Financial Development and Health Outcomes in Sub-Saharan African Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaison Chireshe ◽  
Matthew. K. Ocran
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Financial Development ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Remittances and health outcomes in Sub-Saharan African countries: Understanding the role of financial development and institutional quality

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (229) ◽  
pp. 119-144
Author(s):  
Uweis Bare ◽  
Yasmin Bani ◽  
Normaz Ismail ◽  
Anitha Rosland
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Financial Development ◽  
Institutional Quality ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Dynamic Panel ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Ssa Countries

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is one of the highest recipients of remittances; however, this is inconsistent with the region?s growth and the state of its weak healthcare systems. This paper therefore analyses the effect of remittances on health outcomes for 39 selected SSA countries over the period 1996 to 2016. It considers the channels through which remittances affect health outcomes, including financial development and institutional quality. Using dynamic panel estimation, we find that remittances sustain health outcomes, while both financial development and institutional quality complement remittances in this respect. SSA countries should therefore continue to improve their financial sectors and develop the quality of institutions to an adequate level. Achieving sound financial systems and institutions would both allow and attract a substantial amount of remittances, benefitting human capital and health outcomes and alleviating poverty.

scholarly journals The Finance Growth Link: Comparative Analysis Of Two Eastern African Countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashenafi Beyene Fanta ◽  
Daniel Makina
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Stock Market ◽  
Financial Development ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Structural Breaks ◽  
Response Analysis ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Vector Autoregressive ◽  
Stock Market Development ◽  
Sub Saharan

This paper examines the finance growth link of two low-income Sub-Saharan African economies – Ethiopia and Kenya – which have different financial systems but are located in the same region. Unlike previous studies, we account for the role of non-bank financial intermediaries and formally model the effect of structural breaks caused by policy and market-induced economic events. We used the Vector Autoregressive model (VAR), conducted impulse response analysis and examined variance decomposition. We find that neither the level of financial intermediary development nor the level of stock market development explains economic growth in Kenya. For Ethiopia, which has no stock market, intermediary development is found to be driven by economic growth. Three important inferences can be made from these findings. First, the often reported positive link between finance and growth might be caused by the aggregation of countries at different stages of economic growth and financial development. Second, country-specific economic situations  and episodes are important in studying the relationship between financial development and economic growth. Third, there is the possibility that the econometric model employed to test the finance growth link plays a role in the empirical result, as we note that prior studies did not introduce control variables.

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND INSTITUTIONAL QUALITY ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 156-177
Author(s):  
Aliyu Alhaji Jibrilla
Keyword(s):  
Financial Development ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Institutional Quality ◽  
Environmental Conservation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Pooled Mean Group ◽  
Sub Saharan

This study addresses the question of financial development and institutional quality influence on the environmental sustainability of some 13 countries from the sub-Saharan Africa. Relying upon pooled mean group (PMG) for panel data, we provide evidence which suggest that both financial development and institutional quality are statistically significant determinants of per capita carbon dioxide emissions in the region. More specifically, we found that without healthy institutions and sound financial system sub-Saharan African countries might not avoid environmental degradation experienced by advanced nations during their early stage of economic progress. Our results also support the EKC hypothesis in the region.  In addition, the paper also shows that more openness to FDI inflows is good for the environment across the SSA. These findings suggest the need for institutional and financial service reform that supports robust environmental conservation.

The role of financial development and corruption in environmental degradation of Sub-Saharan African countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 895-913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nura Sani Yahaya ◽  
Mohd Razani Mohd‐Jali ◽  
Jimoh Olajide Raji
Keyword(s):  
Financial Development ◽  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Efficient Technology ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Credit Allocation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sub Saharan

PurposeThis study examines the role of financial development and its interaction with corruption in the environmental degradation of eight Sub-Saharan African countries from 2000–2014.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilizes Pedroni cointegration and fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) techniques for the estimation of the models.FindingsThe results of the cointegration test reveal that there exist long-run relationships among the variables in the model with the interaction of financial development and corruption, and in the model without interaction. The FMOLS estimates show that in the former model, the interaction of financial development with corruption is positively significant in determining the level of environmental degradation in those countries. Moreover, in the latter, financial development, trade openness, and corruption have a positive effect on their environmental degradationResearch limitations/implicationsUnavailability of data, the study was limited to only eight Sub-Saharan African nationsPractical implicationsThe finding that financial development and its interaction with corruption have an adverse effect on the environments of the Sub-Saharan African countries implies the need to focus on how efficient credits are being allocated in those countries. For better management of environmental quality, this may require the implementation of policies that enhance credit allocation to users with energy-efficient technology and appliances that promote the quality of environments. In addition, stringent policies could be embarked upon to curtail all acts of corruption in the region for an efficient credit allocation and a better environment in the development of Sub-Saharan African society.Originality/valueThe dearth in empirical studies on the Sub-Saharan African countries motivates this study. In particular, little is known about the interaction effect of corruption and financial development on the environmental degradation of those countries, as the work on this is limited in the existing literature.

Does economic freedom improve health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa?

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 1633-1649
Author(s):  
Anand Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Economic Freedom ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of economic freedom on four key health indicators (namely, life expectancy, infant mortality rate, under-five mortality rate and neonatal mortality rate) by using a panel dataset of 34 sub-Saharan African countries from 2005 to 2016.Design/methodology/approachThe study obtains data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank and the Fraser Institute. It uses fixed effects regression to estimate the effect of economic freedom on health outcomes and attempts to resolve the endogeneity problems by using two-stage least squares regression (2SLS).FindingsThe results indicate a favourable impact of economic freedom on health outcomes. That is, higher levels of economic freedom reduce mortality rates and increase life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa. All areas of economic freedom, except government size, have a significant and positive effect on health outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThis study analyses the effect of economic freedom on health at a broad level. Country-specific studies at a disaggregated level may provide additional information about the impact of economic freedom on health outcomes. Also, this study does not control for some important variables such as education, income inequality and foreign aid due to data constraints.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that sub-Saharan African countries should focus on enhancing the quality of economic institutions to improve their health outcomes. This may include policy reforms that support a robust legal system, protect property rights, promote free trade and stabilise the macroeconomic environment. In addition, policies that raise urbanisation, increase immunisation and lower the incidence of HIV are likely to produce a substantial improvement in health outcomes.Originality/valueExtant economic freedom-health literature does not focus on endogeneity problems. This study uses instrumental variables regression to deal with endogeneity. Also, this is one of the first attempts to empirically investigate the relationship between economic freedom and health in the case of sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals Does financial development reduce the size of the informal economy in sub‐Saharan African countries?

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-391
Author(s):  
Henri Njangang ◽  
Luc Ndeffo Nembot ◽  
Joseph Pasky Ngameni
Keyword(s):  
Financial Development ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Sub Saharan
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document