Government Generated Revenue and Per Capita Income in Nigeria

This research looks at the connection between Nigeria's per capita income and government-generated revenue. Because of Nigeria's very low income levels, increasing government revenue via taxes, borrowing, and public investment has caused economists to question how effectively fiscal resources are used to improve the welfare of the populace. To understand how government income and investment contribute to economic development and the welfare of people, we examined the Wagner law of public spending, the Keynesian theory of public expenditure, and endogenous growth theory. The study employs a positivist research philosophy and an ex post facto research design. Nigeria's macroeconomic fiscal statistics make up the study population, while yearly time series data from 1986 to 2024 make up the sample. The World Bank Development Indicators and the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin were the primary secondary sources from which the data were gathered. For the data analysis at a five percent significance level, we used descriptive statistics, the Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root test, the Johansen cointegration test, and a parsimonious error correction model. The findings indicate a positive but negligible correlation between government taxes and per capita income. In Nigeria, government investment and per capita income are positively and significantly correlated, whereas government debt and per capita income are negatively and significantly correlated. Based on these results, we draw the conclusion that raising income levels requires effective government investment. The report recommends more investment in the productive areas of the economy, careful debt management, and better tax administration. By providing actual data on the impact of government-generated revenue on Nigeria's per capita income level, the study advances knowledge.