The effect of corruption on microfinance loan portfolio: A semiparametric analysis

In this paper, we examine the extent to which corruption affects the loan portfolio of microfinance institutions (MFIs). We employ robust econometric estimation on a sample of 507 MFIs across 63 countries from 2005 to 2018. Our results show that corruption is negatively associated with the loan portfolio. However, in semiparametric analysis, we find that lower‐level corruption is beneficial to increase the loan portfolio while higher‐level corruption is detrimental. The results imply that it is not just corruption that matters as far as its effect on MFIs\u27 loan portfolio is concerned; what matters is the degree of corruption. In further analyses, we find that corruption reduces both the number of active borrowers and average loan per borrower indicating that corruption reduces both coverage and amount of credit extension. The results suggest that the effect of corruption on the loan portfolio is gender‐sensitive. Corruption facilitates an increase in loans to female borrowers. Our results are robust to alternative variable measurements and different identification strategies, including two‐stage least square

CAUSALITY BETWEEN INSTITUTIONAL QUALITY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: EVIDENCE FROM SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

This paper analyses the causal relationship between institutional quality and economic growth to investigate whether institutional quality is the outcome or the cause of economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. It uses annual panel data of 27 countries for the period spanning 1996 to 2014 by employing Pedroni panel co-integration, Wald panel causality, and the system GMM techniques. The co-integration test results show that there is a long-run relationship between institutional quality and economic growth. Also, the causality test results show a unidirectional causality from economic growth to institutional quality but not the other way round. Furthermore, the study found that institutional quality, trade openness, financial development, and debt positively affect economic growth. Also, economic growth and freedom are found to be important determinants of institutional quality. However, debt servicing and dependence on natural resources negatively affect economic growth and institutional quality respectively. It is, therefore, recommended that enhancement of institutional quality, openness, and financial development; while downsizing of debt servicing is crucial in achieving desired level economic growth in the region