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New financial development indicators: with a critical contribution to inequality empirics

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  • Asongu Simplice

    (Yaoundé/Cameroun)

Abstract

The employment of financial development indicators without due consideration to country/regional specific financial development realities remains an issue of substantial policy relevance. Financial depth in the perspective of money supply is not equal to liquid liabilities in every development context. This paper introduces complementary indicators to the existing Financial Development and Structure Database (FDSD). Dynamic panel system GMM estimations are applied. Different specifications, non-overlapping intervals and control variables are used to check the consistency of estimated coefficients. Our results suggest that from an absolute standpoint (GDP base measures), all financial sectors are pro-poor. However, three interesting findings are drawn from measures of sector importance. (1) The expansion of the formal financial sector to the detriment of other financial sectors has a disequalizing income effect. (2) Growth of informal and semi-formal financial sectors at the expense of the formal financial sector has an income equalizing effect. (3) The positive income redistributive effect of semi-formal finance in financial sector competition is higher than the corresponding impact of informal finance. It unites two streams of research by contributing at the same time to the macroeconomic literature on measuring financial development and responding to the growing field of economic development by means of informal financial sector promotion and microfinance. The paper suggests a practicable way to disentangle the effects of the various financial sectors on economic development. The equation of financial depth in the perspective of money supply to liquid liabilities has put on the margin the burgeoning informal financial sector in developing countries. The phenomenon of mobile banking is such an example.

Suggested Citation

  • Asongu Simplice, 2013. "New financial development indicators: with a critical contribution to inequality empirics," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 13/036, African Governance and Development Institute..
    • Handle: RePEc:agd:wpaper:13/036
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Simplice Asongu & Jacinta C. Nwachukwu & Gilbert A. A. Aminkeng, 2014. "China’s Strategies in Economic Diplomacy: A Survey of Updated Lessons for Africa, the West and China," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 14/036, African Governance and Development Institute..
    2. Asongu, Simplice, 2013. "Mobile banking and mobile phone penetration: which is more pro-poor in Africa?," MPRA Paper 56800, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Christian Lambert NGUENA & Roger TSAFACK NANFOSSO, 2014. "Macroeconomic Factors and Dynamics of Financial Deepening: An empirical Investigation applied to the CEMAC Sub-region," Research Africa Network Working Papers 14/015, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    4. Asongu, Simplice & Nwachukwu, Jacinta & Aminkeng, Gilbert A. A, 2018. "Lessons from a Survey of China’s Economic Diplomacy," MPRA Paper 88521, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Simplice A. Asongu, 2015. "May the Soul of the IFS Financial System Definition RIP in Developing Countries," The International Journal of Economic Behavior - IJEB, Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest, vol. 5(1), pages 15-30, December.
    6. NGUENA Christian-Lambert, 2014. "External Debt Origin, Capital Flight and Poverty Reduction in the Franc Zone: Does the Economic Consequences of Sino-African Relationship matter?," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 14/016, African Governance and Development Institute..
    7. Asongu, Simplice A, 2014. "Sino-African relations: a review and reconciliation of dominant schools of thought," MPRA Paper 66597, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Simplice A. Asongu & Jacinta C. Nwachukwu & Gilbert A. A. Aminkeng, 2018. "Lessons from a Survey of China’s Economic Diplomacy," Research Africa Network Working Papers 18/009, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    9. Simplice A. Asongu & Jacinta C. Nwachukwu & Gilbert A. A. Aminkeng, 2014. "China’s Strategies in Economic Diplomacy: A Survey of Updated Lessons for Africa, the West and China," Research Africa Network Working Papers 14/036, Research Africa Network (RAN).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial Development; Shadow Economy; Poverty; Inequality; Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E00 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - General
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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