Development Economics

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Public Spending and Poverty Reduction in Nigeria: A Benefit Incidence Analysis in Education and Health
(AERC, 2020-04-27) Amakom, Uzochukwu
One of the functions that people usually expect a government to perform is to reduce inequality and poverty, and public spending is one way a policy maker works towards achieving such important task. Education and healthcare provision have been suggested as key sectors that help every policy maker achieve the above objective. The study evaluated public spending efforts in reducing inequality and poverty at all levels of these two sectors using the Benefit Incidence Analysis (BIA) in Nigeria. Findings from the study suggest that primary education and healthcare were more pro-poor in absolute terms than tertiary education and healthcare. Secondary education and healthcare reveal mixed results, while the findings suggests state, regional (geopolitical), location and gender biases in benefits from public spending for both education and healthcare. The study findings have an implication that income redistribution may be effected through subsidized government services, rather than through direct income or consumption transfers.