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Access to and Repayment of Agricultural Credit in the Face of COVID 19: A Gender Analysis in Selected Microfinance Institutions in Cameroon
Get PDFPurpose: Gender differences in access to and repayment of loans seem to be the reason behind the persistent subsistence and small-scale nature of most agribusinesses in Cameroon. This study examines access to and repayment of agricultural credit in the face of COVID 19 in the West Region of Cameroon building on evidence from selected microfinance institutions in the West Region of Cameroon. Specifically, the study mirrors gender differences in microfinance loan disbursements and repayments, determinants of loan repayment, and constraints to loan access and loan repayment during the period of COVID 19.
Method: The purposive sampling technique was employed to select 100 farmers who had access to agricultural credit in three villages in the West Region of Cameroon. A pre-tested questionnaire was used for primary data collection and secondary data was collected from microfinance institutions and the internet. Collected data were analyzed employing tables, frequencies, t-test, and regression analysis.
Results: Findings indicated that there was a positive insignificant difference in the amount of credit received and repaid by male farmers than that of the female farmers. The male and female have equal access to credit and the same repayment capacities (R2 = 0.55 or 55%). Loan repayment was statistically and significantly determined by loan amount, interest rate, and time lag for repayment at the 5% significance level. Serious constraints to loan access were lack of sensitization, lack of collateral security, and illiteracy while major constraints to loan repayment were family commitment, price fluctuation, crop failure, high cost of production, and interest payment.
Implications: Increasing the ceiling for loan amount approved for farmers and curbing excessive bureaucratic procedures would ensure minimal diversion of the loans, higher income for the farmers, and hence better repayment rates.
Originality: The distinctiveness of this study is viewed from the context of the COVID 19 pandemic within which data was collected, thus capturing how the pandemic situation played a role in access to and repayment of agricultural loans from the perspective of gender
Modeling the Impact of Pandemic-Induced Shocks and Support Measures with an Emerging Market Economy: A GUI-Model Approach
Get PDFPurpose: This paper analyzes the impacts of COVID-19 shocks on an emerging market economy using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) model.
Methods: Event study analysis has been adopted using secondary data for measuring the impacts and impulse responses of different shocks.
Results: The paper shows how the shocks affect the economy using graphical presentations of impulse responses of major macroeconomic indicators. The shapes and movements of the impulse response curves indicate how the effects pass through from one sector to another; how long the effects may persist in the economy, and how much time will be required for recovery. All these simulations suggest that immediate supportive measures from both fiscal and monetary sides help recover the economy, although marginally due to the required higher costs stemming mainly from the higher exchange rate volatility.
Implications: Several policy implications such as sector-specific support measures, prioritization of sectors, rationing of credit facilities, efficient exchange rate management, etc., can be followed by the countries regarding fiscal and monetary policy measures towards reducing COVID-19-induced similar shocks
Tackling the Economic Challenges of COVID-19: A Look at the Federal Reserve System: History and Present Day
Get PDFIn this paper, we take a look at some of the measures taken by the central bank of the United States viz. the Federal Reserve System, to help businesses, both small and large, to weather the unprecedented economic challenges faced by managers and owners of businesses to survive through the crisis of shutdowns, lost sales, unemployment, and illness. One such step taken by the Federal Reserve was to lower the discount rate, the rate at which Federal Reserve gives loans (Discounts and Advances) to U.S. financial institutions. It may be taken as a standard response to economic slowdowns by central banks around the globe, but Federal Reserve\u27s action has more significant effects than any other central bank.
While there is no "one size fits all" economic measure that works in all countries in the wake of the pandemic, we believe that knowing and discussing what one central bank did – can lead to bankers, academics, politicians, business managers and owners from different countries share their experiences and tailor proposals and plans to fit the needs of an individual country. In this spirit, this proposed paper is an endeavor to examine the role of monetary policy in averting the forces of the pandemic. The paper is divided into three sections. Section 1 talks about the structure of the Federal Reserve System, surveys some historical behavior and examines the decision-making process in the system. Section 2 discusses the economic impacts of coronavirus on all economic aspects but focuses more on the monetary structure of the US economy. Section 3 makes the argument that expansionary monetary policy was a tremendous necessity of the time, but overdoing its activity in the same direction may bring back the threat of inflation. Summary and conclusion follow Section 3
Impact of Bank Specific and Macroeconomic Determinants on Banks Liquidity: An Empirical Study on Listed Commercial Banks in Bangladesh
Get PDFPurpose This study examines the influences of bank-specific and macroeconomic determinants on liquidity on 29 listed commercial banks of Bangladesh.
