What Role Does Health Play in Enhancing Labour Productivity in Nigeria?

Health status actually influences labour productivity as evidenced by past studies for Nigeria and elsewhere. However, no previous study in Nigeria utilized labour productivity index as a proxy for labour productivity. This study examined the impact of health status on Nigerian labour productivity for the period 1981-2017. For extensive analysis, three health indicators (life expectancy rate at birth, malaria cases and government health expenditure) were utilized. The vector autoregression (VAR) and vector error correction estimate (VECM) frame work were adopted. The result showed that both life expectancy rate and government health expenditure have no significant impact on labour productivity index, however, malaria cases constituted drag to labour productivity index in Nigeria. We recommended that Nigerian government should use policy to increase access to effective treatment of malaria and that government health expenditure for capital goods should be revised up wards in order to provide the necessary health infrastructures for effective health service delivery.