Financial Inclusion and Banks Performance: An Empirical Study of 10 West African Countries Using Panel Cointegration FMOLS Regression Methodology

The paper assesses the effect of financial inclusion on banks performance in West African countries. To be able to assess the long run effect of financial inclusion on banks performance, the study employed panel cointegration methodology thus fully modified ordinary least square model to estimate the long run impact on banks performance. The study concluded that financial inclusion has positive effect on banks performance with an enticing results showing that financial inclusion increases banks performance in low gdp per capita countries which signals that banks should increase their presence and provide services to those countries. The study recommends the utilization of multi-factors of financial inclusion measure to ensure precise and appropriate way to measure multilateral financial inclusion level. Keywords: Financial inclusion, Banks performance, Fully modified ordinary least square, West Africa DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-21-05 Publication date:July 31st 201

A Survey of Information Communication Technology Literacy among Lecturers

This pilot study examined the information and communication technology literacy level among lecturers in a public university in Ghana, as well as the influence of gender and age on lecturers’ level of ICT literacy. A survey design was adopted which employed stratified random sampling technique to select 96 out of 526 lecturers for the study. Data obtained were analysed using frequencies, mean, t-test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings of the study indicate that lecturers’ level of competence with ICT is good. However, their familiarity with the university’s academic resources is poor.  The level of ICT literacy among lecturers is not gender sensitive. The age of lecturers does not influence their level of literacy. It is suggested that interventions have to be planned to help improve lecturers’ utilization of the university’s academic resources to enhance the discharge of their duties as professional teachers. Keywords: ICT, literacy level, lecturers, influence of gender and ag

The Impact of Personal Remittances, FDI and Exports on Economic Growth: Evidence from West Africa

The study delves into West African data to assess the impact of personal remittances, FDI and exports on economic growth by applying panel data methodologies on 15 countries from 1991 to 2017. The study further applied panel fully modified ordinary least square, robust least square, and generalized linear model regression methodologies to make a statistical inference. From the results, it could be ascertained that personal remittances and exports have a strong and positive impact on economic growth. Meanwhile, FDI has a positive impact on economic growth as an individual factor, but with the existence of personal remittances and exports, FDI tends to become negative and significant in West Africa. The study proposes further studies into the area of FDI to unravel the exact relationship it has with economic growth. Keywords: Personal remittances, Foreign direct investment, Exports, Robust least squares, Fully modified ordinary least squares, Generalized linear model DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-23-04 Publication date: August 31st 201

The macroeconomic impact of global and country-specific climate risk

This paper examines the impact of climate risk on macroeconomic activity for thirty countries using over a century of panel time series data. The key innovation of our paper is to use a factor stochastic volatility approach to decompose climate change into global and country-specific climate risk and to consider their distinct impact upon macroeconomic activity. To allow for country heterogeneity, we also differentiate the impact of climate risk upon advanced and emerging economies. While the existing literature has focused on country based climate risk shocks, our results suggest idiosyncratic or country-specific climate risk shocks are relatively unimportant. Global climate risk, on the other hand, has a negative and relatively more important impact on macroeconomic activity. In particular, we find that both advanced and emerging countries are adversely impacted by global climate risk shocks

A sero-epidemiological approach to explore transmission of Mycobacterium ulcerans

The debilitating skin disease Buruli ulcer (BU) is caused by infection with Mycobacterium ulcerans. While various hypotheses on potential reservoirs and vectors of M. ulcerans exist, the mode of transmission has remained unclear. Epidemiological studies have indicated that children below the age of four are less exposed to the pathogen and at lower risk of developing BU than older children. In the present study we compared the age at which children begin to develop antibody responses against M. ulcerans with the age pattern of responses to other pathogens transmitted by various mechanisms. A total of 1,352 sera from individuals living in the BU endemic Offin river valley of Ghana were included in the study. While first serological responses to the mosquito transmitted malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and to soil transmitted Strongyloides helminths emerged around the age of one and two years, sero-conversion for M. ulcerans and for the water transmitted trematode Schistosoma mansoni occurred at around four and five years, respectively. Our data suggest that exposure to M. ulcerans intensifies strongly at the age when children start to have more intense contact with the environment, outside the small movement range of young children. Further results from our serological investigations in the Offin river valley also indicate ongoing transmission of Treponema pallidum, the causative agent of yaws

Uncertainty measures and business cycles : evidence from the US

Most of the macro-literature on uncertainty has focused on macro-uncertainty caused by real activity as a source of economic fluctuations. Economic uncertainty reduces total demand in the economy via a conventional channel that is associated with real option theory. Given the findings of the existing literature, financial uncertainty other than macroeconomic uncertainty matters more for business cycle fluctuations. This study seeks to answer the following questions: Is uncertainty the primary cause of the business cycle’s fluctuations? Alternatively, does it matter what kind of uncertainty exists? The research utilized the generalized linear model (GLM) and the Bayesian generalized linear model (BGLM) to analyze a dataset covering the time from July 1960 to April 2015 in the United States. Elevated levels of macroeconomic uncertainty, akin to real uncertainty, and economic policy uncertainty, as measured by news sources, demonstrate a counter-cyclical pattern in relation to business cycles. Low levels of uncertainty have a positive impact on business cycles, leading to an increase in industrial production. Conversely, high levels of uncertainty have a negative effect on business cycles, causing a decline in industrial output. We are of the opinion that high levels of macroeconomic uncertainty have a ripple effect on the entire economy, which may stifle investments, reduce consumption, and create unemployment, which is likely to influence labor participation

Spatiotemporal co-existence of two Mycobacterium ulcerans clonal complexes in the Offin River Valley of Ghana

In recent years, comparative genome sequence analysis of African Mycobacterium ulcerans strains isolated from Buruli ulcer (BU) lesion specimen has revealed a very limited genetic diversity of closely related isolates and a striking association between genotype and geographical origin of the patients. Here, we compared whole genome sequences of five M. ulcerans strains isolated in 2004 or 2013 from BU lesions of four residents of the Offin river valley with 48 strains isolated between 2002 and 2005 from BU lesions of individuals residing in the Densu river valley of Ghana. While all M. ulcerans isolates from the Densu river valley belonged to the same clonal complex, members of two distinct clonal complexes were found in the Offin river valley over space and time. The Offin strains were closely related to genotypes from either the Densu region or from the Asante Akim North district of Ghana. These results point towards an occasional involvement of a mobile reservoir in the transmission of M. ulcerans, enabling the spread of bacteria across different regions

Economic freedom, inclusive growth, and financial development : a heterogeneous panel analysis of developing countries

The effective and efficient management of financial systems and resources fosters a socioeconomic climate conducive to technological and innovative advancement, thereby fostering long-term economic growth. The study used panel data from 72 countries classified as less financially developed between 2009 and 2017 to examine the role of economic freedom and inclusive growth in financial development. For the long-run estimations, we utilised the linear dynamic panel GMM-IV estimator, panel corrected standard errors (PCSE) linear regression method, and contemporaneous correlation estimator, a generalised least squares method. Our analyses indicate that economic liberty, inclusive growth, and capital stock significantly contribute to financial development in a positive manner. Moreover, inclusive growth contributes positively to overall financial development by enhancing economic freedom. Regardless of exogenous and endogenous shocks, we found that the tax burden and investment freedom are negative drivers of financial development as measured by the overall financial development index. In contrast, protection of property rights, government spending, monetary freedom, and financial freedom are positive and significant drivers of economic growth