Financial sector development and Investment in selected countries of the Economic Community of West African States: empirical evidence using heterogeneous panel data method

This study investigated the impact of financial sector development on domestic investment in selected countries of the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS)for the years 1985–2017.The study employed the augmented mean group procedure,which accounts for country-specific heterogeneity and crosssectional dependence,and the Granger non-causality test to test for causality in the presence of cross-sectional dependence.The results show that(1)The impact of financial sector development on domestic investment depends on the measure of financial sector development utilised;(2)Domestic credit to the private sector has a positive but insignificant impact on domestic investment in ECOWAS,whereas banking intermediation efficiency(i.e.,ability of the banks to transform deposits into credit)and broad money supply negatively and significant influence domestic investment;(3)Cross-country differences exist in the impact of financial sector development on domestic investment in the selected ECOWAS countries;and(4)Domestic credit to the private sector Granger causes domestic investment in ECOWAS.The study recommends careful consideration in the measure of financial development that is utilised as a policy instrument to foster domestic investment.We also highlight the importance of employing country-specific domestic investment policies to avoid blanket policy measures.Domestic credit to the private sector should be given priority when forecasting domestic investment into the future.

Investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on crime incidents number in different cities

The COVID-19 pandemic is strongly affecting many aspects of human life and society around the world.To investigate whether this pandemic also influences crime,the differences in crime incidents numbers before and during the pandemic in four large cities(namely Washington DC,Chicago,New York City and Los Angeles)are investigated.Moreover,the Granger causal relationships between crime incident numbers and new cases of COVID-19 are also examined.Based on that,new cases of COVID-19 with significant Granger causal correlations are used to improve the crime prediction performance.The results show that crime is generally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,but it varies in different cities and with different crime types.Most types of crimes have seen fewer incidents numbers during the pandemic than before.Several Granger causal correlations are found between the COVID-19 cases and crime incidents in these cities.More specifically,crime incidents numbers of theft in Washington DC,Chicago and New York City,fraud in Washington DC and Los Angeles,assault in Chicago and New York City,and robbery in Los Angeles and New York City,are significantly Granger caused by the new case of COVID-19.These results may be partially explained by the Routine Activity theory and Opportunity theory that people may prefer to stay at home to avoid being infected with COVID-19 during the pandemic,giving fewer chances for crimes.In addition,involving new cases of COVID-19 as a variable can slightly improve the performance of crime prediction in terms of some specific types of crime.This study is expected to obtain deeper insights into the relationships between the pandemic and crime in different cities,and to provide new attempts for crime prediction during the pandemic.