This study investigates the impact of commercial bank loans on agricultural growth outcomes in Nigeria. It uses Augmented Dickey Fuller unit root test in order to examine stationarity of model input variables, documenting that all variables were stationary either at levels I(0) or at first difference I(1). The study then employed the ARDL model and Error Correction Model to estimate the long-run and short-run effects of the variables. The long-run model results showed that commercial bank credit and government expenditure had a positive relationship with agricultural output, while exchange rate had a negative effect. The error correction model results revealed that government expenditure had a positive relationship with agricultural growth outcomes, while exchange rate and interest rates had a negative effect.
In conclusion, the research found that commercial bank credit had a significant positive effect on agricultural growth outcomes in Nigeria, and recommended that commercial banks' lending policies and procedures should be flexible to accommodate more farmers. The results also imply that the government should provide adequate funds for the agricultural sector, specifically increasing its financial grants to small-scale farmers, to promote agricultural output and economic growth in the country.
The study has two parts: the first part studies how South African taxpayers felt about e-filing, and the second part analyses how e-filing affected tax compliance. We use self-structured questionnaires to collect data from about 151 South African taxpayers, and we analyze them using binary logistic regression. The study finds that online tax registration and auto-assessment has a negative relationship with tax compliance in South Africa, while online payment methods, difficulty in tax evasion, and higher educational attainment have a positive association with tax compliance. The study also finds that the extent to which the e-filing system encourages taxpayers to become compliant has a positive and statistically significant relationship with tax compliance. Overall, the study suggests that the development of e-filing has a positive impact on taxpayers' perceptions in South Africa and significantly increases voluntary tax compliance. To maximize the benefits of e-filing, it is important to ensure that taxpayers have access to the necessary technology and knowledge to use it effectively.
This study investigates the effect of distraction measures as a proxy for the intensity of institutional shareholders' monitoring responsibility regarding corporate executive remuneration in the South African context. We employ the more robust Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) estimation approach to analyse the data from firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) covering the period 2004-2019. The results show that distraction has a significant positive impact on corporate executive remuneration. Hence, when institutional shareholders’ attention shifts due to distraction, monitoring control is relaxed, and corporate executive officers manipulate remuneration to their advantage. The results are useful for investment managers and prospective investors in their efforts to ensure governance mechanisms that enhance corporate value to the benefit of stakeholders.
Despite the nutritional benefits of sorghum and its ability to thrive in the low and unpredictable rainfall conditions in Siaya County, farmers in the area have not widely adopted it as a viable enterprise. In this paper, we study profitability of sorghum production and its determinant factors in Siaya County, Kenya. By randomly sampling 310 farmers, the paper shows that sorghum farming in Siaya County is profitable, with an average gross margin of Kshs. 4,286 per acre and the most profitable farm having a gross margin of Kshs. 24,000 per acre. Moreover, the factors such as the age and education level of the household head, household size, household income, access to extension services, the number of crops intercropped with sorghum, and the nature of farming have significant impacts on gross margins.
Thus, the study recommends improving extension services; encouraging farmers to embrace sustainable farming practices such as mixed farming; and incentivizing farmers into sorghum farming.
Countries that possess abundant natural resources are often criticized for spending a larger portion of their revenue from selling those resources on imports, as their economies tend to lack diversification. This study aims to examine whether this claim is valid for oil-rich African countries. The paper uses the panel ARDL method to investigate the effect of oil sector revenues on the marginal propensity to import in oil-exporting African countries from 2000-2020. The findings show that in the short run, oil sector revenues do not have a significant impact on the marginal propensity to import. However, in the long run, oil sector revenues have a positive and significant effect on the marginal propensity to import. Additionally, the study reveals that exchange rates have a positive and significant impact on the marginal propensity to import, while the impact of trade openness is negative and significant. Furthermore, gross domestic savings have a negative and significant effect on the marginal propensity to import during the same period. Therefore, the study concludes that increasing oil revenues in the selected countries only resulted in a rise in imports in the long run. It suggests that oil-exporting African countries should save more during periods of rising oil prices as a buffer, and channel these savings towards building facilities that encourage economic growth. It also recommends that exchange rate policies should be used to discourage excessive importation during periods of rising oil prices.
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