This study analyzes the factors influencing financial inclusion and financial resilience in Africa. Using national surveys of 40 African countries and the doing business database, multiple models are performed to analyze financial inclusion drivers. The results show that individual characteristics, barriers to formal accounting, financial literacy and innovation condition the decision to have a traditional or mobile account. Informal savings are common among women, youth and in rural areas while formal savings predominate among men, the elderly and in urban areas. A high level of education and income leads people to migrate to formal savings. For business purposes, informal savings are preferred while for old age, individuals resort to formal savings because of interest rates. Social lifestyles make informal credit predominate in Africa. However, when people have employment, high income or education, they turn more to formal credit to preserve their reputation because of the respect and popularity they enjoy in their community. Marriage, financial literacy and innovation improve the resilience of individuals, while employment increases their vulnerability. Key policy recommendations are to improve the banking sector, institutions, innovations and income-generating activities to attract women and reduce the gender gap.
Even though the ecological transition is considered the next big challenge for Africa, few studies have examined its scope regardless of the massive financing that is required and the stakes on other sectors. This study analyzes the links between financial development, ecological transition, and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1980 to 2019. The Dumitrescu and Hurlin causality tests, Pedroni and Westerlund cointegration, and the Augmented Mean Group algorithm are applied on a sample of forty-eight countries. The findings support that institutional quality and human capital are crucial, but their effects can only be observed in high-income and upper middle-income countries. The level of economic development matters, and there is a threshold beyond which the effects of renewable energies and human capital occur on the performance of the financial system. Trade openness and investments seem also to be positive and significant on ecological transition only in these countries. Furthermore, there is substitutability between non-renewable and renewable energy consumption in these countries, while in lower middle-income and low-income countries, there is complementarity. The study concludes by highlighting key policy recommendations to sustain ecological transition.
Background:The place of agriculture in the economic development process has long been the subject of much criticism. If the authors are unanimous that agriculture contributes to the development of the economy, its role in the growth of other sectors remains unclear. This research examines the contribution of agriculture, industry and services sectors to Gross Domestic Product in Economic Commission of West African States from 1975 to 2014. The study identifies the sector with a greater participation, analyses the robustness of the relationship between the three sectors and discusses the bidirectional causality relationship. Moreover, the interactions between the long-run equilibrium relationships and short-run dynamics are explored through an error correction model. Taking into account climate change, this research establishes by simulation the effect or response to a change in temperature and rainfall on the production of agricultural sector under the assumption of a positive policy integration of Economic Commission of West African States. Results:The causality links between the three sectors are different among countries. Agriculture causes other sectors in some countries, while it is industry or services in other countries. The long-term equilibrium shows that the contribution of agriculture is predominant in Burkina Faso, Gambia and Nigeria. Countries such as Benin, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Guinea have a comparative advantage in industry. The simulation confirms the benefits of a positive policy integration in agriculture sector. Indeed, in the scenario of a positive policy integration, the effect of climate change through changes in temperature and rainfall is neutral and without consequences on agriculture per capita income. Conclusion:The implementation of a special program is suggested for each country group based on their comparative advantage. A program between similar countries can be a coping strategy. Positive policy integration is fundamental to reduce the harmful effect of climate change.
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