EFFECT OF INSUFFICIENT CURRENCY IN CIRCULATION ON THE RATE OF INFLATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA: THE BUHARI’S ADMINISTRATION EXPERIENCE

This study investigated the effect of insufficient currency in circulation on the rate of inflation and unemployment in Nigeria: The Buhari’s Administration Experience; using annual time-series data ranging from 1985 to 2020. In achieving this task, the study was disaggregated into two models: model 1 utilizing Vector Error Correction Model to analyse the relationship between fiscal variables (government total expenditure, government tax revenue, and export) and unemployment rate. It was revealed from the unit root of Augmented Dickey-Fuller test that none of the (fiscal) variables was stationary at level, but they were all stationary after 1st Differencing. This made it necessary for the study to apply Johansen co-integration test which the estimated result indicated 1 co-integration equation as evidenced by Trace statistic. This also, necessitated the application of Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), and it was observed that it took 61.71% annual speed of adjustment towards long-run equilibrium from short-run disequilibrium for unemployment rate to return to equilibrium after a shock to fiscal variables. The results further explained that government total expenditure, and government tax revenue, had negative and insignificant impact on unemployment rate respectively, thereby reducing unemployment rate. Similarly, the estimated result indicated that export had positive impact on unemployment thereby increasing unemployment rate within the period under study. Similarly, in analysing monetary variables (money supply, exchange rate and prime lending rate) in model 2: Phillip-Peron unit root test was conducted and it was confirmed that the variables were of mixed order of integration which necessitated the employment of ARDL technique. The ARDL bounds testing result revealed that a long-run relationship existed between monetary variables, and inflation. It was found, in the long-run, that money supply caused inflation rate to rise. More so, the result further revealed that present level of exchange rate decelerated inflation rate in both long-run and short-run. While, it was further observed that the one-year lag and two-year lag of exchange rate increased rate of inflation in both log-run and short-run respectively. The estimated result further revealed that the present level of prime lending rate minimised the rate of inflation in the long-run and short-run. Whereas, similar results were further confirmed in the one-year lag and two-year lag that prime lending rate reduced inflation rate in both log-run and short-run. As a result of these findings, with respect to model 1; the study recommended that government should maintain the level of its expenditure and tax revenue as this reduced unemployment rate, and it should lower trade costs so that demand for labour would increase in the export industry, this would make aggregate unemployment rate to reduce. With respect to model 2; it recommended the adoption of contractionary monetary policy that would minimise the amount of money supply that caused long-run effect on inflation in the system. Furthermore, there should be proper maintenance of fixed exchange rate policy that will make exchange rate regime overcome non-military forces of demand and supply in exchange rate market, this will help maintain low rate of inflation.

The Grondona System of Conditional Currency Convertibility Based on Primary Commodities

Taking a different approach to the problem, Leo St. Clare Grondona devised a system of conditional currency convertibility that individual countries can implement independently in terms of their own currency. For each of the durable, essential, imported commodities included in the system, instead of stipulating a price-range to be maintained, Grondona stipulated a “price-schedule” in which the price-range to be guaranteed for each commodity adjusts in proportion to the quantity of reserves held, falling as they rise and vice versa. In this way the maximum possible outlay that could be required, even under extreme market conditions, can be decided in advance. Consequently, a government establishing a Commodities Reserve Department (CRD) to implement such a system could legitimately pay for reserves through corresponding expansion of the national money supply, which would be reversed as and when the reserves were repurchased.

Discussion of CRD Simulation Results

The results of the simulations shown in Chapter 10 clearly show the consistent pattern of operation of the Grondona system, buying and selling reserves of commodities in response to changes in market prices as reliably as under a gold standard. This has a range of direct and indirect effects which are discussed in this chapter, including the reliably counter-cyclical timing of changes in the quantity of the CRD's reserves, and the parallel changes in the national money supply, the system's contribution to resisting inflationary pressures, and the effect of a CRD's reserves of a commodity falling to zero. Some remaining uncertainties about the system's operation are also discussed, notably about the foreign exchange market's likely response to the system expanding the money supply when commodity prices are falling.

