Political Economy of Business Education Funding in Nigeria: Power, Policy, and Institutional Inequality

This study conducted a political economy analysis of Business Education funding in Nigeria, examining how power dynamics, policy frameworks, and structural inequalities shape resource allocation and institutional outcomes across the higher education system. The underfunding of Business Education in Nigerian universities and polytechnics is a widely documented challenge, yet the political and structural mechanisms that perpetuate this underfunding have not been rigorously analyzed through a political economy lens. Drawing on the Critical Theory of Education, Bourdieu Theory of Capital, and the Political Economy of Education Framework, a qualitative multi-sited case study design was employed. Six purposively selected institutions, representing federal universities, state polytechnics, and colleges of education across the North, South East, and South West zones, were studied over eighteen months. Data were generated through sixty in-depth interviews with institutional administrators, Ministry of Education officials, and Business Education faculty, complemented by document analysis of budget records and institutional reports. Analysis employed critical discourse analysis and cross-case synthesis. Findings reveal systematic defunding of Business Education relative to STEM disciplines, driven by technocratic policy biases, elite interest networks in government, and weak advocacy capacity within the Business Education academic community. Institutions in politically marginal states receive significantly lower federal allocations. The study makes an original contribution to the critical political economy of higher education in Africa and recommends the establishment of an independent Business Education funding equity commission. Keywords: political economy, Business Education funding, institutional inequality, Nigeria, critical theory