Tourism management for financial access in Sub-Saharan Africa: inequality thresholds

This study evaluates the relevance of inclusive financial access in moderating the effect of income inequality on economic growth in 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for the period 1995 to 2017. The findings using the Generalised Method of Moments (sys-GMM) technique show that inclusive financial access contributes to reducing inequality in the short run, contrary to the Kuznets curve. The result reveals a negative effect of financial access on the relationship between income inequality and economic growth. There is a positive net effect of inclusive financial access in moderating the impact of income inequality on economic growth. Given the need to achieve the Sustainable Development Targets in the sub-region, policymakers and other stakeholders of the economy must design policies and programmes that would enhance access to financial services as an essential mechanism to reduce income disparity and enhance sustainable economic growth.

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Drivers of Financial Access

IMF Working Papers ◽

10.5089/9781513545677.001 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (74) ◽

Author(s):

Corinne Deléchat ◽

Lama Kiyasseh ◽

Margaux MacDonald ◽

Rui Xu

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Financial Services ◽

Financial Stability ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Financial Access ◽

Country Level ◽

Macroprudential Policies ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Emerging And Developing Countries

This study analyzes the drivers of the use of formal vs. informal financial services in emerging and developing countries using the 2017 Global FINDEX data. In particular, we investigate whether individuals’ choice of financial services correlates with macro-financial and macro-structural policies and conditions, in addition to individual and country characteristics. We start our analysis on middle and low-income countries, and then zoom in on sub-Saharan Africa, currently the region that most relies on informal financial services, and which has the largest uptake of mobile banking. We find robust evidence of an association between macroprudential policies and individuals’ choice of financial access after controlling for personal and country-level characteristics. In particular, macroprudential policies aimed at controlling credit supply seem to be associated with greater resort to informal financial services compared with formal, bank-based access. This highlights the importance for central bankers and financial sector regulators to consider the potential spillovers of monetary policy and financial stability measures on financial inclusion.

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Financial Access and Productivity Dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3447493 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Simplice Asongu

Keyword(s):

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Financial Access ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Productivity Dynamics

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Financial access, governance and insurance sector development in sub-Saharan Africa

Journal of Economic Studies ◽

10.1108/jes-01-2019-0025 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 47 (4) ◽

pp. 849-875 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Simplice Asongu ◽

Nicholas M. Odhiambo

Keyword(s):

Rule Of Law ◽

Life Insurance ◽

Political Stability ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Financial Access ◽

Content Type ◽

Government Effectiveness ◽

The Rule Of Law ◽

Sub Saharan

PurposeThis study investigates the role of financial access in moderating the effect of governance on insurance consumption in 42 sub-Saharan African countries using data for the period 2004–2014.Design/methodology/approachTwo life insurance indicators are used, notably: life insurance and non-life insurance. Six governance measurements are also used, namely: political stability, ‘voice and accountability’, government effectiveness, regulation quality, corruption-control and the rule of law. The empirical evidence is based on the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) and Least Squares Dummy Variable Corrected (LSDVC) estimators.FindingsEstimations from the LSDVC are not significant while the following main findings are established from the GMM. First, financial access promotes life insurance through channels of political stability, ‘voice and accountability’, government effectiveness, the rule of law and corruption-control. Second, financial access also stimulates non-life insurance via governance mechanisms of political stability, ‘voice and accountability’, government effectiveness, regulation quality, the rule of law and corruption-control.Originality/valueThis research complements the sparse literature on insurance promotion in Africa by engaging the hitherto unexplored role of financial access through governance channels.

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