Fiscal Spending and Import Trade in Nigeria

This study empirically analysed the effect of fiscal spending on import trade in Nigeria from 1990 to 2024. The study specifically determined the effect of government infrastructural expenditure, government education expenditure, government health expenditure, government security expenditure and government debt servicing (proxies of fiscal spending) on total import value (proxy of import trade) in Nigeria. The annual time series data used for the study were extracted from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report. The study adopted different econometric technique of Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach. The main findings of the study showed that, government infrastructural expenditure, government education expenditure and government health expenditure have positive and significant effects on total import value in Nigeria in both short run and long run, government security expenditure has a positive and non-significant effect on total import value in Nigeria in both short run and long run while government debt servicing has a negative and non-significant effect on total import value in Nigeria in both short run and long run. Based on the findings, the study concluded that, fiscal spending plays a dynamic role in driving and sustaining import trade in Nigeria. The study recommended that, government should prioritize domestic production of inputs and capital goods required in these sectors. This includes promoting local manufacturing of construction materials, medical equipment, educational supplies, security technologies, and ICT tools in order to reduce reliance on foreign imports.