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Working Paper
Financial intermediation and economic growth in southern Africa
The role of the financial sector in stimulating economic growth has been debated in the economic profession for decades. The prevailing view is that financial intermediaries reduce the transactions costs of channeling funds from savers to entrepreneurs by reducing information asymmetries between lenders and borrowers, there by stimulating investment and growth. Inflation, on the other hand, increases uncertainty and has a negative impact on investment and reduces growth. This paper tests these two hypotheses empirically using a pooled time series for a cross-section of countries in the ...
Working Paper
Income inequality and minimum consumption: implications for growth
We propose a model that recognizes hierarchical goods and income inequality among households. The model demonstrates that growth is impacted not by inequality per se, but "absolute" income distribution or the level of poverty underlying the income distribution. Specifically, when a large fraction of the population is below the threshold income necessary for subsistence, aggregate consumption is depressed. In low-income countries, high inequality of income retards consumption growth, whereas in high-income countries inequality may be neutral for growth. Cross-country regressions indicate a ...