ANALYSIS OF KEY DETERMINANTS OF EXCHANGE RATE STABILITY IN NIGERIA: An Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) Approach

This study analytically examines the key determinants of exchange rate stability in Nigeria which encompass GDP, Interest rate, Inflation rate, and Oil prices. Using annual data for the years from 1986 to 2018. For the period under review numerous theories were discussed in this study. At the onset this study began its analysis by conducting descriptive statistics of the time series. The standard deviation indicates that exchange rate is more volatile than all the series followed by oil price. The skewedness statistic reveals that only GDP was found to be negatively skewed all other variables remains positively skewed. The Jarque- Bera statistic indicates that Exchange rate, inflation rate and oil price were found to be normally distributed. Ramsey test affirms a linear relationship between exchange rate and GDP, Interest rate, Inflation rate, and Oil prices while the BDS test repudiate the claim and asserts that the relationship is nonlinear. The study in a bid to ascertain the true value of parameters employs both linear and nonlinear time series models to guide its analysis and empirical investigations. In the linear component, stationary analysis is performed by using ADF, PP and KPSS unit root test and the ARDL bounds testing approach for a long run relationship between the variables while in the nonlinear integral the KSS nonlinear unit root test and the NARDL bounds test was upheld. Bounds test establishes across the two models that long run relationship exist between exchange rate and its determinants. The empirical findings indicate that in the ARDL model the short run estimates reveals negatively related and statistically insignificant Oil prices, statistically insignificant and negatively related inflation and interest rates and GDP was found to be positively related and statistically significant to exchange rate. In the NARDL cluster the short run estimates of the model reveals that past values of exchange rate have a negative influence on exchange rate. After decomposing oil price into positive and ...