Political business cycles, bank pricing behaviour and financial inclusion in Africa
Date
2020-05-13
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Cogent Economics & Finance
Abstract
This paper analyses financial inclusion in Africa focusing on the role of
political business cycles and pricing behaviour of banks. We employ a sample of 330
banks operating in 29 African countries to test for two related hypotheses. Panel
fixed and random effects were estimated for the period 2002 to 2013. The regression
results that ensued suggests first that loan price increases in pre-election and
election years. Building on this result and employing various specifications of
financial inclusion, the second results suggest that, high bank loan prices in election
years tend to increase financial access more, compared to non-election years, and
that, high deposit price reduces financial usage but increases financial access in
election years, compared to non-election years. By extension, these results have
important policy implications for policymakers.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
political business cycles, election, banks’ pricing behaviour, financial inclusion, Africa
Citation
Abdul Ganiyu Iddrisu & Festus Ebo Turkson | (2020) Political business cycles, bank pricing behaviour and financial inclusion in Africa, Cogent Economics & Finance, 8:1, 1762286