Internet Adoption and Financial Development in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Evidence from Nigeria and Kenya

Financial development is influenced by the dynamics of multiple factors which have remained insufficiently explored up to date. In view of this, an attempt is made in this paper to investigate the impact of internet adoption on financial development in sub‐Saharan Africa, using Nigeria and Kenya as case studies. The dynamic ordinary least squares and vector error correction mechanism methods were employed in the study which revealed that the internet, complemented by financial openness, exerted a significant positive impact on financial development in the period 2000–16. The null hypothesis which states that the internet does not encourage financial development is therefore rejected. It follows that the level of financial development in both countries, and indeed most countries in sub‐Saharan Africa, could be enhanced by adopting appropriate policies that encourage more inclusive use of the internet. The policy recommendations of this study therefore include (i) relaxing the stringent requirements for licensing internet operators in order to make more services available for financial transactions, (ii) integrating internet technology into the national infrastructure framework in order to sustain its application, (iii) fostering local skills and expertise that will be maintaining internet infrastructure and (iv) providing a legal framework that protects personal information and ensures responsible usage of internet.     

An Examination of Subnational Growth in Nigeria: 1999‐2012

I use satellite imagery on night‐time lights to measure growth across states and local government areas in Nigeria since the return of democracy in 1999. The data suggest that states in southern Nigeria have grown faster on average than states in the north. Using the Ordinary Least Squares, I estimate a relationship between change in night lights and real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Africa and use the coefficients to estimate GDP growth for states and local government areas in Nigeria over the period. Finally, I evaluate the effects of violence on growth in Plateau, Yobe and Borno states. I find that the crisis in Plateau state has resulted in slower growth compared with other states in the region. I also show that Yobe and Borno states had performed worse than other states in the north even before the outbreak of violence related to the Boko Haram sect.     

Characteristics of Private‐Sector Tractor Service Provisions: Insights from Nigeria

Agricultural mechanization has been integral to agricultural transformation during periods of development. Mechanization‐service provisions can be constrained by economies of scale, seasonality, limited mobility, or heterogeneous inputs quality. However, information has been scarce regarding how the private sector has overcome these constraints especially in countries like Nigeria that are at low agricultural development stages. We present the results of a small survey of tractor owner‐operators conducted in Nigeria. We find that existing private‐sector tractor‐hiring services in Nigeria are indeed constrained. However, we also find heterogeneity among these owner‐operators. In particular, those who buy tractors from private markets or from private individuals are more efficient than those who receive tractors through government programs, providing services to a greater area at lower costs, including during off‐peak seasons, sometimes selecting machinery types according to soil types. We conclude with a discussion of some policy implications.     

‘Thailand‐plus‐one’: a GVC‐led development strategy for Cambodia

This paper discusses the location choices of export‐oriented firms in the context of a global value chain‐led development strategy. The results of a firm survey are used to examine, for the case of Cambodia, how less developed countries can participate in global value chains by specialising in a niche segment of the value chain. The survey results, which focus on the location choices of Cambodian firms that have mother factories in Thailand, show that the border region has advantages for access to suppliers and markets, while there are disadvantages for recruiting and retaining workers. Metropolitan areas, on the other hand, have advantages in the pooling of human resources, expatriates' living conditions, and access to government services, while inland transport costs are a burden for firms located in metropolitan areas. Policy implications are developed.     

Information led trade: The role of non‐marketed complementaries in preferences

Recent advances in the theoretical literature on international trade have shown considerable interest in the demand side of the general equilibrium. This paper supplements the literature by highlighting the role of non‐marketed complementaries. Individuals derive utility by consuming two marketed commodities and a non‐marketed commodity. The non‐marketed commodity affects the relative demands of the marketed commodities by acting as complement to one of the marketed commodities. Considering “information” as an exemplar of the non‐marketed commodity, this paper derives a number of insightful results that relate the volume and pattern of trade to the stock and flow of information.     

