Exchange Rate Volatility and Foreign Private Investment in Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigates the dynamic relationship between exchange rate volatility and foreign private investment in Nigeria from 1980 to 2011. The rational for this study is the realization that a viable exchange rate regime that is stable and predictable presents rich vista for inflow of foreign investment. We employed the Error Correction Model (ECM) after a battery of preliminary investigations which include the Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test for stationarity and the Engle and Granger two-step cointegration procedure. Our finding include among other things that; exchange rate volatility has a very weak effect on the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Nigeria, both in the long run and in the short run and that exchange rate volatility has a weak effect on foreign portfolio investment in the short run but a strong positive effect in the long run. Based on our findings, an array of recommendation were made, which include the need for policy makers to develop sound exchange rate management system in the country, <em>inter alia</em>.