Determinants of Group Lending in the Credit Union Industry in Ghana

Using binomial logistic analysis, the authors analyze data on 222 credit unions (CUs) drawn from the CU industry in Ghana in the 2008 financial year and find that CUs that have larger size of management, lower repayment performance, no delinquent loans over 30 days, better liquidity positions, and have been in the CU business for a long time, are more likely to adopt group lending. The findings of this study also show that the gender structure of a CU does not influence its group lending decision. The authors argue that CUs adopt group lending to improve their loan repayment performance, consistent with the literature.     

The liquidity risk–financial performance nexus: Evidence from hybrid financial institutions

This paper uses a sample of 532 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 73 countries to investigate the effect of liquidity risk on the financial performance of MFIs and also enquires whether this effect changes in the presence of credit risk. It observes that liquidity risk exhibits a robust negative and statistically significant effect on the financial performance of MFIs. However, in the presence of credit risk, this negative effect transmutes into a positive effect. The paper also observes that in the presence of liquidity risk, credit risk impacts the financial performance of MFIs positively.     

Optimizing time-series forecasts for inflation and interest rates using simulation and model averaging

Motivated by economic-theory concepts – the Fisher hypothesis and the theory of the term structure – we consider a small set of simple bivariate closed-loop time-series models for the prediction of price inflation and of long- and short-term interest rates. The set includes vector autoregressions (VAR) in levels and in differences, a cointegrated VAR and a non-linear VAR with threshold cointegration based on data from Germany, Japan, UK and the US. Following a traditional comparative evaluation of predictive accuracy, we subject all structures to a mutual validation using parametric bootstrapping. Ultimately, we utilize the recently developed technique of Mallows model averaging to explore the potential of improving upon the predictions through combinations. While the simulations confirm the traded wisdom that VARs in differences optimize one-step prediction and that error correction helps at larger horizons, the model-averaging experiments point at problems in allotting an adequate penalty for the complexity of candidate models.     

Manager bonding and the technical efficiency of cooperative credit unions-parametric and non-parametric analyses

We engage parametric and non-parametric approaches to analyze unbalanced data (2012–16) from 225 credit unions in Ghana. The non-parametric analysis involves using data envelopment analysis to assess the technical efficiency of the credit unions. We show that most of them are not technically efficient. The average five-year overall technical efficiency and pure technical efficiency scores of a credit union are 0.87 and 0.91 respectively. Targeted at inquiring whether manager bonding significantly connects with the technical efficiency of credit unions, the parametric analysis which involves the use of probit and logit regression techniques, shows that, generally, the bonding of managers hurts the technical efficiency of credit unions. We are, thus, led to the conclusion that bonding of managers may not be in the best interest of credit unions in Ghana.     

The long run,market power and retail pricing

The paper examines the existence of market power in the respective pork and poultry (white meat) meat markets in Austria by means of the Johansen cointegration technique. The existence of market power in pork retail pricing is revealed. Poultry retail pricing is, however, found to be competitive. The result for pork is attributed to tradition and to the high pre-EU border protection rates. The paper also revealed the versatility of the Johansen cointegration technique as a tool capable of analysing both competitive and imperfect market situations. The paper recommends meat policy to be product specific rather than holistic.First version received: March 2000/Final version received: May 2003The research on which this article is based began in 1995 at the Federal Institute of Agricultural Economics, Vienna, with the support of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. An earlier version of the paper was presented at the 264^th NFJ Seminar, Alnarp, Sweden, 1996. The author is grateful to Karl M. Ortner for the data and to Robert M. Kunst, Karl M. Ortner, Martin Wagner and seminar participants for useful comments on earlier drafts.     

Market testing of a major cassava flour product in the Accra metropolitan area*

The current study analyses consumer judgements about some existing as well as newly introduced brands of a processed cassava food product (fufu flour) by means of market testing. Except for colour, the respondents’ evaluation of the sensory attributes of the various fufu flours that they have consumed did not have much significant differences. Also, no significant differences in sensory attributes were identified when the fufu flour brands were compared with traditional fufu, except for hand‐feel, smoothness and elasticity. In addition, no significant differences were observed in the prices of the various fufu flour brands in comparison with the equivalent price of traditional fufu. The study finds diversification of the marketing outlet for fufu flour as a major factor that could contribute to improving the awareness of the product.     

Effect of board gender diversity on the financial performance of microfinance institutions: Does judicial efficiency matter?

The impact of board gender diversity on the financial performance of firms is not known. This is because empirical investigations have yielded inconclusive outcomes. This study engages data from 408 microfinance institutions (MFIs) covering the period 2010–2018 from the six microfinance regions to investigate this impact using the Least Squares Dummy Variable (LSDV) and the System Generalized Method of Moments (SYS-GMM) estimation techniques. The study also explores whether judicial efficiency exerts any significant effect on the board gender diversity–financial performance nexus. The study observes that board gender diversity exhibits a strong negative effect on the financial performance of MFIs. The study also observes that the effect of board gender diversity on the financial performance of MFIs escalates in the presence of judicial inefficiency. The study, therefore, unveils the judicial system as a channel through which gender diversity drives the financial performance of MFIs negatively.