Africa > Uganda
You are looking at 21 - 30 of 1,077 items
UGANDA
MACROECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS AND PROSPECTS FOR LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES—2024—ONLINE ANNEXES
E-money development has important yet theoretically ambiguous consequences for monetary policy transmission, because nonbank deposit-taking e-money issuers (EMIs) (e.g., mobile network operators) can either complement or substitute banks. Case studies of e-money regulations point to complementarity of EMIs with banks, implying that the development of e-money could deepen financial intermediation and strengthen monetary policy transmission. The issue is further explored with panel data, on both monthly (covering 21 countries) and annual (covering 47 countries) frequencies, over 2001 to 2019. We use a two-way fixed effect estimator to estimate the causal effects of e-money development on monetary policy transmission. We find that e-money development has accompanied stronger monetary policy transmission (measured by the responsiveness of interest rates to the policy rate), growth in bank deposits and credit, and efficiency gains in financial intermediation (measured by the lending-to-deposit rate spread). Evidence is more pronounced in countries where e-money development takes off in a context of limited financial inclusion. This paper highlights the potential benefits of e-money development in strengthening monetary policy transmission, especially in countries with limited financial inclusion.
Introduction
1. The Ugandan economy continues to strengthen amidst increased downside risks. While the post-pandemic economic recovery has broadened, the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) in May 2023, currently under review by the Constitutional Court following legal challenges, has complicated the external financing landscape. In particular, the World Bank (WB) has suspended new loans and put in place safeguard measures to ensure non-discrimination, that are likely to impact the pace of implementation of current projects (Box 1). More recently, the U.S. Government issued a business advisory cautioning private investors against financial and reputational risks stemming from corruption and human rights restrictions in Uganda and removed Uganda from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). These actions have increased downside risks, including for external financing.