IIARD International Institute of Academic Research and Development

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (IJEFM )

E-ISSN 2545-5966
P-ISSN 2695-1932
VOL. 10 NO. 1 2025
DOI: 10.56201/ijefm.v10.no1.2025.pg30.40

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Effect of Public Debt on Economic Growth in Nigeria

Ejinkonye, Remigius Chinwoke (PhD), Madubuike Kenneth O. (PhD), Adiga, Dauda Leviticus (PhD), Mazeli, Edith Nkiruka (PhD)

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Abstract

This study assessed the effect of public debt on Nigeria’s economic growth. Background: Public debt denotes the liabilities incurred by the government through the process of borrowing, which could be domestic or external borrowing. It is pertinent to note that government debt burden is basically caused by her inadequate revenue or budget deficit. It is obvious that the poor management of borrowed funds and their inadequate application in the productive sectors of the economy has contributed to the sorry state of the Nigerian economy and our poor GDP. Hence, the economy is unable to guarantee the generation of future and increased revenue from which such debt can be repaid. Aims: The specific objectives were to assess the effect of domestic debt and external debt on gross domestic product in Nigeria. Methods: The data for the period 1981 to 2023 was obtained from CBN bulletin 2023, while ex-post facto research design was adopted. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression. The independent variables

keywords:

Domestic debt, External debt, budget deficit, economic growth.

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