DETERMINANTS OF HUMAN CAPITAL FORMATION, INEQUALITY MEASUREMENTS AND ATTAINMENT OF SCALABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT Despite the huge abundance of human and capital resource endowments, Nigeria’s rate of economic growth is still low. This is often manifested in the declining gross domestic product (GDP), per capita income, literacy rate, and balance of trade profile of the country. This study, using the descriptive and econometric analytical approaches found out that the GDP had a positive and significant impact on the total national expenditure on healthcare delivery while the mortality rates negatively impacted the total expenditures on healthcare delivery. The fertility rates and family labour supply level also had a negative effect on total national expenditure on education. Marriage rates declined steadily from 10.8 % in 1980 to 7.8% in 2010 and 6.4% in 2020 while the rate of divorce increased steadily. Elderly population (≥ 60 years) were 53.80 % men and 46.20% women (in 2019) and 53.62% men and 46.38% women (in 2020). Employment inequality profile depicted that 86.27% of the federal ministers were males while 84.09% of the senatorial positions were won by the male politicians. In conclusion, all the positive attributes of human capital development indices like qualitative education, skill acquisition, and sound healthcare facilities should be sustained to make Nigeria’s economy buoyant. Keywords: Determinants; economic growth; human capital formation; inequalities; sustainabilit