CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Exchange rate is the rate at which a currency is exchanged for another currency. It is referred to as the ratio at which a unit of currency of one country is expressed in terms of another currency. According to Jhingan (2004), the exchange rate between the dollar and Nigeria Naira, refers to the number of dollars required to purchase a Naira. The rate is normally determined in the foreign exchange market. The foreign exchange market is a market where currencies of different countries are bought and sold. It is a market where the values of local and foreign currencies are determined. As noted by Jhingan (2004), the national currencies of all countries are the stock-in-trade of the foreign exchange market, and as such, it is the largest market to be found around the world which functions in every country.
Exchange rate determination issues have been particularly prominent in developing countries in recent years following the introduction of IMF and World Bank stabilization and adjustment policies. These frequently include devaluation and the introduction of new exchange rate management policies along with trade liberalization measures. Exchange rate policy is usually driven by two different and many times conflicting objectives. First, to support a competitive real exchange rate, and second, to serve as a nominal anchor for low inflation. The former objective is generally pursued to support the expansion of the exportable and import competing sectors, and as a way to ensure a strong position in the balance of payment. The latter objectives are important to the extent that low inflation and macroeconomic stability create a favourable environment for long term growth.The effectiveness of exchange rate policy in pursuing these two objectives depends crucially on the nature and timing of linkages between the nominal exchange rate, import price and inflation..
Prior to 1986 Nigeria was on a fixed exchange rate determination system. At that time, naira was very strong in reference to dollar. The exchange rate was one naira to one US dollar i.e. N1=$1. The increasing demand forforeign exchange and the inability of the exchange control system to evolve an appropriatemechanism for foreign exchange allocation in consonance with the goal of internal balancemade it to be discarded in September 26, 1986 while a new mechanism was introducedunder the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP). The main objectives of the newexchange rate policy were to preserve the value of the domestic currency, maintain afavourable external balance and the overall goal of macroeconomic stability and todetermine a realistic exchange rate for the Naira.
Since 1986 when the new exchange rate policy has been adopted, however, exchange ratedetermination in Nigeria has gone through many changes. Before the establishment of theCentral Bank of Nigeria in 1958 and the enactment of the Exchange Control Act of 1962,foreign exchange was earned by private sector and held in balances abroad by commercialbanks that acted as agents for local exporters. The boom experienced in the 1970s made itnecessary to manage foreign exchange rate in order to avoid shortage. However, shortagesin the late 1970s and the early 1980’s compelled the government to introduce some ad hocmeasures to control excessive demand for foreign exchange. However, it was not until1982 that a comprehensive exchange controls were applied. These include the fixedexchange rate, the freely floating and the managed floating system among others.
In an attempt to achieve the goal of the new exchange rate policy, a transitory dualexchange rate system (First and Second –Tier – SFEM) was adopted in September, 1986,but metamorphosed into the Foreign Exchange Market (FEM) in 1987. Bureau de changewas introduced in 1989 with a view to enlarging the scope of Foreign Exchange Market. In 1994, there was apolicy reversal, occasioned by the non-relenting pressure on the foreign exchange market.
Further reforms such as the formal pegging of the Naira exchange rate, the centralization offoreign exchange in the CBN, the restriction of Bureau de change to buy foreign exchangeas an agent of CBN etc. were all introduced in the foreign exchange market in 1994 as aresult of the volatility in exchange rates.Still, there was another policy reversal in 1995 to that of “guided deregulation”. Thisnecessitated the institution of the Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (AFEM) whichlater metamorphosed into a daily two ways quote Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange Market(IFEM) in 1999. The Dutch Auction System was reintroduced in 2002 as a result of theintensification of the demand pressure in the foreign exchange market and the persistencein the depletion of the country’s external reverses. Finally, the wholesales Dutch AuctionSystem (W-DAS) was introduced in February 20, 2006. The introduction of the WDASwas also to deepen the foreign exchange market in order to evolve a realistic exchange rateof the Naira.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The exchange rate between naira and other currencies of the world especially dollar is nowvery volatile. It fluctuates on weekly, daily and even on hourly basis and there is no limit toits variability. These are due to various factors which have affected the determinationof rate of exchange of Naira to other currency. This fluctuation has made naira to be very unstable and its value reduced tothe barest minimum. This problem of exchange rate variability and it determinant became too disturbing afterthe emergence of the generalized floating system in the early 1970’s. It was not howeversurprising that six different systems were tried between 1986 and 2008. The introduction of Dutch auction system in 2006 further deepens foreign exchange market in order to evolve a realistic exchange rate for the naira.As result, the Central Bank of Nigeria had to intervene on two occasions in order to moderate theamplitude of fluctuation in the exchange ratethrough exchange rate determination. In addition to the generalized floating exchange rate determinationsystem in Nigeria, anumber of other factors have contributed to the dwindling fortune of Naira. These includes money supply, parallel market premium, interest rate, inflation weak production base and undiversified nature of the economy; import dependentproduction structure; sluggish foreign capital inflows; unguided trade liberalization policy;over reliance on the imperfect market system, weak balance of payment position, loss ofmonetary policy and more importantly, poor foreign exchange management systemetc. All these are some of the problemsin exchange rate fluctuation in Nigeria.
1.3 Research Question
The following research questions posed will examine to what extent
- Money supply determinesexchange rate?
- Interest rate determine exchange rate?
- Inflation ratedetermine exchangerate ?
- Parallel market premium determine exchange rate?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The general objectiveof study is to determine the determinate factors of exchange rate in Nigeria.The specific objective are as follows
- To ascertain the extent Money supply determines exchange rate.
- To investigate the extent Interest rate determine exchange rate.
- To investigate howInflation rate determine exchange rate?
- To ascertain how Parallel market premium determine exchange rate.
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses are formulated to guide the study
H01:Money supplied in the economy is nota significant determinant of Nigeria exchange rate.
H02: Interest ratein the economy does not significantly determine Nigeria exchange rate.
H03:Inflation rate not significantly adeterminant exchange rate in Nigeria.
H04:Parallel market premium is not significantly a determinant of exchange rate in Nigeria.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The findings of the research will enable Nigerian Government to adopt the best exchange polices which will lead to effective growth in Nigeria economy. It is also significant in that the study will serve as a reference for other fellow researchers who will like to work on exchange rate in Nigeria.
DISCLAIMER: All project works, files and documents posted on this website, UniProjectTopics.com are the property/copyright of their respective owners. They are for research reference/guidance purposes only and some of the works may be crowd-sourced. Please don’t submit someone’s work as your own to avoid plagiarism and its consequences. Use it as a reference/citation/guidance purpose only and not copy the work word for word (verbatim). The paper should be used as a guide or framework for your own paper. The contents of this paper should be able to help you in generating new ideas and thoughts for your own study. UniProjectTopics.com is a repository of research works where works are uploaded for research guidance. Our aim of providing this work is to help you eradicate the stress of going from one school library to another in search of research materials. This is a legal service because all tertiary institutions permit their students to read previous works, projects, books, articles, journals or papers while developing their own works. This is where the need for literature review comes in. “What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original.” - Austin Kleon. The paid subscription on UniProjectTopics.com is a means by which the website is maintained to support Open Education. If you see your work posted here by any means, and you want it to be removed/credited, please contact us with the web address link to the work. We will reply to and honour every request. Please notice it may take up to 24 – 48 hours to process your request.
