nep-afr New Economics Papers
on Africa
Issue of 2017‒10‒01
three papers chosen by
Sam Sarpong
The University of Mines and Technology

  1. Financial Innovation and Money Demand: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa By J. Paul Dunne; Elizabeth Kasekende
  2. M-PESA and financial inclusion in Kenya: of paying comes saving? By Antoine Dubus; Leo Van Hove
  3. Agricultural market activity and Boko Haram attacks in northeastern Nigeria By Jamon Van Den Hoek

  1. By: J. Paul Dunne (School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Elizabeth Kasekende (Bank of Uganda)
    Abstract: While the effect of financial innovation on money demand has been widely researched in industrialised countries, because of its major role in monetary policy, few studies have focussed on developing countries. This is surprising given the considerable growth in financial innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years and its potential implications for developing country macroeconomic policy. This paper investigates the development of financial innovation and its impact on money demand in the region using panel data estimation techniques for 34 countries between 1980 and 2013. The results indicate that there is a negative relationship between financial innovation and money demand. This implies that financial innovation plays a crucial role in explaining money demand in Sub-Saharan Africa and given innovations such as mobile money in the region this can have important implications for future policy design.
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctn:dpaper:2017-06&r=afr
  2. By: Antoine Dubus (Télécom ParisTech); Leo Van Hove (VUB - Vrije Universiteit [Brussel])
    Abstract: Mobile financial services are said to promote inclusion. However, only 7.6 per cent of Kenyans have ever saved on an M-PESA account. This paper uses a novel, three-step probit analysis to identify the socio-demographic characteristics of, successively, respondents who do not have access to a SIM card, have access to a SIM but do not have an M-PESA account, and, finally, have an account but do not save on it. We find that those who are left behind are predominantly those who would benefit most from formal saving, namely the poor, the non-educated, and, in the final step, also women.
    Keywords: Kenya, mobile financial services,financial inclusion, saving, M-PESA
    Date: 2017–04–26
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01591200&r=afr
  3. By: Jamon Van Den Hoek (Oregon State University)
    Abstract: This paper examines the linkages between Boko Haram activities in northeastern Nigeria and declined activities in regional agricultural markets. Building on data from both the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), the paper first considers the geographic distribution of Boko Haram events with respect to market towns and discusses whether there is evidence of Boko Haram activities near markets having influence on declined market operations. Next, it examines the temporal character of market operations and the timing of their changes in their operational status, including market closures, with respect to the seasonality of agricultural production and land use in northeastern Nigeria. The paper measures the frequency of changes in regional market activities and considers spatial relationships and temporal correlations with Boko Haram activities in the region over twelve periods from late 2014 through the end of 2016. Finally, the paper formulates policy recommendations for assessing and mitigating coupled challenges of human and environmental security.
    Keywords: Boko Haram, Lake Chad, markets, northeastern Nigeria, political violence
    JEL: D74 H56 N47 N57 R11
    Date: 2017–09–27
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:swacaa:9-en&r=afr

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