IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/futbus/v10y2024i1d10.1186_s43093-024-00357-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Foreign bank presence and income inequality in Africa: What role does economic freedom play?

Author

Listed:
  • Khadijah Iddrisu

    (Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies)

Abstract

This study contributes to income equality (IE) literature by examining four important issues. First, the study examines the effects of foreign bank presence (FBP) on IE. Second, the paper identifies the minimum threshold level of FBP which can lead to IE. Third, the effect of economic freedom on IE was investigated. Fourth, the paper determines whether economic freedom interacts with FBP to minimise IE. The findings are based on macro data for 33 African countries from 1995 to 2020. The findings from the two-stage system generalised method of moment indicate that unconditionally, FBP reduces income inequality. Also, results from the threshold effect reveal that whilst FBP reduces income inequality, if it exceeds 52%, it may contribute to it. Additionally, the study reveals that economic freedom dampens IIE. Furthermore, economic freedom conditions FBP to reduce IE. Based on these findings, policymakers are advised to exercise caution in attracting foreign banks and to promote local financial institutions. Policymakers are also advised to implement policies to promote economic freedom.

Suggested Citation

  • Khadijah Iddrisu, 2024. "Foreign bank presence and income inequality in Africa: What role does economic freedom play?," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:futbus:v:10:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1186_s43093-024-00357-x
    DOI: 10.1186/s43093-024-00357-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s43093-024-00357-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s43093-024-00357-x?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. Manthos D. Delis & Iftekhar Hasan & Nikolaos Mylonidis, 2020. "Foreign bank ownership and income inequality: empirical evidence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(11), pages 1240-1258, March.
    2. de Haan, Jakob & Sturm, Jan-Egbert, 2017. "Finance and income inequality: A review and new evidence," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 171-195.
    3. Mahyudin Ahmad, 2017. "Economic Freedom and Income Inequality: Does Political Regime Matter?," Economies, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-28, June.
    4. George Clarke & Robert Cull & Maria Soledad Martinez Peria & Susana M. S·nchez, 2003. "Foreign Bank Entry: Experience, Implications for Developing Economies, and Agenda for Further Research," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 18(1), pages 25-59.
    5. Kleymenova, Anya & Rose, Andrew K. & Wieladek, Tomasz, 2016. "Does government intervention affect banking globalization?," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 146-161.
    6. John Carter, 2007. "An Empirical Note on Economic Freedom and Income Inequality," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 130(1), pages 163-177, January.
    7. Peter NUNNENKAMP, 2001. "Why Economic Growth Has Been Weak in Arab Countries: The Role of Exogenous Shocks, Economic Policy Failure and Institutional Defiencies," Middle East and North Africa 330400047, EcoMod.
    8. Gerhard Kling & Vanesa Pesqué-Cela & Lihui Tian & Deming Luo, 2022. "A theory of financial inclusion and income inequality," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 137-157, January.
    9. Nam Jeon, Bang & Wu, Ji, 2010. "Foreign Bank Penetration, Resource Allocation and Economic Growth: Evidence from Emerging Economies," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 25, pages 167-193.
    10. José Manuel Cabello & Francisco Ruiz & Blanca Pérez-Gladish, 2021. "An Alternative Aggregation Process for Composite Indexes: An Application to the Heritage Foundation Economic Freedom Index," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 443-467, January.
    11. Stijn Claessens & Neeltje Van Horen, 2014. "Foreign Banks: Trends and Impact," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(s1), pages 295-326, February.
    12. Schnabel, Isabel & Seckinger, Christian, 2019. "Foreign banks, financial crises and economic growth in Europe," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 70-94.
    13. Nathan Ashby & Russell Sobel, 2008. "Income inequality and economic freedom in the U.S. states," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 329-346, March.
    14. Stijn Claessens & Neeltje van Horen, 2015. "The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Banking Globalization," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 63(4), pages 868-918, November.
    15. Hsieh, Joyce & Chen, Ting-Cih & Lin, Shu-Chin, 2019. "Financial structure, bank competition and income inequality," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 450-466.
