Your job or your health? Analysis of unemployment issues and health outcomes in Nigeria

• Main Authors: Anthony Orji, Jonathan E. Ogbuabor, Onyinye I. Anthony-Orji, Chinonso Okoro, Blessing U. Aniorji
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Editura ASE Bucuresti 2020-09-01
• Series: Romanian Economic Journal
• Subjects: unemployment; public; health; spending; outcomes
• Online Access: http://www.rejournal.eu/sites/rejournal.versatech.ro/files/articole/2020-09-30/3613/4orji.pdf
• ISSN: 1454-4296; 2286-2056

This study investigates the impact of unemployment on health outcomes in Nigeria. Prevalence of disease (morbidity) was used as health outcome indicator. Adopting the Classical Linear Regression Model and estimation technique, the results show that government health expenditure has a significant negative relationship with prevalence of morbidity, while high unemployment rate also contributes to negative health outcomes in Nigeria. Furthermore, prevalence of HIV and Malnutrition were found to contribute negatively to health outcomes in Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that the government and private sector players should create decent jobs and enhance job security for the citizens in order to reduce deaths that occur as a result of employment in certain sectors of the economy. Occupational hazards should be minimized in earnest to safeguard the health of the masses. Again, there is need for an effective National Food and Nutritional Policy in other to improve health and reduce morbidity among the populace.