Although a number of selected African countries have made efforts to implement various financial sector reforms, many countries have not fully implemented the requisite reforms required for sustainable development. Instead, they have focused mainly on bank-based financial reforms, thereby neglecting market-based financial reforms. This study provides a one-stop shop for understanding the history and evolution of the financial sector in Africa with a special focus on the sub-Saharan region where the financial system in many countries is still at a relatively nascent stage. The analysis is extensive and robust, and starts from financial repression to financial liberalisation (both internal and external), and its role in sustainable development and poverty alleviation.
The book covers a range of important research issues pertaining to financial development in selectede African countries, including interest rate and exchange rate reforms, the dynamics of bank-based and market-based financial development; the role of the informal financial sector in sustainable development; the finance-growth nexus; bank-based versus market-based financial sectors in Africa; financial development and information and communication technology; and financial development and gender equality, among other topics. The book also considers the relationship between the COVID-19 global pandemic and financial development, and concludes by presenting a forecast of the future trends of financial and sustainable development on the African continent in general and sub-Saharfan Africa in particular. The chapters are authored by prominent scholars and researchers in the field of finance and banking, applied econometrics and development economics, with a deep understanding and knowledge of financial development and the local situations in African countries.
This book provides crucial reference material for academics, researchers, policymakers and students of all levels and is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand the nature of finance and sustainable development in Africa in relation to the rest of the world. It covers African countries, but with more emphasis on the sub-Saharan African region where the financial systems in many of the countries are still relatively underdeveloped.
1. Introduction Part 1: Historical Evolution of Finance in Africa 2. An Overview of Financial Reforms and Financial Development in African Countries 3. The Evolution of Financial Reforms in African Countries 4. Interest Rate Reforms in African Countries 5. Financial Determinants of Informal Financial Development in African Countries 6. Finance-Growth Nexus: A Review of Afrocentric Literature Part 2: Impact of Finance on Sustainable Economic Growth in Africa 7. Financial Development and Economic Growth in African Countries 8. Bank Based Financial Development and Economic Growth in African Countries 9. Stock Market Development and Economic Growth in African Countries 10. Financial Intermediaries, Stock Market Development and Economic Growth in African Countries 11. Micro-finance Performance and Economic Development in African Countries Part 3: Impact of Finance on Poverty Alleviation in Africa 12. Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Diffusion and Financial Development Nexus in African Countries 13. Financial Development and Remittance in African Countries 14. Financial Inclusion and Gender Inequality in African Countries 15. Financial Development and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in African Countries 16. COVID-19 Global Pandemic, Financial Development and Financial Inclusion 17. Financial Institutions, Poverty and Severity of Poverty in African Countries
Nicholas Mbaya Odhiambo is a Professor & Head of the Macroeconomic Policy Analysis (MPA) Research Programme at the University of South (UNISA). He is also a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS). Erasmus Larbi Owusu is a Market and Economics Researcher and a Data Science Consultant. He is the Founder and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SumsureIQ, a full service market research agency and data science consultancy working for clients across various African countries. Simplice Anutechia Asongu is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, Lead Economist and Director of the African Governance and Development Institute (Yaoundé, Cameroon) and Lead Economist and Director of the European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (Liège, Belgium).
