Financial Inclusion and Per Capita Income In Africa: Bayesian VAR Estimates

Do higher per capita incomes translate into higher financial inclusion in Africa?  Our application of the Bayesian VAR estimation approach to the World Bank Development Indicators datasets for 15 African countries provides affirmative evidence to this question. Using a Bayesian VAR approach for a panel of 15 countries in Africa over the period from 2005 to 2014, the findings show that per capital incomes, deposit interest rate and the internet has positive and significant impact on financial inclusion. That is, higher per capital incomes is associated with higher levels of financial inclusion in Africa. It is, however, interesting to note that financial inclusion is having a positive but insignificant impact on per capita income. Moreover, the internet is coming out to be a significant variable indicating that more attention is required to be paid to developing internet access in Africa for the advancement of financial inclusion. The findings of this study should be of help to African central banks’ policymakers and commercial bankers as they advance innovative approaches to enhance the involvement of excluded poor people in formal finance

Market Response to Food and Drug Administration\u27s Safety Warnings: a Case Study Using an Interrupted Time Series Analysis of the Medicare Database for 2006-2008

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of a safety warning on the utilization rates of thiazolidinedione oral anti-diabetes medication using an interrupted time series analysis. Methods: We extracted data from a five percent national sample of Medicare Part D beneficiaries for the periods between January 2006 and December 2008. Beneficiaries with Part D claims for thiazolidinediones were classified into appropriate-use, at risk, and contraindicated groups based on certain comorbid conditions. We assessed the effects of the May 2007 FDA safety warning about an ongoing safety review of rosiglitazone\u27s potential to increase cardiovascular risks on thiazolidinedione utilization rates using an interrupted time series consisting of 32 data points (13 months before and 19 months after the safety warning). Results: There was an increasing trend in the total utilization rates of thiazolidinediones before the safety warning. Significant decline in drug utilization rates were observed at the end of the study period for all patient groups on rosiglitazone (relative difference -74.78%, -79.93%, and -90.21% respectively in appropriate-use, at risk and contraindicated patient groups). The intervention did not have significant immediate effects on the post-intervention utilization rates of pioglitazone. Following the intervention, we observed a general decline in utilization for thiazolidinediones. Conclusions: The initial safety warning about rosiglitazone\u27s cardiovascular safety was effective in decreasing rosiglitazone\u27s utilization in the targeted population and hence its Medicare market share. The safety warning also had spillover effects by reducing utilization of drugs in other patient cohorts not targeted by the warning

Performance Evaluation Effect of Nb2O5 Particulate on the Microstructural, Wear and Anti-corrosion Resistance of Zn–Nb2O5 Coatings on Mild Steel for Marine Application

In this study, we developed Zn–Nb2O5 composite coatings from sulfate bath for wear and corrosion performance on mild steel by electrodeposition technique. The effect of Nb2O5 particulate on the Zn–Nb2O5 properties was investigated. The particle volume fraction was varied within between 10 and 20 wt%. The structural properties of the composite coatings were characterized using scanning electron microscope equipped with energy-dispersive spectrometer. The hardness and wear of the composite coating were measured with diamond base microhardness indenter tester and sliding CETR reciprocating wear testers, respectively. The corrosion properties were examined in 3.65% NaCl using AUTOLAB 101 Metrohm potentiostat–galvanostat with linear polarization technique. The results showed that average hardness value of 192.6 and 200.6 HV and passivation potential of 4.39E?08 and 5.30E?08(X) were obtained for the 10–20 wt% Nb2O5 particulate on the Zn–Nb2O5 coatings. The wear performance improves by 63.4% as against the control sample. In all, this study established that up to 20 wt% of Nb2O5 in Zn–Nb2O5 composite coating significant corrosion, wear and microhardness propagation resistance of mild steel was attained