Gender Inequalities and Economic Efficiency: New Evidence from Cassava‐based Farm Holdings in Rural South‐western Nigeria

Abstract: It is a widely accepted fact that persistent inequality between men and women constrains a society's productivity and ultimately slows its rate of economic growth. The economy pays for this inequality in reduced labour productivity today and diminished national output tomorrow. Motivated by this, the study aim is to assess the possibilities of enhancing productivity gains by improving the efficiency of small‐scale agriculture through gender‐responsive intra‐household allocation of resources in south‐western Nigeria. The study adopts a stochastic parametric decomposition method which yields efficiency measures that are not distorted by statistical noise to estimate the efficiency level of resource allocation by small‐scale cassava producers. The results indicate that average overall productive efficiency in the sample was 75.78 per cent, implying that small‐scale cassava farmers in the sample could reduce total variable cost by 24.22 per cent if they reduce labour, fertilizer, land and capital applications to levels observed in the changing input mix (technical efficiency) and then obtain optimal input mix for the given input prices and technology (allocative efficiency). The average technical efficiency and allocative efficiency indexes for the sample were 82.2 per cent and 92.2 per cent respectively. Also, evidence from empirical analysis of data from the male respondents showed that the average economic, technical and allocative efficiency indexes were 88.06 per cent, 89.34 per cent and 78.67 per cent respectively while the same computed for the female sample were 94.9 per cent, 74.85 per cent and 71.03 per cent respectively. Labour was the most limiting factor in cassava production suggesting that the technologies that enhance the productivity of labour are likely to achieve significant positive effects on cassava production. The paper shares the notion that producers' control over the means of production and impact of development are related and has influence on the economic efficiency and growth of society. Again, technical inefficiency constituted a more serious problem than allocative inefficiency, thus most cost savings will accrue to improvement in technical efficiency.     

乡镇债务动因及效应：重庆的案例

乡镇债务问题是目前我国基层政府所面临的严峻问题之一。在对重庆3县(市)6镇进行深入调查的基础上,采用实证的方法,研究重庆市乡镇债务的规模、债权人结构及用途结构,分析乡镇债务产生和债务规模增长的原因；借鉴国家外债分析指标,考察乡镇债务的风险及负债的社会经济效应,并提出相应的对策。     

中国发展模式的背景与影响:重庆例证

中国发展模式是指立足中国的特殊国情,以建设一个富强、民主、文明、和谐的社会主义现代化国家为目标,并在实践中逐步形成的一种有自己特色的发展模式。重庆实践科学发展模式是我国中西部地区科学发展模式的代表。科学定位、用好政策、发展载体、激发活力、创新体制机制等是其基本内涵。同时,这一发展模式也将随着重庆经济社会的发展而不断赋予新的内涵。基于重庆实际,推进重庆实践科学发展模式的研究和运用,应该在理念上强化、内容上完善、操作上拓展。     

Impact of Socio-Economic Factors on Risk Behaviour of Small Farmers: An Empirical Evidence from Oyo North Agricultural Development Project,Nigeria

Abstract: This study examines the extent to which incorporation of elicited risk attitudes of farmers can help in farm planning. It also explores the possibility of explaining risk behaviour of farmers from their socio-economic characteristics. Age of farmers, farm income, family size, off farm income and loan procurement were found significant in this regard. Résumé: L'étude examine dans quelle mesure la prise en compte des attitudes à risque mises au jour chez les agricultcurs peut contribuer à la planification agricole. Elle explore également la possibilité d'expliquer 1e comportement à risque des agriculteurs par leurs caractéristiques socioéconomiques. L'âge des agriculteurs, le revenu agricole, la taille de la famille, 1a revenu autre qu'agricolc et 1'octroi des prêts sont jugés importants à cet égard.     

