An Empirical Analysis of the Nexus Between Inflation, Exchange Rate, Unemployment and Economic Growth in Ethiopia: A Granger Casualty Approach

Abstract

High unemployment, volatile exchange rates and hyperinflation contest the steady economy of Ethiopia. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between inflation, unemployment, exchange rate and economic growth in the steady transition economy of Ethiopia. For this purpose, descriptive and econometric analyses with VAR and Granger causality estimations have been employed by using the annual time series data from 1980 to 2022. The descriptive results show that after 2010, in Ethiopia, stagnant economic growth, extreme volatile exchange rates and hyperinflation were observed. The VAR estimate is consistent with the results of the Granger causality test. It showed that in the long run, economic growth and currency depreciation are directly associated, but unemployment has a negative impact on inflation and economic growth. Economic growth and unemployment have an enlightened impact on the exchange rate devaluation, but they are not ultimately impacted by the rate of inflation. The study implied that between 1980 and 2022, in Ethiopia, there were high rates of unemployment, slow economic growth coupled with hyperinflation and a high exchange rate. The study suggested that boosting industry and agricultural productivity through the adoption of innovation, replacing foreign commodities with domestic commodities and expanding the supply of domestic commodities in international markets can resolve the inspected Ethiopian macroeconomic problems.