Financial development, economic growth and millennium development goals in South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 459-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oludele Akinloye Akinboade ◽  
Emilie Chanceline Kinfack

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically report the findings on the relationship between financial sector development, economic growth and of millennium development goals (MDGs) for poverty reduction, education and health development in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach – The autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing technique was applied to two indicators of financial development, economic growth and four indicators of MDGs. Findings – Economic growth and MDGs jointly cause financial development. Similarly, economic growth and financial sector development jointly cause the attainment of MDGs. The attainment of MDGs such as increased per capita expenditure on food and education as well as economic growth jointly cause financial development. Practical implications – The findings highlight the complexity of the relationship between financial development, economic growth and MDGs. It is essential that the government of South Africa pursue a three track strategy of promoting financial sector development, economic growth and MDGs. The development of one strategy causes and is caused by the development of the other two. Originality/value – Relationships between financial development, economic growth and MDG targets are unsettled in the literature. This paper studies the link between the three variables in South Africa. Hence, the contribution of this study is to enrich the understanding of this important field in the context of an important African country.

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 420-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Forget Mingiri Kapingura

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between financial sector development and inequality in South Africa for the period from 1990 to 2012. Unlike previous studies, the study examines the role of both the broad measure of financial sector development (Bank credit to the private sector) and a measure of financial inclusion (ATMs). Design/methodology/approach Utilising quarterly data, the autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing model approach to cointegration test was estimated. The approach was preferred due to its compatibility with data of different orders and flexibility. Findings The findings indicate that financial development, especially when it is inclusive reduces the level of inequality in South Africa both in the short- and long-run. The results also highlighted that economic growth, external trade activities and government activities have played a very important role in reducing inequality in South Africa. On the other hand the empirical results also highlight that increasing inflation is regressive on inequality in South Africa. Research limitations/implications The results from the study imply that financial development on its own though important may not benefit the disadvantaged groups such as the poor and the rural community until it is inclusive. It is important to note that the study was carried out on the premise that inequality plays a very important role in exacerbating poverty levels in South Africa. Practical implications The paper highlights another avenue which authorities can pursue to reduce the level of inequality in the country. Social implications The paper documents the importance of financial inclusion in reducing the level of inequality in South Africa rather than advocating for financial sector development only. Originality/value The paper makes a contribution through analysing the effect of financial inclusion on income inequality rather than broad financial sector development which is common to the majority of the available empirical studies.


2000 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Kirkpatrick

The frequent failure of financial liberalisation efforts in developing countries, and the serious damage which recent financial crises have imposed on these economies, have led to renewed attempts to understand the relationships between financial sector development, economic growth and poverty reduction, and to provide a more robust intellectual foundation on which to design efficient and pro-poor financial sector policies for developing countries. The paper examines the contribution that financial sector development can make to poverty reduction in developing countries. The linkages between financial and economic growth, and between economic growth and poverty reduction, are considered, and some preliminary empirical evidence is presented on these linkages. The paper goes on to argue that financial market imperfections are a key constraint on pro-poor growth, and that public policy directed at the correction of these financial market failures is needed to ensure that financial development contributes effectively to growth and poverty reduction. The final part of the paper examines in some detail the role of financial regulation and supervision policy as a key area for public intervention directed at enhancing the financial sector’s contribution to poverty reduction.


2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramez Abubakr Badeeb ◽  
Hooi Hooi Lean

Purpose This paper aims to examine the validity of the question of whether oil dependence has a negative impact on the relationship between financial development and economic growth in Yemen. Design/methodology/approach The auto-regressive distributed lag approach for cointegration is used to examine the relationship between financial development and economic growth by capturing the impact of oil dependence on this relationship. The Granger causality test, based on a vector error correction model (VECM) framework, is used to investigate the causal relationships between financial development and economic growth. Findings The most interesting finding is the negative sign of interaction term between financial development and oil dependence, which implies that the positive effect of financial development on economic growth decreases with the increasing oil dependence. The result of the VECM Granger causality test revealed the existence of unidirectional causality running from financial development to economic growth. Research limitations/implications The short sample period and the worry of losing degrees of freedom limited us when including control variables in the model. If the data are available in the future, other control variables can be added. Practical implications The government should reduce the level of oil dependence in Yemen by diversifying the country’s economy. Accelerating the pace and efficiency of the financial sector will bear fruitful returns in this regard. The government could achieve this strategy by playing a more proactive role in encouraging the expansion of credit to enable the financial sector to provide a more efficient intermediary role in mobilizing domestic savings and channeling them to productive investments across various economic sectors. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the impact of oil dependence on the finance-growth nexus in Yemen. A new indicator for oil dependence is also proposed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Abdulaziz Adel Abdulaziz Aldaarmi