合约理论的多重境界与现实演绎:粤省个案

通过东进公司的土地承租案例,说明一项不稳定的合约是如何得以存在并延续的。为什么选择了一项不稳定的合约;为什么不改变合约本身,而是选择了维护原有合约的治理方式?东进公司的创新性试验就是:以合约匹配合约、以合约治理合约。文章发现以"边缘合约"维护"核心合约"的两种形式;厘清了要素合约与商品合约的关系;并进一步说明了东进案例对我国农业的组织化创新及其农业现代化的实现机制所具有的宏观含义。     

Suzumura‐consistent relations: An overview

This paper provides a brief introduction to the use and usefulness of Suzumura consistency, a coherence requirement for binary relations that weakens transitivity. The property was introduced by Suzumura in the context of collective choice but, as demonstrated in some recent contributions, its applicability reaches beyond the boundaries of social‐choice theory. In addition to a summary of its mathematical underpinnings, some recent applications in individual and collective decision‐making are provided. Several examples are employed to illustrate the property and how it distinguishes itself from alternative weakenings of transitivity such as quasi‐transitivity or acyclicity.     

城乡统筹视野的城市金融与农村金融对接:成都个案

在城乡统筹建设中,农村金融与城市金融是不可分割的整体。实现二者的有效联通是城乡统筹中金融发展的关键所在。城市金融与农村金融联通机制的建设,须注意金融机构的联通金融市场的联通,以及风险补偿机制的建设。     

农产品供应链与农户一体化组织引导:浙江个案

解析农产品供应链中组织形式背后的约束条件及其与农产品质量安全水平之间的关系.有助于推动我国农业产业组织创新、解决农产品质量安全问题和提高人们的生活质量与健康水平。通过对浙江省临海市上盘镇西兰花专业合作社的研究发现,没有严格的市场检测(要求),就没有一体化的组织,也就没有质量安全。因此,我国农产品质量安全管理工作的重点在于如何积极引导分散的小农户自愿形成一体化的组织。     

Exchange Rate Volatility and Trade: An Empirical Investigation from Cross‐country Comparison

Abstract: This paper investigates empirically the impact of exchange rate volatility on the trade flows of six countries over the quarterly period of 1980–2005. The impact of a volatility term on trade is examined by using an Engle‐Granger residual‐based cointegrating technique. The major results show that increases in the volatility of the real exchange rate, approximating exchange‐rate uncertainty, exert a significant negative effect on trade for South Korea, Pakistan, Poland and South Africa and a positive effect for Turkey and Hungary in the long run.     

Cross‐border Mergers and Acquisitions and Financial Development: Evidence from Emerging Asia

This paper examines the relationship between cross‐border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and financial development in emerging Asian economies. Bilateral cross‐border M&A data for nine emerging Asian economies covering 2000–2009 are analyzed with a sample selection model and a panel data model. The estimation results show that although the banking sector still plays a crucial role in facilitating cross‐border M&A, the role of equity markets has increased in importance because, in addition to cash, the issuance of common stock and the exchange of stocks have become popular forms of payment for M&A deals. Because of the relatively thin market, the primary corporate bond market plays a limited role in supporting cross‐border M&A, which is in contrast to the primary public bond market. However, for the secondary market, the corporate bond market is more effective in facilitating cross‐border M&A. The results also show that financial development in terms of stock and bond markets in their home countries tends to become more important when the target firms reside in more developed countries. In addition to financial development, the paper shows that most cross‐border M&A are invested in technology‐related and resource‐based industries while cheap labor industries are relatively less attractive.     

Multi‐battle Contests: An Experimental Study

We examine behavior of subjects in simultaneous and sequential multi‐battle contests, where each individual battle is modeled as an all‐pay auction with complete information. In simultaneous best‐of‐three contests, subjects are predicted to make positive bids in all three battles, but we find that subjects often make positive bids in only two battles. In sequential contests, theory predicts sizable bids in the first battle and no bids in the subsequent battles. Contrary to this prediction, subjects significantly underbid in the first battle and overbid in subsequent battles. Consequently, instead of always ending in the second battle, contests often proceed to the third battle. Finally, although the aggregate bid in simultaneous contests is similar to that in sequential contests, in both settings, subjects make higher aggregate bids than predicted. The observed behavior of subjects can be rationalized by a combination of multidimensional iterative reasoning and a nonmonetary utility of winning.