Professor Frank Agbola

This article empirically investigates the impact of the East African Community (EAC) on economic growth. We utilized a comprehensive panel data spanning from 1988 to 2017. We estimated an endogenous growth model using feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) and panel corrected standard error (PCSE) estimators. Regional trade agreements (RTAs) and trade openness enhance economic growth. RTAs in the same region have a more significant impact on economic growth than plurilateral and multilateral RTAs. Regionalism in the EAC has heterogeneous country effects on economic growth. Our results are robust to alternative model specifications, highlighting the importance of RTAs in enhancing economic growth.

Rising poverty levels in Sub-Saharan Africa requires a better understanding of inclusive growth determinants to develop effective policy responses. Using panel data from 44 Sub-Saharan African countries for the period 1990¿2018, we compute measures of inclusive growth based on gender and the rural¿urban divide. We account for endogeneity, cross-sectional dependence, and heteroscedasticity, and estimate an inclusive growth model using the instrumental variable generalized method of moments (IV-GMM) estimator. The empirical evidence indicates that the impact of informality on inclusive growth depends on the measure of informality and inclusiveness. Our results show that financial inclusion exhibits an inverted-U-shaped relationship with inclusive growth. Also, we find that the moderating role of financial inclusion in the informality¿inclusive growth nexus is mixed. Our results are robust to alternative model specifications and highlight the importance of financial inclusion and informality in influencing inclusive growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Board gender diversity is a keenly debated topic in both management practice and academic discourse. This study examines the influence of board gender diversity on firm financial performance in four ASEAN countries. Adopting agency and resource dependence approaches, board gender diversity¿s interactions with three mediating organizational variables are evaluated against four organisational performance measures. Partially supporting agency theory and resource dependence theory, the results suggest that board gender diversity are only positively associated with sales to fixed asset ratio and sales per employee ratio. The BGD¿s effects at the organisational level are mediated distinctly by firm size, ownership structure, and industry nature respectively, and by the multivariate interaction among these variables. The results of this paper support the findings of other studies that found a partially significant link between the board gender diversity and the firm¿s performance. Decision-makers in society and politics, therefore, need to be aware of the empirical evidence indicating that stimulating organisational environment may need to be configured before the valuable outcomes of gender diversity can be achieved.

This study explores the impact of government support programs (GSPs) on the interrelationships between the dimensions of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and performance using a sample of agro-based small- and medium-sized enterprises in a developing economy. The study develops a two-dimensional metric of the GSP construct consisting of financial and non-financial GSP interventions. The study finds preliminary evidence that both nonfinancial and financial GSPs have moderating effects that can magnify the impact of the EO dimensions of innovativeness, risk taking, autonomy, and competitive aggressiveness on performance. These findings offer guidance to small business policymakers in developing economies.

This article empirically investigates the effect of central bank¿s foreign exchange interventions on the level and volatility of the Uganda shilling/US dollar exchange rate (UGX/USD) under an inflation-targeting regime. Utilizing daily data spanning the period 1 September 2005, to 31 December 2015, we estimate a foreign exchange intervention model within a GARCH theoretic framework. Empirical results indicate that foreign exchange interventions have had mixed impact on the volatility of the exchange rate. We find that inflation targeting is capable of curbing temporary exchange rate shocks. Empirical results indicate that while order flow is capable of reducing exchange rate volatility, an increase in the operating target rate, the 7-day interbank rate tends to exacerbate exchange rate volatility. Our empirical results are robust to alternative model specifications. We argue that inflation targeting is an effective monetary policy tool for curbing exchange rate volatility.

The global financial crisis has disrupted trade and capital flows in most developing economies, resulting in an increased volatility of exchange rates. We develop an autoregressive distributed lag model to investigate the effect of exchange rate volatility on economic growth in Uganda. Using data spanning the period 1960¿2011, we find that exchange rate volatility positively affects economic growth in Uganda in both the short run and the long run. However, in the short run, political instability negatively moderates the exchange rate volatility¿economic growth nexus. These results are robust to alternative specifications of the economic growth model.

