This article examines the extent to which financialization is a new phase of capital accumulation characterized by its own economic laws in which the real (production) economy adjusts accordingly. In order to examine this hypothesis, we invoke the share of the financial sector in the GDP of the...

The impact of digital literacy on financial outcomes has been well-explored. However, the onset of AI necessitates a pressing need for more granular, cross-country analyses that incorporate local variations in digital infrastructure and socioeconomic conditions. Using data from three sources in...

This paper tests the causal relationship between financial development and economic growth in Namibia for the period 1980 to 2007. The analysis shows that there is evidence which points that financial development causes economic growth. It also shows that economic growth causes financial...

A large body of literature has shown that small firms, due to their opaqueness, may find it difficult to access the credit market. Informational asymmetries may be mitigated by posting collateral or by building relationships with lenders (relationship lending). However, in some cases, due to a...

In this paper we investigate whether or not mutual guarantee consortia (MGC), a financial institution well developed in Italy, alleviate the difficulties that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) face when they ask for a bank loan. We find that the probability of a small firm affiliated to a MGC...

Traditional economic studies of innovation, built on the contribution of Schumpeter, cannot explain why firms of the same size and market power can show largely different innovation performances. Contrastingly, the literature on corporate governance provides some useful insights for...

This paper focuses on the differences of capital market accessibility and investigates the determinants of firm debt securities issuance in emerging countries. The following results are derived from the empirical analysis. First, country panel analyses showed that the debt securities market...

We trace the relationship between firm performance and corporate governance in microfinance institutions (MFI) utilising a self constructed global data set on MFIs, collected from third-party rating agencies. We study the effect of board characteristics, ownership type, competition and...

We trace the relationship between firm performance and corporate governance in microfinance institutions (MFI) utilising a self constructed global data set on MFIs, collected from third-party rating agencies. We study the effect of board characteristics, ownership type, competition and...

Purpose: Against the background of growing concerns that development interventions can sometimes be a zero-sum game, this paper examines the unintended consequences of microfinance for women empowerment in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs a participatory mixed-method...