Intervention in the form of public spending in education can have multiplier effect if policy makers have access to information on who may likely benefit from an additional investment and how much more they will imaginably gain. In the absence of such vital information spending in education across all levels in Nigeria since her return to democracy have been moving in in undesirable direction looking at results and outcomes with noticeable disparities. Apart from location variations, there have been huge regional disparities. The study used the Harmonised Nigeria Living Standard Survey (HNLSS) applying marginal benefit incidence analysis developed as a political economy model in which different population groups such as poor and the non-poor have different political power and different costs and benefits from a given public spending. This method analysed likely benefits of additional spending across different governance levels of education in Nigeria by region (geopolitical zone) and by location (urban and rural). The study found that the marginal odds estimate for most of the regions in the south and by locations with little urban bias for primary and secondary education were pro-poor but pro-rich in the regions of the north. On the other hand, the tertiary level estimates of education were decidedly pro-rich at the margin in all regions and by location. The study recommended reforms in budgeting and legal frameworks to achieve targets by impact, need and achievement of equity.

JEL: D12; D31; D61; H31; H51; H53; H61; H75; I22; P16

Key words: Public spending, benefits on the margin, education, regions, Nigeria