Philip Ayagre, Emmanuel Sarpong-Kumankoma, Anthony Q.Q. Aboagye and Patrick Opoku Asuming
This study aims to investigate the influence of banking consolidations on bank stability in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries for the period 2003–2019, following a series of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the influence of banking consolidations on bank stability in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries for the period 2003–2019, following a series of bank mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the region and whether regulation-induced bank M&As affect banking sector stability.
Design/methodology/approach
The fixed effect panel regression model is used to understand the influence of regulation-induced and voluntary bank mergers and acquisitions on banking stability in SSA. The study also controlled for bank-specific factors, market concentration and macroeconomic variables that affect banking stability. The study used three measures of bank stability: the Z-score, risk-adjusted return on assets and risk-adjusted bank capital.
Findings
The study results reveal that voluntary bank M&As, market concentration, net interest margin, bank capital, bank deposits and income diversification influence banking sector stability positively. However, the findings show that regulation-induced bank mergers and acquisitions impact banking stability negatively. Where bank M&As were a result of banking regulatory reforms, called regulation-induced mergers and acquisitions (RIM&As), banking stability suffered, but voluntary bank M&As improved banking stability. Again, the study supports the concentration–stability argument rather than the competition–stability hypothesis. Therefore, more concentrated banking markets in SSA countries have more stable banks and fewer risks of system-wide bank failures. Other factors influencing banking stability in SSA are return on equity, bank efficiency (cost-to-income), bank size and deposits-to-assets ratio. However, their relationship is negative with the stability of the banking sector.
Practical implications
The findings imply that the regulatory authorities should encourage voluntary bank M&As and not regulation-induced bank M&As to improve the stability of the banking systems in SSA.
Originality/value
The study provides new evidence on the effects of regulation-induced bank M&As on the stability of banks.
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Patrick Opoku Asuming and Deborah Aba Gaisie
The purpose of this study is to understand how risk attitudes drive demand for different types of insurance amongst Ghanaians.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand how risk attitudes drive demand for different types of insurance amongst Ghanaians.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses data from a nationally representative survey of Ghanaian households (Ghana Living Standards Survey Round 7). Risk aversion is measured following the approach of Holt and Laury (2002) in the use of hypothetical questions about investment. Probit regressions are used to estimate the effect of risk aversion on insurance outcomes.
Findings
The paper finds evidence that supports the theory that risk attitudes influence insurance demand. Specifically, risk aversion is positively related to the uptake of insurance in general and in particular, public health insurance. Unlike previous literature, the authors do not find the sex of the respondent to affect the relationship between risk aversion and insurance demand except for private health insurance. Socio-economic factors such as wealth, age and education were found to strongly predict insurance demand.
Research limitations/implications
The findings confirm that risk attitude influence the demand for insurance in developing countries but socio-economic factors play a strong role in explaining low insurance penetration in such contexts.
Originality/value
Theoretically, attitudes towards risk have been strongly linked with insurance demand. Yet, empirical evidence on this relationship is limited in developing countries where insurance penetration is very low. This study is among the first to document the influence of risk attitude on the demand of a range of insurance products using a large nationally representative sample of individuals in a developing country.
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Bright Owusu Asante, Jonas Osei-Adu, Kingsley Osei, Stella Ama Ennin, Beatrice Aighewi and Monica Opoku
This paper aims to investigate how awareness influences the adoption of positive selection (PS) technology among smallholder yam farmers in West Africa. PS has the potential of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate how awareness influences the adoption of positive selection (PS) technology among smallholder yam farmers in West Africa. PS has the potential of increasing yield and reducing disease incidence and severity in yam production.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper applies the average treatment effect (ATE) methodology to estimate the rates of awareness and adoption of the PS technology and associated factors using data from 678 smallholder seed yam farmers in Ghana and Nigeria.
Findings
The results indicate that the actual adoption rates of PS technology are 58 and 55%, while the potential adoption rates are estimated at 89.5 and 79.3% for Ghana and Nigeria, respectively, if the PS technology was fully disseminated. This leads to adoption gaps of 31.7 and 24.8%, respectively, for Ghana and Nigeria stemming from incomplete awareness of the PS among the population of yam growing farmers. The PS adoption is high among the educated young farmers who are members of farmer based organizations and participate in demonstrations.
Practical implications
Promotional efforts for enhancing awareness and adoption of PS should target educated youth willing to participate in field demonstrations and should focus on scaling up of PS technology to ensure quality farmer saved seed yams and enhance yam productivity in West Africa.
Originality/value
The introduction of PS in seed yam production is quite recent also its introduction to seed yam farmers in West Africa. Subsequently, a better understanding of what the adoption status would be should everyone in the population of yam farmers are aware of PS is vital for policy, research and development.