Tita Anthanasius Fomum and Pieter Opperman
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of economic development for every economy. They contribute to local economic development through household…
Abstract
Purpose
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of economic development for every economy. They contribute to local economic development through household wealth creation, employment generation and poverty reduction. Despite this pivotal role, MSMEs lack access to finance, and scholarship on the enabling role of financial inclusion on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises' performance is scant. The authors contribute to closing the knowledge gap by examining the enabling effect of financial inclusion on MSMEs using the FinScope MSME 2017 survey for the Kingdom of Eswatini. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objective.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used the re-centered influence function regression framework to estimate unconditional quantile regressions and the generalized ordered logit model to analyze the data.
Findings
The findings from the unconditional quantile regression revealed that small changes in access to bank accounts, saving for business, formal saving, stokvel and informal saving at the 50th and 75th percentiles have a positive and statistically significant effect on microenterprises' annual turnover profit. Conversely, small changes in formal insurance have a mixed effect on annual turnover profit. At the 10th and 25th percentiles, a small increment in insurance reduces annual turnover profit but increases microenterprise annual turnover profit at the 75th percentile. Meanwhile, the evidence from the generalized ordered logit model showed that financial inclusion reduces the likelihood of microenterprises being classified as least developed and increased the chances of microenterprises falling into emerging and developed business categories.
Research limitations/implications
This study makes use of a cross-sectional survey dataset, as a result, it does not infer causal relationships over the long term, but rather an association between the independent and dependent variables.
Practical implications
Overall, formal and informal financial inclusion enhances the annual turnover profit for microenterprises, particularly at the 50th and 75th percentiles in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The authors recommend a specialized institution such as a micro, small and medium-sized partial credit guarantee scheme to improve the quality and affordability of credit for microenterprises, and a mix of financial and non-financial supports depending on the development stage to boost a sustainable microenterprises' sector.
Originality/value
The study uses two advanced cross-sectional techniques, the recentered influence function framework and the generalized ordered logit model to analyze the data. The paper is original and contributes to the discussion of the role of financial inclusion in enabling microenterprises' success in Africa, using the FinScope 2017 survey of microenterprises in Eswatini as a case study.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2020-0689.
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Tita Anthanasius Fomum and Aziakpono Meshach Jesse
The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility of asset-building social welfare in South Africa using the FinScope (2014) consumer survey data set. This is achieved using…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility of asset-building social welfare in South Africa using the FinScope (2014) consumer survey data set. This is achieved using quantile regression technique to examine how financial inclusion influences asset ownership of individuals at the bottom of the assets distribution.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper test the feasibility of asset-building social policy for poor families in South Africa by examining the relationship between financial inclusion and asset ownership using FinScope 2014 consumer survey for South Africa. Financial inclusion is captured by monthly savings and insurance whereas asset ownership is measured by a composite assets index derived using multiple correspondence analyses from indicators of individual asset possession. Quantile regressions are used to examine how financial inclusion influences asset ownership of individuals at the bottom of the assets distribution.
Findings
Evidence from mean and quantile regressions showed that the relationship between financial inclusion and asset ownership is positive and statistically significant at 1 per cent level across the entire assets distribution. However, across the distribution, the change in asset ownership varies: higher at the lower tail (10th) quantile, lower at the median (50th) quantile and higher at the upper tail from the 60th quantile. Thus, the poor and low-income families, some of whom may be gaining formal access for the first time, may derive more satisfaction than frequent users such as the working class.
Research limitations/implications
This evidence provides a good case for progressive asset-building social welfare programmes for the poor and low-income families in South Africa. With 11.9 million children currently receiving child support grants, the puzzle is whether income transfer alone can assist these children to break out of poverty. The results should be interpreted as association as the analysis is based on cross-sectional data.
Practical implications
The implications of this study are that social welfare in South Africa needs to extend beyond transfer and invest in capacity development of the poor. Asset-building social policy that combines income transfer and asset building such as child development/saving accounts will help to provide a sustainable pathway out of poverty.
Social implications
Financial inclusion and asset-building social welfare is a crucial issue as it has the potential to improve welfare of the poor. That is, it acts as a complementary strategy to the income transfer approach to poverty alleviation by enabling the poor to find a sustainable pathway out of poverty by building assets.
Originality/value
Financial inclusion and asset building is a rare area of research particularly in South Africa. This study therefore is timely and its findings will be handy for policy makers in South Africa. Furthermore, the findings will stimulate future research and debates on how financial inclusion and asset-building social welfare can be used to close the gap between the rich and the poor in South Africa.
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Anthanasius Fomum Tita and Pieter Opperman
Homeownership provides shelter and is a vital component of wealth, and house purchase signifies a lifetime achievement for many households. For South Africa confronted with social…
Abstract
Purpose
Homeownership provides shelter and is a vital component of wealth, and house purchase signifies a lifetime achievement for many households. For South Africa confronted with social and structural challenges, homeownership by the low and lower middle-income household is pivotal for its structural transformation process. In spite of these potential benefits, research on the affordable housing market in the context of South Africa is limited. This study aims to contribute to this knowledge gap by answering the question “do changes in household income per capita have a symmetric or asymmetric effect on affordable house prices?”
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of the international literature on house prices and income revealed that linear modelling that assumes symmetric reaction of macroeconomic variables dominates the empirical strategy. This linearity assumption is restrictive and fails to capture possible asymmetric dynamics inherent in the housing market. The authors address this empirical limitation by using asymmetric non-linear autoregressive distributed lag models that can test and detect the existence of asymmetry in both the long and short run using data from 1985Q1 to 2016Q3.
Findings
The results revealed the presence of an asymmetric long-run relationship between affordable house prices and household income per capita. The estimated asymmetric long-run coefficients of logIncome[+] and logIncome[−] are 1.080 and −4.354, respectively, implying that a 1% increase/decrease in household income per capita induces a 1.08% rise/4.35% decline in affordable house prices everything being equal. The positive increase in affordable house prices creates wealth, helps low and middle-income household climb the property ladder and can reduce inequality, which provides support for the country’s structural transformation process. Conversely, a decline in affordable house prices tends to reduce wealth and widen inequality.
Practical implications
This paper recommends both supply- and demand-side policies to support affordable housing development. Supply-side stimulants should include incentives to attract developers to affordable markets such as municipal serviced land and tax credit. Demand-side policy should focus on asset-based welfare policy; for example, the current Finance Linked Income Subsidy Programme (FLISP). Efficient management and coordination of the FLISP are essential to enhance the affordability of first-time buyers. Given the enormous size of the affordable property market, the practice of mortgage securitization by financial institutions should be monitored, as a persistent decline in income can trigger a systemic risk to the economy.
Social implications
The study results illustrate the importance of homeownership by low- and middle-income households and that the development of the affordable market segment can boost wealth creation and reduce residential segregation. This, in turn, provides support to the country’s structural transformation process.
Originality/value
The affordable housing market in South Africa is of strategic importance to the economy, accounting for 71.4% of all residential properties. Homeownership by low and lower middle-income households creates wealth, reduces wealth inequality and improves revenue collection for local governments. This paper contributes to the empirical literature by modelling the asymmetric behaviour of affordable house prices to changes in household income per capita and other macroeconomic fundamentals. Based on available evidence, this is the first attempt to examine the dynamic asymmetry between affordable house prices and household income per capita in South Africa.