Illustrating the Grondona System in Operation

While working in Japan during the 1990s, one of the authors took the opportunity to collect data on past Japanese commodity imports and recent commodity market prices and to use them to simulate how a CRD would have operated over the decade 1987 – 1996 using a computer spreadsheet. The graphs showing the results are easy to understand: the CRD would have bought reserves when Yen prices were falling and sold them when Yen prices were rising, thereby exerting a stabilizing influence on the prices and quantities of these imported commodities. In parallel, by expanding and contracting the money supply counter-cyclically, the system would have helped to stabilize the overall economy.

The Determinant of Indonesian Stock Returns’ Volatility: Evidence from Islamic and Conventional Stock Market

Islamic stock market is apparently different from the conventional stock market due to the prohibition of unlawful goods and excessive risk-taking behavior. This study explores the extent to which the Indonesian Islamic and conventional stock returns' volatility responds to the macroeconomic indicators. This study employs Jakarta Islamic Index (JII) and Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) and uses monthly time-series data covering 2001: M1 - 2019: M12. The volatility of stock returns is measured using Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH). By employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL), the results validate the evidence of the long-run relationship between the stock market's volatility and macroeconomic variables. A rising in money supply and an economic upturn reduce the volatility of conventional stock returns but only an expansionary money supply diminishes the volatility of Islamic stock returns. Conversely, high inflation and sharp depreciation of the Rupiah boost the stock returns' volatility. The results further show an interesting finding that the Islamic stock market's volatility is more responsive to changes in macroeconomic indicators than the volatility of their counterpart conventional stock market. Policymakers should take strict rules during the worst economic conditions to minimize the negative impact of the instability of macroeconomic variables.

The Time-Varying Relation between Stock Returns and Monetary Variables

The nature of the relation between stock returns and the three monetary variables of interest rates (bond yields), inflation and money supply growth, while oft studied, is one that remains unclear. We argue that the nature of the relation changes over time, and this variation is largely driven by shocks, with a change in risk associated with each variable shifting the pattern of behaviour. We show a change in the correlation between each of the three variables with stock returns. Notably, a predominantly negative correlation with bond yields and inflation becomes positive, while the opposite is true for money supply growth. The shift begins with the bursting of the dotcom bubble but is exacerbated by the financial crisis. Results of predictive regressions for stock returns also indicate a switch in behaviour. Predominantly negative predictive power switches temporarily to positive around economic shocks. This suggests that higher yields, inflation and money growth typically depress returns but support the market during periods of stress. However, after the financial crisis, higher inflation and money growth exhibit persistent positive predictive power and suggest a change in the risk perception of higher values.

An Econometrics Analysis of the Impact Exchange Rate on Economic Growth of Nigeria

The study interrogates the impact of exchange rate on the economic growth of Nigeria from 1981 to 2020 using quarterly time-series data from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the World Bank National Account. The dependent variable in the model was Real Gross Domestic Product (RGDP), and the independent variables were Exchange Rate (EXCHR), inflation (INFL), Interest Rate (INTR), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Broad Money Supply (M2) and Current Account Balance of Payment (CAB). The methodology employed was the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model which incorporates the Cointegration Bond test and Error-Correction Mechanism. The finding indicates that in the short run, EXCHR, CAB, M2 and FDI, had a positive impact on economic growth. The impact of EXCHR and CAB were significant on growth while that of M2 and FDI were insignificant to growth. However, INTR and INFL had a negative impact on economic growth with both variables being statistically significant. The bound test showed that there was a long-run relationship among the study variables, and the results from the long run reveal that the exchange rate has a positive and significant impact on economic growth. Inflation, Interest rate, FDI, Current Account Balance of Payment (CAB) and Broad Money Supply all have a positive and significant impact on economic growth. Based on the findings the study recommended that monetary authority should strictly monitor the operations of banks and other forex dealers with a view of ensuring unethical practices are adequately sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others.

