The Influence of Economic Institutions in the Debt-Growth Nexus: Evidence from Nigeria

This paper investigates the influence of economic institutions in the debt-growth nexus. Using data from 1970 to 2020 on Nigeria, the paper extends the econometric literature by deploying cointegration techniques that account for structural breaks. A long equilibrium relationship was found among debt, growth, economic institutions and associated variables. The effect of debt on growth was found to be positive up to a threshold of 13.62% and 27.19% of gross domestic product in the short and long-run respectively, beyond which its effect becomes negative and significant. Growth is more sensitive to economic institutions than debt, underscoring the criticality of institutions.