    16. Nanivazo, Joelle M. & Egbendewe, Aklesso Y.G. & Marcelin, Isaac & Sun, Wei, 2021. "Foreign bank entry and poverty in Africa: Misaligned incentives?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    17. Khadijah Iddrisu & Isaac Ofoeda & Joshua Yindenaba Abor, 2023. "Inward foreign direct investment and inclusiveness of growth: will renewable energy consumption make a difference?," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 367-388, July.
    18. World Bank, 2013. "Inclusion Matters : The Foundation for Shared Prosperity [Inclusión social : clave de la prosperidad para todos - resumen]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 16195.
    19. Clarke, George R.G. & Cull, Robert & Martinez Peria, Maria Soledad, 2006. "Foreign bank participation and access to credit across firms in developing countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 774-795, December.
    20. George R. G. Clarke & Lixin Colin Xu & Heng‐fu Zou, 2006. "Finance and Income Inequality: What Do the Data Tell Us?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 72(3), pages 578-596, January.
    21. Daniel Machado & José Alberto Fuinhas, 2023. "Income Inequality and Economic Freedom Revisited: Are Freedom and Equality Conflicting Values? Evidence from the twenty-first Century," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 294-323, April.
    22. Matteo Migheli & Donatella Saccone, 2023. "Some new evidence on economic freedom and income distribution," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(27), pages 3154-3169, June.
    23. Che, Yi & Lu, Yi & Tao, Zhigang & Wang, Peng, 2013. "The impact of income on democracy revisited," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 159-169.
    24. Fetene Bogale Hunegnaw & Adem Feto Bedhaso & Christian Nsiah, 2021. "A dynamic analysis on foreign bank entry Nexus economic growth in Sub-Sahara African countries," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 1991084-199, January.
    25. Nicholas Addai Boamah & Emmanuel Opoku & Kingsley Opoku Appiah, 2022. "Efficiency, foreign banks presence, competition and risk exposure of banks in middle-income economies," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(8), pages 1-21, August.
    26. Scully, Gerald W, 2002. "Economic Freedom, Government Policy and the Trade-Off between Equity and Economic Growth," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 113(1-2), pages 77-96, October.
    27. Younesse El Menyari, 2019. "Financial Development, Foreign Banks and Economic Growth in Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 31(2), pages 190-201, June.
    28. Frederick Solt, 2020. "Measuring Income Inequality Across Countries and Over Time: The Standardized World Income Inequality Database," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(3), pages 1183-1199, May.
    29. Enrica Detragiache & Thierry Tressel & Poonam Gupta, 2008. "Foreign Banks in Poor Countries: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(5), pages 2123-2160, October.
    30. Khadijah Iddrisu & Joshua Yindenaba Abor & Thadious Kannyiri Banyen, 2023. "Foreign bank presence and inclusive growth in Africa: the moderating role of financial development," African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(3), pages 349-365, November.
    31. Chiu, Yi-Bin & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2019. "Financial development, income inequality, and country risk," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 1-18.
    32. Khadijah Iddrisu & Joshua Yindenaba Abor & Kannyiri T. Banyen, 2022. "Fintech, foreign bank presence and inclusive finance in Africa: Using a quantile regression approach," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 2157120-215, December.
    33. Altunbaş, Yener & Thornton, John, 2020. "Finance and income inequality revisited," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    34. Daniel Ofori‐Sasu & Lord Mensah & John Kwame Akuma & Isaac Doku, 2019. "Banking efficiency in emerging economies: Does foreign banks entry matter in the Ghanaian context?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(3), pages 1091-1108, July.
    35. Seven, Unal & Coskun, Yener, 2016. "Does financial development reduce income inequality and poverty? Evidence from emerging countries," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 34-63.
    36. Muhammad Shahbaz & Mita Bhattacharya & Mantu Kumar Mahalik, 2017. "Finance and income inequality in Kazakhstan: evidence since transition with policy suggestions," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(52), pages 5337-5351, November.
    37. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Ross Levine, 2007. "Finance, inequality and the poor," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 27-49, March.
    38. Yin, Haiyan, 2021. "Foreign bank entry and bank competition: Cross-country heterogeneity," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    39. W. J. Henisz, 2000. "The Institutional Environment for Economic Growth," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1), pages 1-31, March.
