@workingpaper{Asongu2013bk,
title = {New financial development indicators: with a critical contribution to inequality empirics},
author = {Simplice A Asongu},
editor = {African 2013 Governance and Development Institute WP/13/036},
url = {http://www.afridev.org/RePEc/agd/agd-wpaper/New-financial-indicators-and-inequality-empirics.pdf},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-09-01},
abstract = {The employment of financial development indicators without due consideration to
country/regional specific financial development realities remains an issue of substantial policy
relevance. Financial depth in the perspective of money supply is not equal to liquid liabilities
in every development context. This paper introduces complementary indicators to the
existing Financial Development and Structure Database (FDSD). Dynamic panel system
GMM estimations are applied. Different specifications, non-overlapping intervals and control
variables are used to check the consistency of estimated coefficients. Our results suggest that
from an absolute standpoint (GDP base measures), all financial sectors are pro-poor.
However, three interesting findings are drawn from measures of sector importance. (1) The
expansion of the formal financial sector to the detriment of other financial sectors has a
disequalizing income effect. (2) Growth of informal and semi-formal financial sectors at the
expense of the formal financial sector has an income equalizing effect. (3) The positive
income redistributive effect of semi-formal finance in financial sector competition is higher
than the corresponding impact of informal finance. It unites two streams of research by
contributing at the same time to the macroeconomic literature on measuring financial
development and responding to the growing field of economic development by means of
informal financial sector promotion and microfinance. The paper suggests a practicable way
to disentangle the effects of the various financial sectors on economic development. The
equation of financial depth in the perspective of money supply to liquid liabilities has put on
the margin the burgeoning informal financial sector in developing countries. The phenomenon
of mobile banking is such an example.},
keywords = {Financial Development; Shadow Economy; Poverty; Inequality; Africa},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {workingpaper}
}

@workingpaper{Asongu2013bz,
title = {How do financial reforms affect inequality through financial sector competition? Evidence from Africa},
author = {Simplice A Asongu},
editor = {African 2013 Governance and Development Institute WP/13/011},
url = {http://www.afridev.org/RePEc/agd/agd-wpaper/How-do-financial-reforms-affect-inequality-through-financial-sector-competition.pdf},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-01-01},
abstract = {In the first empirical study on how financial reforms have been instrumental in
mitigating inequality through financial sector competition, we contribute at the same time to
the macroeconomic literature on measuring financial development and respond to the growing
field of economic development by means of informal sector promotion. Hitherto, unexplored
financial sector concepts of formalization, semi-formalization and informalization are
introduced. Four main findings are established: (1) while formal financial development
decreases inequality, financial sector formalization increases it; (2) whereas semi-formal
financial development increases inequality, the effect of financial semi-formalization is
unclear; (3) both informal financial development and financial informalization have an
income equalizing effect and; (4) non-formal financial development is pro-poor. Policy
implications are discussed.},
keywords = {Financial Development; Shadow Economy; Poverty; Inequality; Africa},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {workingpaper}
}