Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/123611 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
AGDI Working Paper No. WP/13/031
Publisher: 
African Governance and Development Institute (AGDI), Yaoundé
Abstract: 
This paper investigates how financial, trade, institutional and political liberalization policies have affected financial sector competition in Africa using updated data to appraise second generation reforms. The 'freedom to trade' and 'economic freedom' indices are employed. Hitherto, unexplored financial sector concepts of formalization, semi-formalization, informalization and non-formalization are also introduced. The following findings are established. Firstly, relative to money supply: (1) with the exception of the economic freedom mechanism, liberalization policies have generally decreased the growth of the formal financial sector to the benefit of other financial sectors; (2) apart from the foreign direct investment and economic freedom channels, liberalization policies have been fruitful for semi-formal financial development at the cost of other financial sectors and; (3) with the exception of economic freedom, both the informal and non-formal sectors have developed owing to liberalization to the detriment of the formal financial sector. Secondly, relative to GDP, the semi-formal, informal and/or non-formal financial sectors have also generally improved as a result of liberalization. Policy implications are discussed.
Subjects: 
Welfare
Banking
Liberalization
Shadow economy
Africa
JEL: 
D60
E50
F30
O17
O55
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.