Determinants Of Cross-country Variations Research Articles

Historical institutional determinants of financial system development in Africa

AbstractThe literature on the determinants of cross-country variation in financial system development identifies historical institutional factors, mostly rooted in colonial effects, as key causes. Using a sample of 39 African former European colonies for 2006–11, this paper investigates the extent to which the historical institutional determinants identified by legal origins, disease endowment, religion-based and ethnic fractionalisation theories explain current differences in financial system development across Africa. While most existing research focuses only on one financial system development dimension, namely financial system depth, this article considers also financial system access. The results do not support any of the above theories when depth measures are used, while three of them (legal origins, disease endowment and ethnic fractionalisation theories) are validated when using access measures. This suggests that in Africa financial system depth and access do not have common historical institutional determinants, pointing to the need for greater fine tuning of prevalent theories and empirical measures.

On the Determinants of the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Sub-Saharan African Health Systems: Beyond Sector-Specific Conditions and Factors

The paper reviews the efficiency and effectiveness of African health systems. In particular, the study computes efficiency and effectiveness scores and assesses the determinants of cross-country variations in efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency and effectiveness scores in the health sector are found to be associated with sector-specific and broader conditions and factors. The policy implication is that improving the degree with which resources are managed within the health sector, alone, will not deliver all the expected efficiency and effectiveness gains. This should be complemented and reinforced by the implementation of a much broader agenda of boosting economy-wide productivity.