IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/quaeco/v89y2023icp298-306.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Political patronage and banks’ leverage in the Middle Eastern and North African region: A new neural panel regression analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Braham, Rihem
  • de Peretti, Christian
  • Belkacem, Lotfi

Abstract

This research examines the effect of political patronage on financing decisions for a sample of 67 commercial banks from the Middle Eastern and North African region for the period 2003–2017. For this purpose, a fixed-effects neural panel model was developed to investigate this relationship, which has not been done in previous research. In contrast to classical panel regression, our model allows for the detection of all possible combinations among the variables. Although scant evidence on a direct impact of the political connection exists, the results reveal that the effect of political patronage on leverage is non-linear through its interaction with bank profitability and efficiency. The non-linear effect is also related to the political and institutional environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Braham, Rihem & de Peretti, Christian & Belkacem, Lotfi, 2023. "Political patronage and banks’ leverage in the Middle Eastern and North African region: A new neural panel regression analysis," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 298-306.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:89:y:2023:i:c:p:298-306
    DOI: 10.1016/j.qref.2022.08.011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1062976922000990
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.qref.2022.08.011?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Boubakri, Narjess & Saffar, Walid, 2019. "State Ownership and Debt Choice: Evidence from Privatization," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(3), pages 1313-1346, June.
    2. Fan, Joseph P.H. & Wong, T.J. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2007. "Politically connected CEOs, corporate governance, and Post-IPO performance of China's newly partially privatized firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 330-357, May.
    3. Wisniewski, Tomasz Piotr, 2016. "Is there a link between politics and stock returns? A literature survey," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 15-23.
    4. Bliss, Mark A. & Gul, Ferdinand A., 2012. "Political connection and leverage: Some Malaysian evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 2344-2350.
    5. Leuz, Christian & Oberholzer-Gee, Felix, 2006. "Political relationships, global financing, and corporate transparency: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 411-439, August.
    6. Hausman, Jerry, 2015. "Specification tests in econometrics," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 38(2), pages 112-134.
    7. Ding, Shujun & Jia, Chunxin & Wu, Zhenyu & Zhang, Xiaoqing, 2014. "Executive political connections and firm performance: Comparative evidence from privately-controlled and state-owned enterprises," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 153-167.
    8. Adhikari, Ajay & Derashid, Chek & Zhang, Hao, 2006. "Public policy, political connections, and effective tax rates: Longitudinal evidence from Malaysia," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 574-595.
    9. Reint Gropp & Florian Heider, 2010. "The Determinants of Bank Capital Structure," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 14(4), pages 587-622.
    10. Micco, Alejandro & Panizza, Ugo & Yanez, Monica, 2007. "Bank ownership and performance. Does politics matter?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 219-241, January.
    11. Awartani, Basel & Belkhir, Mohamed & Boubaker, Sabri & Maghyereh, Aktham, 2016. "Corporate debt maturity in the MENA region: Does institutional quality matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 309-325.
    12. Dong, Yizhe & Meng, Chao & Firth, Michael & Hou, Wenxuan, 2014. "Ownership structure and risk-taking: Comparative evidence from private and state-controlled banks in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 120-130.
    13. Chaney, Paul K. & Faccio, Mara & Parsley, David, 2011. "The quality of accounting information in politically connected firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 58-76, February.
    14. Mohieldin, Mahmoud & Nasr, Sahar, 2007. "On bank privatization: The case of Egypt," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(5), pages 707-725, February.
    15. Matías Braun & Claudio Raddatz, 2010. "Banking on Politics: When Former High-ranking Politicians Become Bank Directors," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 24(2), pages 234-279, June.
    16. Dimitris Margaritis & Maria Psillaki, 2007. "Capital Structure and Firm Efficiency," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(9‐10), pages 1447-1469, November.
    17. Disli, Mustafa & Schoors, Koen & Meir, Jos, 2013. "Political connections and depositor discipline," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 804-819.