HOW THE EXCHANGE RATE REGIME AFFECTS ADJUSTMENT TO LARGE OIL PRICE SWINGS IN OIL EXPORTING COUNTRIES

The aim of this study is to analyze how oil price shocks affect the economic growth of floating exchange rate regimes and fixed exchange rate regimes in oil-exporting countries with a ratio of oil exports to total exports exceeding 70%. Also, this study seeks to determine what monetary and fiscal policies both regimes apply in order to curb business cycles and reduce inflationary and recessionary gaps. The analytical study uses panel data for the period from 1991 to 2019, covering 24 oil-exporting countries, from the World Economic Outlook (WEO) database and World Bank. The econometric model is estimated by applying a panel VECM to examine the short- and long-term interdependencies in the macroeconomic variables. The results demonstrate that when there is a negative shock to the oil price, the exchange rate of the floating exchange rate regimes depreciates, money supply increases, and government spending decreases. In contrast, the exchange rate of the fixed exchange rate regimes fluctuates slightly; the money supply slightly decreases in the near, medium, and long term; and government spending decreases.

The Dynamic Iinterrelationships Between Fiscal and Monetary Policies in Jordan

This study aims to answer the question: What is the nature of the relationship between fiscal and monetary policy in Jordan? Are the two policies complementary to each other, alternatives, or go in opposite directions?. This study applies the vector autoregression VAR, the Impulse Response Function test, the Granger Causality test, and the. Variance Decomposition Analysis. The results showed that there is a bidirectional causal relationship between government expenditures and money supply, as well as a bidirectional causal relationship between tax revenues and money supply, the main conclusion that the fiscal policy through the use of government expenditures and tax revenues and the monetary policy through the money supply go in the same direction, and complement each other, this is supported by the fact that the expansionary fiscal policy in Jordan during the study period was also accompanied by an expansionary monetary policy. The monetary authority sets interest rates on loans and there is no significant role for fiscal policy instruments in influencing the interest rate in Jordan. The study recommends harmonization between the declared and implemented policy. Each authority should serve its goals with independence and complementarity between the two policies. In this case, coordination means preventing extremism in pursuing an expansionary or contractionary policy from this or that authority, what is required is that the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance agree on coordination, integration and balance between objectives.

Impact of Foreign Reserves and Economic Growth on Money Supply: Evidence from the WAMZ Countries

This paper analyzes the impact of foreign currency reserve and economic growth on money supply using panel data from five West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) member states from 2001-2019. The study employed the dynamic technique, fully modified ordinary least squares and dynamic ordinary least squares (FMOLS and DOLS), and the static method (fixed effect model) for the robustness check. The long run results showed that foreign currency reserves (FCR) have a positive impact on money supply, implying that a one percent increase in FCR augments money supply (M2) by 2.87%, 0.44% and 0.08%, respectively, in the long run. Similarly, economic growth is associated with an increase in money supply in both models. Furthermore, the Dumitrescu & Hurlin (2012) estimation revealed a feedback association between foreign currency reserve and money supply. This means that foreign reserves and money supply are complementary. Conversely, a unidirectional causality moving from economic growth to M2 is observed, demonstrating that economic growth causes M2. This outcome is explained by the quantity theory of money (QTM) in which the velocity of money is a positive function of total money supply. As money circulates in the economy as a result of a surge in investments, this consequently increases money stock. Similarly, investment opportunities that are being exploited day-by-day explains the growing money stock (WAMI, 2018). Central banks should endeavor to monitor the expansionary influence of net foreign assets (NFA) on money supply growth in the WAMZ by establishing suitable methods to sterilize foreign exchange infusions into the economy.