    40. Stijn Claessens & Neeltje van Horen, 2015. "The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Banking Globalization," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 63(4), pages 868-918, November.
    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. Léon, Florian & Zins, Alexandra, 2020. "Regional foreign banks and financial inclusion: Evidence from Africa," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 102-116.
    2. Chrysovalantis Amountzias, 2024. "Income disparities and financial development: evidence from a panel firm-level analysis," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 66(1), pages 175-206, January.
    3. Roya Taherifar & Mark J. Holmes & Gazi M. Hassan, 2023. "Does economic openness matter in the impact of financial development on income inequality?," Working Papers in Economics 23/04, University of Waikato.
    4. Brei, Michael & Ferri, Giovanni & Gambacorta, Leonardo, 2023. "Financial structure and income inequality," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    5. Kouretas, Georgios P. & Tsoumas, Chris, 2016. "Foreign bank presence and business regulations," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 104-116.
    6. Victoria I. Okafor & Isaiah O. Olurinola & Ebenezer Bowale & Romanus Osabohien, 2023. "Financial development and income inequality in Africa," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    7. Kowalewski, Oskar, 2023. "Organizational mode choices of multinational banks abroad," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    8. Yousef Makhlouf & Neil M. Kellard & Dmitri V. Vinogradov, 2025. "Banks, financial markets, and income inequality," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 117-133, January.
    9. Tomás Gómez Rodríguez & Humberto Ríos Bolívar & Adriana Zambrano Reyes, 2022. "Desigualdad del ingreso y desarrollo del sistema financiero un enfoque multidimensional," Remef - Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas Nueva Época REMEF (The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance), Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas, IMEF, vol. 17(1), pages 1-23, Enero - M.
    10. Dang, Dong Quang & Wu, Weiou & Korkos, Ioannis, 2024. "Stock market and inequality distributions – Evidence from the BRICS and G7 countries," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 1172-1190.
    11. Stijn Claessens, 2017. "Global Banking: Recent Developments and Insights from Research," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 21(4), pages 1513-1555.
    12. Wu, Ji & Chen, Minghua & Jeon, Bang Nam & Wang, Rui, 2017. "Does foreign bank penetration affect the risk of domestic banks? Evidence from emerging economies," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 45-61.
    13. Jonathon Adams‐Kane & Julián A. Caballero & Jamus Jerome Lim, 2017. "Foreign Bank Behavior during Financial Crises," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(2-3), pages 351-392, March.
    14. Kanga, Désiré & Murinde, Victor & Soumaré, Issouf, 2020. "Capital, risk and profitability of WAEMU banks: Does bank ownership matter?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    15. Akisik, Orhan & Gal, Graham, 2023. "IFRS, financial development and income inequality: An empirical study using mediation analysis," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(2).
    16. Ubeda, Fernando & Mendez, Alvaro & Forcadell, Francisco Javier & López, Belén, 2024. "How socially sustainable multinational banks promote financial inclusion in developing countries," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    17. Ubeda, Fernando & Mendez, Alvaro & Forcadell, Francisco Javier & López, Belén, 2024. "How socially sustainable multinational banks promote financial inclusion in developing countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124260, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Carolyn Chisadza & Mduduzi Biyase, 2023. "Financial Development and Income Inequality: Evidence From Advanced, Emerging and Developing Economies," Annals of Financial Economics (AFE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(01), pages 1-27, March.
    19. Barhoom Faeyzh, 2023. "Revisiting the Financial Development and Income Inequality Nexus: Evidence from Hungary," Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 11(1), pages 227-257, October.
    20. Sahul Hamid, Fazelina, 2020. "Bank lending and the business cycle: Does ownership matter in ASEAN countries?," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Foreign bank presence; Economic freedom; Africa; GMM; Income Inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • N27 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Africa; Oceania

    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:spr:futbus:v:10:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1186_s43093-024-00357-x. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.