    18. Fraser, Donald R. & Zhang, Hao & Derashid, Chek, 2006. "Capital structure and political patronage: The case of Malaysia," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 1291-1308, April.
    19. Laurence Booth & Varouj Aivazian & Asli Demirguc‐Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2001. "Capital Structures in Developing Countries," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(1), pages 87-130, February.
    20. Shen, Chung-Hua & Lin, Chih-Yung, 2015. "Betting on presidential elections: Should we buy stocks connected with the winning party?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 98-109.
    21. repec:zbw:bofitp:2013_006 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Rihem Braham & Christian Peretti & Lotfi Belkacem, 2019. "Do political connections affect bank leverage? Evidence from some Middle Eastern and North African countries," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(4), pages 989-1006, December.
    23. Abubakr Saeed & Yacine Belghitar & Ephraim Clark, 2015. "Political Connections and Leverage: Firm‐level Evidence from Pakistan," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(6), pages 364-383, September.
    24. Mara Faccio, 2006. "Politically Connected Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 369-386, March.
    25. Michael L. Lemmon & Michael R. Roberts & Jaime F. Zender, 2008. "Back to the Beginning: Persistence and the Cross‐Section of Corporate Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1575-1608, August.
    26. Johnson, Simon & Mitton, Todd, 2003. "Cronyism and capital controls: evidence from Malaysia," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 351-382, February.
    27. Emmanuelle Nys & Amine Tarazi & Irwan Trinugroho, 2013. "Political Connections, Bank Deposits, and Formal Deposit Insurance: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Working Papers hal-00916513, HAL.
    28. Esfahani, Hadi Salehi, 1994. "Lessons from the political economy of privatization and public sector reform in the Middle East and Southeast Asia," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(Supplemen), pages 301-331.
    29. Murray Z. Frank & Vidhan K. Goyal, 2009. "Capital Structure Decisions: Which Factors Are Reliably Important?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 1-37, March.
    30. Feng, Lingbing & Fu, Tong & Kutan, Ali M., 2019. "Can government intervention be both a curse and a blessing? Evidence from China's finance sector," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 71-81.
    31. Asim Ijaz Khwaja & Atif Mian, 2005. "Do Lenders Favor Politically Connected Firms? Rent Provision in an Emerging Financial Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(4), pages 1371-1411.
    32. Nys, Emmanuelle & Tarazi, Amine & Trinugroho, Irwan, 2015. "Political connections, bank deposits, and formal deposit insurance," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 83-104.
    33. Claessens, Stijn & Feijen, Erik & Laeven, Luc, 2008. "Political connections and preferential access to finance: The role of campaign contributions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 554-580, June.
    34. Mara Faccio, 2010. "Differences between Politically Connected and Nonconnected Firms: A Cross‐Country Analysis," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 39(3), pages 905-928, September.
    35. Ullah, Barkat, 2020. "Financial constraints, corruption, and SME growth in transition economies," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 120-132.
    36. Chkir, Imed & Gallali, Mohamed Imen & Toukabri, Manara, 2020. "Political connections and corporate debt: Evidence from two U.S. election campaigns," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 229-239.
    37. Narjess Boubakri & Jean-Claude Cosset & Walid Saffar, 2012. "The Impact Of Political Connections On Firms’ Operating Performance And Financing Decisions," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 35(3), pages 397-423, September.
    38. Boubakri, Narjess & Guedhami, Omrane & Mishra, Dev & Saffar, Walid, 2012. "Political connections and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 541-559.
    39. Angelini, Eliana & di Tollo, Giacomo & Roli, Andrea, 2008. "A neural network approach for credit risk evaluation," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 733-755, November.
    40. Wang, Yizhong & Yao, Chengxue & Kang, Di, 2019. "Political connections and firm performance: Evidence from government officials' site visits," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    41. Raymond Fisman, 2001. "Estimating the Value of Political Connections," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1095-1102, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rihem Braham & Christian Peretti & Lotfi Belkacem, 2022. "On the Measurement and Extent of Banks’ Political Connection in the Middle East and North Africa Region," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 64(4), pages 606-645, December.
