The African Review of Economics and Finance (AREF) was established in 2009 by Professor Imhotep Paul Alagidede as a journal that would address the failings of mainstream economics and finance. It would publish quality research even if it is based on case studies of small African countries such... Read More

With African economies slowly departing from the emphasis on the theory of comparative advantage, which seemed to imply a policy of continuing export of primary goods, the interest in exporting processed or value-added products has become quite widespread, leading to questions about the empiri... Read More

The global concerted drive for financial inclusion (FI) as a solution for poverty reduction (PR) is confronted by indications that a majority of the target cite low incomes or poverty itself as a barrier to FI. This is paradoxical as it implies that the FI drive could especially leave the core... Read More

The aim of this paper is to examine how Financial development correlates with economic growth and growth volatility in Nigeria. We use a semi-parametric partially linear model and sample splitting threshold models to analyse Nigeria data from 1970 to 2015. Our results show U-shape for both fin... Read More

Access to financial services has grown rapidly in South Africa, especially in the low-income population segment. At the same time, however, the level of overindebtedness has increased, making poor households even more vulnerable. Employing a binary choice logistic regression model for a unique ... Read More

Debates on the role of the informality in the economic transformation of urban economies in Africa remain fraught: is informality benign or malign? Does it evolve to formality or remain as a permanent feature of capitalist urban development? Are the motives of informal actors calculated or imp... Read More

There are many factors influencing wages that are connected with the individual attributes of employees and workplaces or describe the general situation of the labour market. However, family duties, especially providing care to children or the elderly, are also important determinants affecting... Read More

The recent global financial crisis of 2007-2008 highlighted the necessity of measuring systemic risk amongst banks, insurance firms, and other systemically important institutions, as the failure of these organisations could have incalculable consequences on the financial sector and spillover t... Read More

This study investigates whether working capital positions of emerging market acquirers drive mergers and acquisitions (M&As) transactions they execute and further explore if it influences these acquirers' decisions on the type of merger deals they pursue. We use a cross-section of 160 listed f... Read More

Despite disagreements about whether mergers and acquisitions create value, it remains a dominant businesses’ expansion strategy for firms worldwide. Several studies however suggest that the value of acquiring firms may increase or decrease after mergers and acquisitions. This study, specifical... Read More

The relationship between energy consumption and financial sector development can be quite complex owing to the numerous impact channels that exist between them. Thus, examining how positive and negative variations of financial sector development can affect energy consumption is very important.... Read More

Non-interest income accounts for a significant percentage of operating income of commercial banking industry. However, current studies on income diversification and profitability of banks have centered on the implications of diversification without investigating the threshold effects and trans... Read More

Cash holding is one of the most significant components of a firm’s current assets. The benefit of holding cash revolves around choosing the optimal timing of investment and avoiding under-price issues. This paper investigates the determinants of corporate cash holding of 80 non-financial firms... Read More

This research seeks to highlight the history behind NGOs emergence in Ghana and Asante in particular. It attempts an inquiry concerning the role of NGOs particularly, in promoting health in Ghana and Asante in particular. The article answers the question concerning the changing objectives, dis... Read More

The health status of citizens is part of the wealth of nations. So, this study analysed the socioeconomic determinants of health status in Nigeria, (West) Africa’s largest economy, using Cointegration and VECM methodology to analyse the relationship between the dependent variable (life expecta... Read More

Groundwater irrigation is a major livelihood activity particularly in the dry season in Ghana. Considering their significance including shaping economic incentives and defining property rights, institutions have been crafted to regulate the use of groundwater for this purpose. Ghana’s water se... Read More

Mobile financial services have posed as a potential remedy to the financial inclusion challenge for disadvantaged communities. This study demonstrates how mobile money service usage impacts on the livelihoods of rural consumers in Zimbabwe. Out of a population of all rural households using mob... Read More