stocks) is a major determinant of economy’s growth; human capital is poorly formed and v i developed, vital ingredient (R & D) for building and cumulating technology is weakly based abroad, thus, yielding low growth contribution; labour productivity was negative, probably, a result of human capital mal-formation; and, the direction of the economy’s openness was of insignificant benefit. The major problems identified in the study include wrong placement of Nigeria’s seemingly adequate expenditures on human capital formation and generating more local research and development activities to produce local capital goods, produce more of other goods, particularly for global markets, and thus build a pool of innovative entrepreneurs. On the basis of findings and implications advanced, recommendations are made as solutions to identified problems

HUMAN CAPITAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

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