The Growth Effect of External Debt in Nigeria: Does Structural Break Matters?

Authors

  • Rasak Adetunji Adefabi Department of Economics, Emmanuel Alayande College of Education Oyo, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24203/ajhss.v10i5.7106

Keywords:

External Debt, Economic Growth, Structural Breaks, DOLS, Nigeria

Abstract

The volatility in crude oil price in the global market has continuously heightened fiscal deficits in Nigeria, a net exporter of crude oil. Consequently, successive governments have often resorted to external borrowing to augment the available fiscal revenue. This has implications for economic growth. Therefore, this study evaluated the growth effect of external debt and accounted for structural break in the external debt-growth nexus in Nigeria. Annual data spanning 1981-2020 were sourced from global databases and analysed using the dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) estimator. The result showed that external debt has growth-inhibiting effects on the Nigerian economy and that structural break matter in the analysis of the growth effect of external debt in Nigeria. The results imply that Nigeria needs to lower its external debt due to the high cost of debt servicing that accompany such debt while also improving the revenue-generating ventures in the country.

References

Akram, N. (2013). Empirical Examination of Debt and Growth Nexus in South Asian Countries. Asia-Pacific Development Journal, 20(2), 29-52.

Afolabi, J.A. and Oji, C.E. (2021). Nigeria-China Bilateral Relations: A Skewed or Balance Relation? International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy, 7(2): 129-145. DOI: 10.1504/IJDIPE.2021.118854

Afolabi, J.A., Olanrewaju, B.U. and Adekunle, W. (2022). Modelling Sectoral Sensitivity to Macroeconomic Shocks: Evidence from Nigeria. Economic Horizons, 24(3).

Aminu, A. and Ogunjimi, J.A. (2019). A Small Macroeconometric Model of the Nigerian Economy. Economy, 6(2), 41-55. DOI: 10.20448/journal.502.2019.62.41.55

Bolaji, M., Adeoti, J.O. and Afolabi, J.A. (2021). The imperative of research and development in Nigeria: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 13(2), 168-189. DOI: 10.1504/IJTLID.2021.116342

Burriel, P., Checherita-Westphal, C., Jacquinot, P., Schön, M. and Stähler, N. (2020). Economic consequences of high public debt: evidence from three large scale DSGE models. European Central Bank Working Paper Series No. 2450.

Chukwu, K.O., Ogbonnaya-Udo, N. and Ubah, C.B. (2021). Effect of Public Debt on Public Investment in Nigeria: 1985-2018. Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting, 21(2), 98-114. DOI: 10.9734/AJEBA/2021/v21i230353

Chung, D. and Hwang, J.A. (2022). Economic and Social Impact of International Aid at National Level: Application of Spatial Panel Model. World, 3, 575-585. DOI: 10.3390/world3030031

Cohen, D. (1993). Low investment and large LDC debt in the 1980s, American Economic Review, 83(3), 437-449.

Edeminam, V.B. (2021). Impact of Public Debt on Economic Growth in Nigeria (1990 to 2019). Advances in Economics and Business, 9(1), 1-10. DOI: 10.13189/aeb.2021.090101

Ehikioya, B.I., Omankhanlen, A.E., Osuma, G.O. and Inua, O.I. (2020). Dynamic Relations Between Public External Debt and Economic Growth in African Countries: A Curse or Blessing? Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 6(88), 1-16. DOI: 10.3390/joitmc6030088

Essl, S., Celik, S.K., Kirby, P. and Proite, A. (2019). Debt in Low-Income Countries: Evolution, Implications, and Remedies. World Bank Group Policy Research Working Paper 8794.

Fagge, M. and Ibrahim, T. (2018). Public Debt Management in Nigeria: The Impacts of Institutional changes after exiting from the Paris Club in 2006. MPRA Paper No. 100364. Available at: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/100364/

Fosu, A.K. (1996). The impact of external debt on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Economic Development, 21(1): 93-117.

Kengdo, N.A.A., Ndeffo, L.N. and Avom, D. (2020). The effect of external debt on domestic investment in sub-Saharan African sub-regions. Economic Research Guardian, 10(2), 69-82.

Krugman, P. (1988). Financing versus forgiving a debt overhang. NBER Working Paper 2486.

