The puzzle of why the cycle of poverty persists and upward socioeconomic mobility is so difficult has long captivated scholars and the public alike. Yet with all of the attention that has been paid to poverty, the crucial role of the law, particularly state and local law, in perpetuating poverty...

The Spanish economy is growing strongly, but there is a risk that many people are being left behind. Unemployment, especially among young people and the low-skilled, remains very high. About half of all the unemployed have been unemployed for over a year and one third for more than two years. A...

As the 20th anniversary of the transition to democracy approaches in 2014, the economic policy debates in South Africa are in full flow. The forthcoming Oxford Companion to the Economics of South Africa contributes to the policy and analytical debate by drawing together perspectives on a range...

This paper examines how domestic, foreign, private and public investments affect income-inequality through financial intermediary dynamics. With the exception of financial allocation efficiency, financial channels of depth and activity are good for the poor as they diminish estimated household...

Hitherto very few studies on the inequality-finance(investment) nexus have focused on the African continent owing to lack of relevant data. This paper integrates previously missing investment and financial components in the assessment of how finance affects pro-poor investment channels. Findings...

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...

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to complement theoretical and qualitative literature with empirical evidence on the income-redistributive effect of mobile phone penetration in 52 African countries. Design/methodology/approach - Robust Ordinary Least Squares and Two Stage Least Squares...

The object of this paper is to complement theoretical 'mobile penetration' literature with empirical evidence in a dual manner: on the one hand, assess the income-redistributive effect of mobile phone penetration and; on the other hand, the instrumentality of good governance in this nexus. Main...

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...

In this paper, we dissect with great acuteness contemporary insufficiencies of the IFS (2008) definition of the financial system and conclude from sound theoretical underpinnings and empirical justifications that the foundation, on which it is based, while solid for developed countries, holds...