Noble International Journal of Economics and Financial Research


Online ISSN: 2519-9730 | Print ISSN: 2523-0565

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    Volume 5 Number 1 January 2020

EFFECT OF MICROFINANCE BANKS’ FINANCIAL INCLUSION STRATEGIES ON ECONOMIC GROWTH OF NIGERIA (2009-2018)

Pages: 14-23
Authors: Ofeimun, Godwin O.
Abstract
This study ascertained the effect of Microfinance Banks’ financial inclusion strategies on economic growth of Nigeria. The motive behind this study is to contribute to the debate on access to finance by the active poor and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to close the knowledge gap in literature on the effect of microfinance banks’ financial inclusion strategies on the Nigerian economy. This study was carried out to examine the role of micro-financing as a vehicle for promoting economic growth through financial inclusion. This study adopted the ex-post facto research design. The data used for this study were secondary data and obtained from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical Bulletin, Annual reports and statements of accounts of microfinance Banks as well as the publications of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for the period 2009 – 2018. The study used the ordinary least square (OLS) regression analysis as the data analytical method.  Findings of the study revealed that micro loan disbursed, loan to SMEs have a significant positive effect on economic development in Nigeria. Moreover, the study finds that bank deposit has a negative but insignificant relationship with economic development. The study therefore concluded that financial inclusion strategies by microfinance banks have a great effect in stimulating the economy. The study recommended amongst others that the policies and programmes to influence the establishment of microfinance banks in rural communities should be encouraged to enhance access to credit, encourage banking habits among the rural dwellers, ensure even rural development and growth of small businesses.

CENTRAL BANK COMMUNICATION IN GHANA: INSIGHTS FROM A TEXT MINING ANALYSIS

Pages: 01-13
Authors: Babatunde Samson Omotosho
Abstract
Effective central bank communication is useful for anchoring market expectations and enhancing macroeconomic stability. In this paper, the communication strategy of the Bank of Ghana (BOG) is analysed using BOG’s monetary policy committee press releases for the period 2018-2019. Specifically, we apply text mining techniques to investigate the readability, sentiments and hidden topics of the policy documents. Our results provide evidence of increased central bank communication during the sample period, implying improved monetary policy transparency. Also, the computed Coleman and Liau (1975) readability index shows that the word and sentence structures of the press releases have become less complex, indicating increased readability. Furthermore, we find an average monetary policy net sentiment score of 3.9 per cent. This means that the monetary policy committee expressed positive sentiments regarding policy and macroeconomic outlooks during the period. Finally, the estimated topic model reveals that the topic proportion for “monetary policy and inflation” was prominent in the year 2018 while concerns regarding exchange rate were strong in 2019. The paper recommends that in order to enhance monetary policy communication, the Bank of Ghana should continue to improve on the readability of the monetary policy press releases.

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