Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between external public debt servicing and receipt and exchange rate fluctuations in Nigeria from 1981 to 2013. The variables used in the study included external public debt receipts, external public debt servicing, and exchange rate. The theoretical models adopted in the study were the monetary model of exchange rate determination and the monetary approach to international capital movements. The strategies for accomplishing stated objectives were specified to include the use of Ordinary Least Square (OLS) multiple regression and cointegration test, which would have helped in determining the short-run and long-run relationships, respectively, between the specified variables, based on secondary data sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Debt Management Office (DMO) statistical publications for the period under review. The findings of the study showed that external debt receipts and external debt servicing have positive short and long-run relationships with naira exchange rate fluctuations. The study concluded that whereas external public debt receipts affect exchange rate positively, external public debt servicing affects exchange rate negatively. The policy implication of this study is that Nigerian government should evolve more efficient external debt management strategies that will ensure that foreign loan receipts secured net off the effects of the servicing obligations in order to enhance the value and exchange rate of the naira. The paper recommended that Nigerian government should always strive to secure self-liquidating, production/project-based external loans for financing projects, place and enforce embargo on certain classes of foreign loans as well as on the frequency of contracting loans, contract foreign loans with concessionary low interest rates and long maturity periods, promptly and regularly service foreign loans to avoid the burdensome effect of accumulated compound interests, and appropriate external loan resources properly.

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