Methods To analyze the relationship, this study performs Pooled Ordinary Least Square method, fixed and random effect estimates, and implemented GLS random effect method on strongly balanced panel dataset over 2014 to 2019. Capital adequacy, nonperforming loans, and profitability are considered bank-specific factors while GDP, Monetary policy interest rate, and Interest rate spread are considered the macroeconomic factors.
Results Business cycle and monetary policy interest rate inversely affected bank liquidity. Contrary, bank liquidity has a positive association with profitability, nonperforming loans, capital adequacy, and interest rate spread. According to the findings, capital adequacy and business cycle have a significant impact on liquidity.
Implications This study has significant implications for bankers, consumers, and policymakers. The banking sector of Bangladesh will highly be benefited from this research as this paper critically analyzes the determinants of banks\u27 liquidity risk. This research will help the banks and other financial institutions to understand the effect of capital adequacy, nonperforming loans on liquidity in the Bangladeshi context. This study infers that banks need to monitor the factors cautiously to avoid the liquidity crisis in the future.
Originality There are a few studies that examine these determinants with liquidity in the Bangladeshi context. This remarks the significance of the present paper as this study put an attempt to analyze bank-specific and macroeconomic determinants with bank liquidity in the Bangladeshi context has been conducted within a limited scope
Effect of Board size on Earnings quality of Non-Financial Firms Listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange
Get PDFPurpose: The main purpose of the study was to analyze the relationship between board size and the earnings quality of non-financial firms listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) and also determine the effect of board size on earnings quality with ownership concentration as moderating variable.
Methods: A positivist research philosophy was adopted and a quantitative research design was employed. The target population of the study was the 39 non-financial companies listed in NSE as of 31st December 2020. Secondary data was the main source of information for the study. The data was s panel type of data based on a period of 13 years (2008-2020). Positivism research philosophy and quantitative research design were employed in the study. Data were analyzed based on the panel regression model. Both diagnostic and specification test for the model applied was conducted.
Results: The study established that board size had a significant effect on the earnings quality of non-financial firms listed at the NSE in the presence and absence of ownership concentration as moderator. Further, the results showed that the model with a moderator was superior to that without a moderator.
Implications: The non-financial firms listed in NSE should closely examine the criteria used in determining the size of the board and its composition to ensure that boards are more independent and diversified. This will reduce incidences of earnings manipulations and ensure that the directors are accountable to the shareholders which in turn will lead to improvement of investor confidence
Corporate Sustainability Practices and Corporate Financial Performance of Selected Breweries in Nigeria
Get PDFPurpose: The nexus between Corporate Sustainability Practices (CSP) and Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) has over the years yielded a mix of positive, negative, and neutral associations across industries and territories. Considering the paradox of economic benefits against negative sustainability implications of manufacturing and consuming alcoholic beverages, the researchers examined the influence of CSP on the CFP of selected breweries in Nigeria. In two hypotheses, the proxies for CSP are Social-Infrastructural-Development Cost, Community-Education-and-Training Cost, and Community-Health-Related Cost, whereas the determinants for CFP are return on equity and prices of shares.
Methods: Adopting a causal-comparative research design, data were obtained from the annual financial reports of the companies and the Nigerian Stock Exchange factbooks. The multivariate regression analysis was deployed for estimating the results.
Results: The general models for testing hypotheses one and two indicated that corporate sustainability practices do not significantly influence either the return on equity or the market prices of the shares of breweries in Nigeria.
Implications: The researchers concluded that changes in the level of CSP were not enough for predicting variations in the CFP of breweries in Nigeria. It was, however, observed that awareness about CSP and the related value is still low among capital market investors and consumers in Nigeria. Hence, breweries are encouraged to be consistent with such practices as the associated benefit may be incremental
Liquidity, Trading Activity, and Stock Price Volatility: Evidence from a Stressed Market
Get PDFPurpose: While the bulk of previous research focused on security-level volatility and the relationship of its determinants, the current study considers the relationship between the number of trades, lagged absolute returns, trading volume, bid-ask spread, and price volatility on the Zimbabwe stock market.
Methods: The study applied Hausman\u27s (1982) tests of the specification. The parameters and elasticity of explanatory variables have been estimated by utilizing the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) procedure in a five-equation structural model. The data were obtained from a web-based financial market platform, Investing.com for the period between 2009 and 2021.