This study examines the business alliance practices of Tourism Small and Medium Enterprises (TSMEs) in Malaysia. TSMEs play a crucial role in sustaining economic growth and development in Malaysia. The study explores the business alliance activities of TSMEs to determine the similarities and differences of TSMEs across Malaysia. The study finds that overall TSMEs practices formal business planning in their business operations with main alliance activity is information sharing followed by knowledge sharing. Some policy implications to assist TSMEs to implement and improve the practices are suggested.

With the increased international competition facing hotel chains, it is essential that the next destination they enter is the most attractive option possible. The host destinations too have a keen interest in strategically positioning themselves in order to attract international hotels since their presence has several positive effects. Using, for the first time, actual on-location data we investigate the factors that matter most for international hotels when selecting host destinations. Specifically, we identify 23 factors that make a destination an attractive (or unattractive) location for international hotels. We then rank these. The results show that welcomeness, infrastructure, and crime rate are the three most important factors that influence the location of international hotels in host destinations.

This paper empirically investigates market efficiency and trading rule profitability of the Ugandan foreign exchange market for the period January 1994 to June 2012. We test for market efficiency using a battery of variance ratio tests with superior size and power properties. We find that the Ugandan foreign exchange market is characterised by pricing inefficiency, except for a few brief episodes of efficiency. We also find that the Buy signals outperform the Sell signals in correctly predicting exchange rate movements, and yield higher returns. Investors can earn excess returns over a buy-and-hold strategy using trading rules but these returns diminish substantially after accounting for transaction costs. We conclude that the Ugandan foreign exchange market is generally characterised by weak-form inefficiency. However, market participants are unable to consistently exploit pricing inefficiencies due to transaction costs and time variation in the inefficiencies under changing market conditions. Our finding of time variation in market efficiency is consistent with the adaptive market hypothesis of Lo (2004).

This paper empirically investigates the usefulness of a hybrid model consisting of macroeconomic fundamentals and market microstructure variables in examining the dynamics of the Uganda shilling/US dollar foreign exchange rates. We employ macroeconomic fundamentals that are guided by the monetary model of exchange rates and market microstructure related frictions represented by order flow and bid-ask spreads to track long-run and short-run movements in exchange rates, respectively. Utilising the ARDL framework, we estimate the model using monthly data spanning the period January 1995 to March 2013. We find that our hybrid model is robust to alternative model specifications and provides an adequate framework to explain the dynamics of the Uganda shilling/US dollar foreign exchange rates.

This article empirically investigates the impact of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) on regional economic growth in the Chinese electronic industry (CEI). Utilizing a provincial-level panel data spanning the period 1989 to 2009, we specify and estimate an endogenous economic growth model for the CEI. Empirical results indicate that, for the coastal region, FDI inflows have been growth enhancing, while in the central and western regions the impact of FDI on economic growth is mixed, depending on the channel of capital flow. Results also indicate that exports, human capital, science and technology investment and fixed asset investment are growth enhancing, while unemployment and foreign R&D investment are growth impeding in the CEI. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

During the past decade the Indian chickpea industry underwent a dramatic structural shift following the implementation of market-oriented policies by the Government of India. This paper examines consumer attitudes to quality characteristics of chickpea in India. A linear hedonic price model is estimated using auction price and quality data of chickpea samples obtained from major markets in India. Empirical results indicate that specific physical quality characteristics and purity standards are important factors influencing the price of chickpea in India. Thus, there may be an incentive for domestic producers and sellers of chickpea-and exporting countries-to improve the quality of their product, if improvements in specific physical characteristics and purity can be obtained cost effectively. As trade prospects grow for regionally important food crops like chickpea and other pulses, it is essential that food managers, commodity exporters, and crop breeders have access to critical market information in order to assess the relative economic importance of preferred quality traits and plan their strategies accordingly. © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.