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

‘Binary’ Entrepreneurs, ‘Digital’ Macroeconomics and the ‘Virtual World’

This paper examines fundamental concepts of entrepreneurship and macroeconomics in the age the virtual world as digital socio-economics takes center stage.  A model is developed and advanced. It argues that the virtual world system equilibrium will require certain physical and virtual conditions to obtain the ideal socio-economic system parameters.  Furthermore, it alludes that e-resources, human capital, e-material and e-financial resources gained by prudence, is the exact extent to which the entire ecosystem can will expand without crisis, disruptions and breakdowns.  This virtual world in which humans will soon populate will be predesigned with built-in macroeconomic shock-absorbing sub-systems to ensure prosperity. Keywords: ICT Economics, Entrepreneurship, Virtual World JEL Classification: 03 DOI: 10.7176/IKM/12-5-02 Publication date:September 30th 202

TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURAL CHALLENGES AND LOGISTICSPERFORMANCE OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN SOUTH-SOUTH REGION OF NIGERIA

This study examined transport infrastructural challenges and logistics performance of manufacturing firms in Nigeria's South-South zone. The study objectives were to determine the effect of nature of route on manufacturing firm logistics performance and the effects of road traffic management system and safety of therouteon manufacturing firm logistics performance. The descriptive survey design was used in the study, and 318 (100.0%) respondents were sampled using a structured questionnaire. The data were evaluated using percentages, mean, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to test all hypotheses. Major results from objective one revealed that the nature of route have great effect on logistics performance of manufacturing firms with mean of 3.42, statistical analysis showed the correlation coefficient was found to be greatly and statistically significant (r= 0.963, p<0.001). Objective two revealed a mean of 3.45, the correlation coefficient test was substantial at 0.980. This accounted for 96.04% of the variance in logistics performance of manufacturing firms. Objective three; indicated a significant mean value, while the correlation coefficient test was found to be greatly positive and statistically significant (r=0.957, p<0.001). Conclusion; there is a valuable insight into the factors affecting transport and logistics performance of manufacturing firms regarding route characteristics, road traffic management systems, and route safety, and their impact in south-south Nigeria. The study recommends that government priority in this region should be on improving transport infrastructural development investment. The study suggest that road safety measures should be enhanced through strengthening and strict implementation of road safety regulation