External Debt and Its Impact on the Economic Growth of Nigeria

The relevant of external debt to the economy of developing countries whose domestic resources are limited cannot be overemphasized. However, if these debts are not channeled into productive investments, their continuous acquisition could retard the economy. The debate on whether external debt impacts meaningfully or negatively on the growth of the economy is yet to be resolved and this present study joins the ongoing debate. Consequently, the focus of the present article is to contribute to this debate in Nigeria and the study covers the period from 1983-2022. The ARDL estimation technique was adopted for the estimation of the parameters and findings indicate that external debt exerted a negative impact on economic growth even though the results are not significant. The authors are of the opinion that much as external debt accumulation is necessary, caution should be exercised to avoid the debts spiraling into debt overhang. This is more so considering the continuous depreciation of the country’s exchange rate. It is therefore suggested that accumulated debts should be channeled into productive ventures.