Mabula, S. and Mutasa, F. (2019). The Effect of Public Debt on Private Investment in Tanzania. African Journal of Economic Review, 7(1), 109-135.

Madow, N., Nimonka, B., Brigitte, K.K. and Camarero, M. (2021). On the robust drivers of public debt in Africa: Fresh evidence from Bayesian model averaging approach. Cogent Economics & Finance, 9(1). DOI: 10.1080/23322039.2020.1860282

Ogbonna, K.S., Ibenta, S.N., Chris-Ejiogu, U.G. and Atsanan, A.N. (2019). Public debt services and Nigerian economic growth: 1970-2017. European Academic Research, 6(10), 22–34.

Ogbuoji, O. and Yamey, G. (2019). Aid Effectiveness in the Sustainable Development Goals Era: Comment on “It’s About the Idea Hitting the Bull’s Eye: How Aid Effectiveness Can Catalyse the Scale-up of Health Innovations”. Int. J. Health Policy Manag., 8, 184-186.

Ogunjimi, J.A. (2019). Impact of Public Debt on Investment: Evidence from Nigeria. Development Bank of Nigeria Journal of Economics and Sustainable Growth, 2(2), 1-28.

Ogunjimi, J.A. (2020a). Exchange Rate Dynamics and Sectoral Output in Nigeria: A Symmetric and Asymmetric Approach. American Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 5(1), 178-193. DOI: 10.20448/801.51.178.193

Ogunjimi, J.A. (2020b). Oil Price Asymmetry and Sectoral Output in Nigeria. International Journal of Economics, Business and Management Studies, 7(1), 1-15. DOI: 10.20448/802.71.1.15

Olanrewaju, B.U. and Afolabi, J.A. (2022). Digitizing Education in Nigeria: Lessons from COVID-19. International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 14(4), 402-419.

Omesi, I., Nkak, P.E. and Orlu, C. (2021). Debt, Debt Servicing and Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis of Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 23(5), 44-49. DOI: 10.9790/487X-2305034449

Omodero, C.O. (2019). External Debt Financing and Public Capital Investment in Nigeria: A Critical Evaluation. Economics and Business, 33, 111-126. DOI: 10.2478/eb-2019-0008

Onyele, K.O. and Nwadike, E.C. (2021). Impact of National Debt Burden on Economic Stability in Nigeria. Economics and Business, 35, 91-106. DOI: 10.2478/eb-2021-0006

Pattillo, C., Poirson H. and Ricci, L. (2002). External Debt and Growth. IMF Working Paper 02/69, 1-47. Available at: http://www.imf.org/pubs/2002

Saungweme, T. and Odhiambo, N.M. (2018). Public Debt Service and Economic Growth: A Survey of International Literature. Applied Econometrics and International Development, 18(2), 129-142.

Saungweme, T. and Odhiambo, N.M. (2019). Government debt, government debt service and economic growth nexus in Zambia: a multivariate analysis. Cogent Economics & Finance, 7(1), 1-17. DOI: 10.1080/23322039.2019.1622998

Saungweme, T. and Odhiambo, N.M. (2020). Public Debt Service in South Africa and Its Impact on Economic Growth: An Empirical Test. The Review of Black Political Economy, 1-15. DOI: 10.1177/0034644620960228

Senadza, B., Fiagbe, A.K. and Quartey, P. (2018). The effect of external debt on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research, 11(1), 61-69.

Serieux, J. and Yiagadeesen S. (2001). The debt service burden and growth: Evidence from low income countries. The North-South Institute, Ottawa.

Stock, J.H. and Watson, M.W. (1993). A simple estimator of cointegrating vectors in higher order integrated systems. Econometrica, 61, 783-820.

Yusuf, A. and Mohd, S. (2021). The impact of government debt on economic growth in Nigeria. Cogent Economics & Finance, 9(1), 1-19. DOI: 10.1080/23322039.2021.1946249

Downloads

Published

2023-01-08

How to Cite

Adefabi, R. A. (2023). The Growth Effect of External Debt in Nigeria: Does Structural Break Matters?. Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Studies, 10(5). https://doi.org/10.24203/ajhss.v10i5.7106