Article HistorySocial inequalities in health care are considered to arise from social and economic determinants outside the health care services. There is an increasing interest in the role of the health care system. It is generally assumed that socioeconomic gradients in access to health care are very high, but only recently has this been subject to critical review. This study adopts health concentration index as a measure of inequalities in health status among pregnant women in Nigeria. The study observes that socioeconomic inequalities in healthcare utilization in Nigeria can be attributed to the high level of poverty in the country, as a major barrier that discourages household from gaining access to health care services. For healthcare utilization among pregnant women in Nigeria to be effective, the study suggests for interventions in order to promote maternal health care service utilization among pregnant women in Nigeria. Contribution/ Originality:The study contributes to the existing literature on analysis of inequality among pregnant women utilization of health care services in Nigeria. Health concentration index was adopted as a measure of inequalities in health status among pregnant women in Nigeria. The findings show that socioeconomic inequalities in healthcare utilization in Nigeria can be attributed to the high level of poverty in the country.

This paper examines the impact of oil price volatility on macroeconomic performance in fourteen non-oil exporting Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) economies using panel ARDL model for the period 1980-2015. It also looks at the channels through which oil price volatility transmit to the three major sectors of their economies. The panel ARDL estimate indicates how persistent oil price volatility prevailed on the economy by measuring the short run and long run effects. The result shows that economic activity and sectors, respond very differently to oil price volatility depending on the time period whether short term or long term. In particular, oil price volatility has a negative effect on the macroeconomy in the short run but the effect becomes positive in the long run. The result also indicates that oil price volatility dampens the agricultural sector but improves the activities in the manufacturing and services sectors. The results further show that oil price volatility affects the exchange rate and interest rate channels negatively but positively through the inflation channel. The paper therefore shed some light on how the policy makers of these economies can use controlling mechanisms to stabilise the macroeconomy, key sectors and the transmission channels.

That microfinance institutions empower women has become a heated debate at both theoretical and empirical economics. A large proportion of women in developing countries are characterized by segregation, relegation, poverty, vulnerability; majority of them engaged in agriculture and related economic activities, while a few others have menial jobs. The objective of this chapter is to determine how microfinance has empowered women in Nigeria. It employed propensity score matching and logit model to estimate the effect of microfinance on women empowerment and welfare. The results show that age of women, education, belonging to saving association, and operating an account are the determinants of women empowerment and welfare as they access finance from the microfinance banks. It was also observed that there is disparity among women who have access to liquidity. It is recommended that more microfinance banks be cited in the rural sector where the majority of the poor reside, policies like low interest rates, national awareness, and incentives for more women to access micro-credits.

This study tests for structural breaks in the oil price–stock price nexus during the Russia-Ukraine War, by focusing on Asian oil-importing countries. We find evidence of structural breaks in these economies. Also, the regression results from the different regimes show that the spillover effects intensify in some countries but decline in others. The results are mixed in some countries and for the panel estimation.