Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica, Vol 16, No 1 (2020)

Abstract

The importance of capital flight and it’s determinants in Nigeria cannot be over emphasized giving the need for capital towards the development of the country. This study investigated on the determinant of capital flight in Nigeria. Recent data from World Bank Development Indicators (WDI) were used in an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model technique. Outcome from the study revealed that there is no short-run dynamics among the variables and previous levels of capital flight substantially fueled more capital flight. Trade openness and exchange rate appreciation were found to be a substantial means to reduce capital flight. Overall, the study revealed that external debt, inflation, foreign exchange reserve, interest rate spread and political stability constituted the determinants of capital flight in Nigeria. The study therefor recommend among others, the avoidance of non-productive loans to reduce external debt, appreciation of exchange rate and the increase in trade openness.