The goal of this research was to explore Financial Development and Economic Growth in Saudi Arabia. This would provide evidence pertaining to the relationship between financial sector development and economic growth within the country’s context. In regard to methodology, this study purposed an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and an ECM model to underline the short and long-term dynamics. To measure financial development, this study implemented the value of credits provided by the financial sector to the private sector divided by GDP. Furthermore, based on a comprehensive and holistic reading of the literature, this study also implemented the control variables of trade openness, gross fixed capital formation, and the labor force. The findings show that there are long- and short-term relationships between financial development and economic growth. The regression coefficients for the ARDL model and Unrestricted Error Correction Model (ECM) were found to be statistically significant at the 10% level. All control variables were found to influence the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siphe-okuhle Fakudze ◽  
Asrat Tsegaye ◽  
Kin Sibanda

PurposeThe paper examined the relationship between financial development and economic growth for the period 1996 to 2018 in Eswatini.Design/methodology/approachThe Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds test (ARDL) was employed to determine the long-run and short-run dynamics of the link between the variables of interest. The Granger causality test was also performed to establish the direction of causality between financial development and economic growth.FindingsThe ARDL results revealed that there is a long-run relationship between financial development and economic growth. The Granger causality test revealed bidirectional causality between money supply and economic growth, and unidirectional causality running from economic growth to financial development. The results highlight that economic growth exerts a positive and significant influence on financial development, validating the demand following hypothesis in Eswatini.Practical implicationsPolicymakers should formulate policies that aims to engineer more economic growth. The policies should strike a balance between deploying funds necessary to stimulate investment and enhancing productivity in order to enliven economic growth in Eswatini.Originality/valueThe study investigates the finance-growth linkage using time series analysis. It determines the long-run and short-run dynamics of this relationship and examines the Granger causality outcomes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 666-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhu Sehrawat ◽  
A K Giri ◽  
Geetilaxmi Mohapatra

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of financial development, economic growth and energy consumption on environment degradation for Indian economy by using the time series data for the period 1971-2011. Design/methodology/approach – The stationary properties of the variables are checked by ADF, DF-GLS, PP and Ng-Perron unit root tests. The long-run relationship is examined by implementing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds testing approach to co-integration and error correction method (ECM) is applied to examine the short-run dynamics. The direction of the causality is checked by VECM framework and variance decomposition is used to predict exogenous shocks of the variables. Findings – The empirical evidence confirms the existence of long-run relationship among the variables. Financial development appears to increase environmental degradation in India. The main contributors to environmental degradation are: economic growth, energy consumption financial development and urbanization. The results also lend support to the existence of environmental Kuznets curves for Indian economy. Research limitations/implications – The present study suggests that environmental degradation can be reduced at the cost of economic growth or energy efficient technologies should be encouraged to enhance the domestic product with the help of financial sector by improving environmental friendly technologies from advanced economies. Originality/value – This paper proposes to make a contribution to the existing literature through examining the relationship between financial development and environmental degradation in Indian economy during 1971-2011 by employing modern econometric techniques.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 368-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javaid Ahmad Dar ◽  
Mohammad Asif

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the long-run effect of financial sector development, energy use and economic growth on carbon emissions for Turkey, in presence of possible regime shifts over a period of 1960-2013. Design/methodology/approach Along with the conventional unit root tests, Zivot-Andrews unit root test with structural break has been employed to check the stationarity of variables. The cointegrating relationship between variables is investigated by using the autoregressive distributed lag bounds test and Hatemi-J threshold cointegration test. Findings The results confirm a cointegrating relationship between the variables. The long-run relationship between the variables has gone through two endogenous structural breaks in 1976 and 1986. Development of financial sector improves environmental quality whereas energy use and economic growth degrade it. The results challenge the validity of environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in Turkish economy. Research limitations/implications The study uses domestic credit to private sector as a proxy for development of financial sector. The model can be improved by constructing an index of financial development instead of using a single determinant as a proxy for financial development. Practical implications The study may pave the way for policy makers to capture important environmental pollutants in better way and develop effective and efficient energy and economic policies. This may make significant contribution to curbing CO2 emissions while sustaining economic growth. Originality/value This is the only study to examine long-run impact of financial sector development on carbon emissions, using the threshold cointegration approach. Hence, the study is a gentle request to reduce the possible omitted variable econometric estimation bias and fill the gap in the existing literature.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document