Results: Results show that inflation had a positive relationship with stock price volatility, which provided a hedge against inflation. There exists an indistinguishable difference between the random effects (RE) and fixed effects (FE) results and those obtained using the Pooled Ordinary Least Squares (POLS) on the total sample reflecting a cohesion of these findings.
Implications: Understanding the relationship between inflation and market risk (volatility) can be beneficial to the investor in selecting the appropriate and most convenient investment strategy. From a policy-making perspective, strategic policy measures employed towards reducing inflation would certainly reduce stock market volatility and boost investor confidence
Effect of Gender Diversity on the Association between Corporate Sustainability Practices and Financial Performance of Firms: Evidence from Malaysia
Get PDFPurpose: The objective of this research is to examine the effect of corporate sustainability practices (CSP) on financial performance (FP) as well as the moderating effect of gender diversity (GENDIV) in the board on the relationship between CSP and FP of firms in Malaysia.
Methods: The sample of the study is 312 firm-year observations from 2015 to 2017 of 104 firms listed in Bursa Malaysia. The theoretical framework of the study is underpinned by the Stakeholder theory and the Agency theory. To test the hypotheses, with the help of STATA software, the panel corrected standard errors (PCSE) estimator model and the hierarchical moderated multiple regression model have been used.
Results: The findings of the study reveal that CSP significantly and positively affects the FP of firms. The empirical results also show that gender diversity in boards significantly moderates the relationship between CSP and FP of Firms in Malaysia.
Implications: Based on the empirical findings, the study recommends that the policymakers and regulatory bodies should follow up the mandatory corporate sustainability practices of the firms as well as revise the codes of corporate governance regarding gender diversity of the boards to ensure their long-term sustainability as well as to reduce the risk of financial distress, or bankruptcies in the future. 
Mergers and Acquisitions in Brazilian Higher Education Companies: Effect on Share Value
Get PDFPurpose: The objective of this study is to detect and measure the occurrence of extraordinary returns to the shareholders of private higher education companies, listed on the Brazilian stock market, B3, when mergers and acquisitions occur.
Methods: This study uses the Event Study technique on process data from 46 merger and acquisition events, that occurred in the period of 2007- 2015, involving the three main Brazilian private higher education companies, and applies the Z-statistic to test the accumulated standard abnormal returns.
Results: Based on the results, it is possible to affirm that the presence of abnormal returns was not detected after merger and acquisition events. Events of this nature do not promote changes in the short-term value of the company, in the cases of large and publicly traded Brazilian private higher education companies.
Implications: The announcement of a merger or acquisition process has wide repercussions in the media and attracts the attention of investors that aims to gain abnormal earnings from anticipated post-merger value creation. This study showed that the potential gain in value does not always occur or is reflected in the stock prices of the companies involved, in the short term
The Capital Flow Volatility Spillover in Some Selected African Economies
No full textPurpose: The study conducted an empirical examination of the link between capital flows and exchange rate by examining the relative influence of FDI and FPI on the exchange rates.
Method: The study proceeded with the EGARCH model and the data sample covering the period from 1990-2016. The data were subjected to cross-country screening. The screening criteria are such that all the data that constitute capital in all sampled countries must have equal sample sizes. The measurement of capital flow in each of the sampled countries was restricted to two categories capital, namely, foreign portfolio investment (FPI) and foreign direct investment (FDI).
Results: The research establishes that the behavior of capital flow volatility spillover of the sample countries\u27 currencies exchange rate differs, with only South Africa\u27s and Morocco\u27s currencies revealing some slight similarity and existence of asymmetric volatility spillover from capital flows to exchange rate. Additionally, the study discloses that capital flows spillover has a considerable effect on exchange rate volatility than harmful spillover. The study also observed that positive shocks associated with capital flow volatility affect exchange rate value in Botswana more than capital outflow. Further positive capital flow spillover impending from capital inflow has a considerable effect on exchange rate volatility than the harmful spillover impending from the capital outflow. Further, the positive capital flow spill over impending from capital inflow significantly affects exchange rate volatility more than the negative spillovers that emanate from the capital outflow.
Implications: This suggests that the monetary policy should consider options that can accelerate capital flow into the Moroccan economy. However, in South Africa for any given quantum of capital flow into the economy, the South African Reserve Bank must use instruments to affect stability; otherwise, the currency exchange rate could remain unstable. Thus, capital withdrawals out of the Egyptian economy will create domestic currency instability.
Keywords: Spill-over, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), Portfolio Investments (PI), asymmetric, capital flow volatility, Exchange rate volatility