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e not only debt service efforts but also efforts made to reinstate the economy to the pathway of recovery and growth.

However, given the number of years, since African countries had been independent and the substantial debt its had incurred, coupled with the existing institutions, one can claim that the entire spectrum of the economy has not been sufficiently active, especially when compared with the economy of similar or lesser aged developing countries.

1.2 Statement of the Problem of Study

The huge foreign debt accumulation and debt service of ECOWAS countries prevented the ECOWAS Countries from embarking on larger volume of domestic investment, which would have enhanced growth and development (Clements, etal. 2003). External debt became a problem to most African countries because contracted loans were not optimally utilized, therefore returns on investments were insufficient to meet maturing obligations and did not leave a good balance to support domestic economic growth. So, African economies have not performed well, partly because of the bigger outflow of resources to service debt and partly because the essential macro-economic modification has remained intangible for most of the ECOWAS countries. The main interest of this study is to empirically explore effect of huge external debt volume and debt servicing on the ECOWAS countries economic growth.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The study will focus on the following objectives:

Examine the pattern of the external debt trend of the ECOWAS countries from 1970 to 2008?

To what extent is the impact of external debt and debt on the economic growth of the ECOWAS Countries.

1.4 Research Questions

The main research question would be considered in the course of the study:

The trend of the external debt trend of the ECOWAS countries in the past?

Is the impact of external debt and debt servicing on the ECOWAS Countries economic growth.

1.5 Statement of Hypotheses

HYPOTHESIS I

Ho: That the external debt stock did not affect the economic growth of ECOWAS Countries.

Hi: That the external debt stock affected the economic growth of ECOWAS Countries.

HYPOTHESIS II

Ho: That the external debt service payment did not have impact on the economic growth of ECOWAS Countries.

Hi: That the external debt service payment had impacted on the economic growth of ECOWAS Countries.

1.6 Scope of the study

The scope of this study shall cover the external debt trend of ECOWAS Countries over the period to date. The general overview of the debt cancellation shall be taken with certain issues raised and discussed.

However, the empirical investigation of the effect of external debt on the economic growth of ECOWAS Countries shall be restricted to 1970 and 2008. This restriction is unavoidable because of insufficient data.

1.7 Significance of the Study

As a consequence of the increasing external debt and debt servicing, serious awareness by the ECOWAS Countries’ government and citizens have given to the issue of external debt, it therefore became necessary to assess the effect of external debt and its servicing on the economic growth of ECOWAS Countries using an econometric analysis .