    2. Rihem Braham & Christian Peretti & Lotfi Belkacem, 2019. "Do political connections affect bank leverage? Evidence from some Middle Eastern and North African countries," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(4), pages 989-1006, December.
    3. Braham, Rihem & de Peretti, Christian & Belkacem, Lotfi, 2020. "The role of political patronage in the risk-taking behaviour of banks in the Middle East and North Africa," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    4. Chkir, Imed & Gallali, Mohamed Imen & Toukabri, Manara, 2020. "Political connections and corporate debt: Evidence from two U.S. election campaigns," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 229-239.
    5. Jackowicz, Krzysztof & Kozłowski, Łukasz & Podgórski, Błażej & Winkler-Drews, Tadeusz, 2020. "Do political connections shield from negative shocks? Evidence from rating changes in advanced emerging economies," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    6. Nys, Emmanuelle & Tarazi, Amine & Trinugroho, Irwan, 2015. "Political connections, bank deposits, and formal deposit insurance," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 83-104.
    7. Emmanuelle Nys & Amine Tarazi & Irwan Trinugroho, 2013. "Political Connections, Bank Deposits, and Formal Deposit Insurance: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Working Papers hal-00916513, HAL.
    8. Wong, Wai-Yan & Hooy, Chee-Wooi, 2018. "Do types of political connection affect firm performance differently?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 297-317.
    9. Arifin, Taufiq & Hasan, Iftekhar & Kabir, Rezaul, 2020. "Transactional and relational approaches to political connections and the cost of debt," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    10. Jackowicz, Krzysztof & Kozłowski, Łukasz & Mielcarz, Paweł, 2014. "Political connections and operational performance of non-financial firms: New evidence from Poland," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 109-135.
    11. Boateng, Agyenim & Liu, Yang & Brahma, Sanjukta, 2019. "Politically connected boards, ownership structure and credit risk: Evidence from Chinese commercial banks," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 162-173.
    12. Rajwani, Tazeeb & Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele, 2015. "Political activity and firm performance within nonmarket research: A review and international comparative assessment," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 273-283.
    13. Ebrahim, M. Shahid & Girma, Sourafel & Shah, M. Eskandar & Williams, Jonathan, 2014. "Dynamic capital structure and political patronage: The case of Malaysia," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 117-128.
    14. Joni, Joni & Ahmed, Kamran & Hamilton, Jane, 2020. "Politically connected boards, family and business group affiliations, and cost of capital: Evidence from Indonesia," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(3).
    15. Habib, Ahsan & Muhammadi, Abdul Haris & Jiang, Haiyan, 2017. "Political Connections and Related Party Transactions: Evidence from Indonesia," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 45-63.
    16. Thanh Ngo & Jurica Susnjara, 2020. "Government contracts and US bond yield spreads: A study on costs and benefits of materialized political connections," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(7-8), pages 1059-1085, July.
    17. Rihem Braham & Lotfi Belkacem & Christian de Peretti, 2018. "The role of political patronage on risk-taking behavior of banks in Middle East and North Africa region," Working Papers hal-01762523, HAL.
    18. Zengji Song & Abraham Nahm & Zongyi Zhang, 2015. "The value of partial state ownership in publicly listed private sector enterprises: evidence from China," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 336-353, September.
    19. He, Lerong & Wan, Hong & Zhou, Xin, 2014. "How are political connections valued in China? Evidence from market reaction to CEO succession," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 141-152.
    20. López-Iturriaga, Félix J. & Santana Martín, Domingo Javier, 2019. "The payout policy of politically connected firms: Tunnelling or reputation?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political patronage; Non-linear; Neural panel regression; MENA region;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:89:y:2023:i:c:p:298-306. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620167 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.