Paper short abstract:

An abstract on a research project titled ‘Defense expenditure and economic growth in Nigeria. Lessons from top five defense spenders’. This research aims to discover the relationship between defense expenditure and economic growth be it positive or negative.

Paper long abstract:

The purpose of this study is to look into the connection between Nigeria's economic growth and defense spending. Data on defense spending shows that it has increased over time without any clear cause for this increase. Nigeria's economy hasn't appeared to be growing all that much. Following the 2020 pandemic, Nigeria's GDP progressively decreased from 3.65% to 2.87%. That being said, this research examines the top five defense-spending nations: Saudi Arabia, China, Russia, India, and the United States.

The World Bank, the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria, and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) are only a few of the sources from which this study uses secondary data. Additionally, it emphasizes the use of panel data, taking into account the fact that over the course of 20–25 years, data will be gathered from six different countries. Regression analysis will be utilized in the study to look at the connection between defense spending and economic growth while accounting for other pertinent variables like labor growth. The findings of this investigation will broaden the body of knowledge regarding the correlation between defense spending and economic expansion.

Finding out whether there is a positive or negative correlation between defense spending and economic growth is the main goal of this study. If there is no correlation between them, we look at relevant factors influencing Nigeria's defense budget.