Infrastructural Development, Agricultural Productivity And Life Expectancy In Nigeria

Abstract

As Nigeria continues to grapple with health and development challenges amid a growing population, identifying the determinants of life expectancy is increasingly vital. While infrastructural development and agricultural productivity are often linked to better living standards, the specific mechanisms through which they influence health outcomes remain underexplored. This study investigates the relationship among infrastructural development, agricultural output and life expectancy in Nigeria from 1990 to 2024, employing the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag model. The analysis uses time-series data on life expectancy, agricultural productivity, infrastructure expenditure, and domestic credit to the private sector, sourced from the World Health Organization, Central Bank of Nigeria, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Development Indicators. Empirical findings reveal that a 1% increase in agricultural output and infrastructure expenditure is associated with increases of approximately 0.34 and 0.01 respectively in life expectancy within the studied period. On the other hand, the relationship between life expectancy and domestic credit to the private sector are negative in the long run, suggesting that a 1% increase in domestic credit to the private sector leads to a reduction of approximately 0.53 in life expectancy. In the short-run, the model reveals a positive relationship among the variables. The coefficients indicate that a unit rise in agricultural output, infrastructure investment, and domestic credit to the private sector leads to increases in life expectancy by 0.35, 0.32 and 0.87 respectively. The study recommends targeted investment in rural infrastructure such as roads, irrigation, and storage systems to support agricultural expansion and access to healthcare.