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Africa > Uganda

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 11 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy x
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Cover FinTech Notes
Tokenization and Financial Market Inefficiencies
Itai Agur
,
German Villegas Bauer
,
Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli
,
Maria Soledad Martinez Peria
, and
Brandon Tan
Most financial assets are digital today. Tomorrow, they may be tokenized. Tokenization implies recording and transferring assets on a widely shared and trusted digital ledger that can be programmed. Interest in tokenization is strong and experiments abound, but what are the consequences of this new trend for financial markets? This note introduces a taxonomy and a conceptual framework centered on market inefficiencies to evaluate this question. Some inefficiencies could decline across the asset life cycle. Others would remain, however, and new ones could emerge. Issuing, servicing, and redeeming assets might involve fewer intermediaries and thus become cheaper. The costs of trading assets may also decrease as tokenization lowers some counterparty risks and search frictions and offers flexibility in settlement. Additionally, greater competition among brokers could lower transaction fees. However, tokenization may amplify shocks if it induces institutions to become more interconnected and hold lower liquidity buffers or higher leverage, potentially jeopardizing financial stability. Programs themselves may introduce new risks related to strings of contingent contracts or faulty code. While competition may grow among financial intermediaries, the provision of market infrastructure could become more concentrated due to network effects.
Keywords:
Tokenization; central banks; asset lifecycle; financial markets; financial asset market friction; B. market infrastructure investment externality; financial market inefficiency; IMF Library; Note 2025/001; D. knowledge externality; Bonds; Smart contracts; Securities markets; Liquidity; Blockchain and DLT; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Mobile Money, Perception about Cash, and Financial Inclusion: Learning from Uganda’s Micro-Level Data
Felix F. Simione
and
Tara S Muehlschlegel
Will mobile money render cash less dominant over time in Africa? Can it promote financial inclusion? We shed light on these questions by exploring individual-level and nationally representative survey data for Uganda, a country in a region that pioneered mobile money in the world. We use the Propensity Score Matching method to robustly compare mobile money users and non-users across a range of indicators that capture individuals’ perceptions about cash, and the extent to which they remit, save, and borrow money. We present the first evidence that mobile money users, compared to non-users, are more likely to perceive cash as risky and less likely to prefer carrying large amounts of cash. We also confirm that mobile money users are more likely to receive and send remittances, save, and borrow. They also save and borrow larger amounts.
Keywords:
Developing Country; Innovation; Digital Divide; money usage; selected indicator; Propensity Score Matching method; usage treatment; deposit balance; Mobile banking; Remittances; Financial inclusion; Digital financial services; Consumer credit; Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Nigeria: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This Selected Issues paper presents stylized facts about food insecurity in Nigeria, investigates its drivers in a cross-country setting, and assesses the role of policies. The paper describes regional aspects of Nigeria’s food insecurity and compares the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 and the war in Ukraine on food security in Nigeria and other countries. It also provides an overview of agricultural production and consumption in Nigeria. The paper investigates the drivers of food security using an empirical cross-country framework including demand, supply, and price factors, and offers thoughts on policies to improve agricultural yields and production. The important role of inputs is evident in the policy experience of comparator countries. Nigeria has achieved a substantial increase in agricultural production associated with its policies but some have been less successful. Import dependency for key staples has not fallen and the cost of these agricultural products remains driven by international prices. Further, central bank credit to the agricultural sector has not succeeded in increasing production beyond the stimulus of high rainfall and high food prices.
Keywords:
EIU FOOD INSECURITY index; World wheat price inflation; tax revenue mobilization; food supply; fuel subsidy reform; food price inflation; Mobile banking; Financial inclusion; Food security; Excises; Global; Sub-Saharan Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Drivers of Financial Access: the Role of Macroprudential Policies
Ms. Corinne C Delechat
,
Lama Kiyasseh
,
Ms. Margaux MacDonald
, and
Rui Xu
This study analyzes the drivers of the use of formal vs. informal financial services in emerging and developing countries using the 2017 Global FINDEX data. In particular, we investigate whether individuals’ choice of financial services correlates with macro-financial and macro-structural policies and conditions, in addition to individual and country characteristics. We start our analysis on middle and low-income countries, and then zoom in on sub-Saharan Africa, currently the region that most relies on informal financial services, and which has the largest uptake of mobile banking. We find robust evidence of an association between macroprudential policies and individuals’ choice of financial access after controlling for personal and country-level characteristics. In particular, macroprudential policies aimed at controlling credit supply seem to be associated with greater resort to informal financial services compared with formal, bank-based access. This highlights the importance for central bankers and financial sector regulators to consider the potential spillovers of monetary policy and financial stability measures on financial inclusion.
Keywords:
WP; informal financial services; IMF staff; low income; asset ratio; SSA sample; loan restriction; Financial inclusion; Mobile banking; Macroprudential policy; Macroprudential policy instruments; Sub-Saharan Africa; Global; formal financial services; financial service access; SSA population
Cover Departmental Papers
Macro-Financial Linkages in Shallow Markets: Experience from the African Department’s Pilot Countries
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This paper assesses and disseminates experiences and lessons from low-income countries (LICs) in Sub-Saharan Africa that were selected by the Africa Department in 2015-16 as pilots for enhanced analysis of macro-financial linkages in Article IV staff reports. The paper focuses on the common characteristics across the pilot countries and highlights the tools used in the analysis, the challenges encountered, and the solutions deployed in overcoming them.
Keywords:
DPPP; DP; interest rate; credit risk; central bank; banking sector; bank competition; cost of funds; composite index; lending condition; Malawian bank; economic value; bank information cost; financial system assets; banking system assets; bank level; banks in Benin; bank agent; Financial sector development; Financial sector; Stress testing; Credit; Sub-Saharan Africa; East Africa; Middle East; East Asia
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Uganda: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This Selected Issues paper describes Uganda’s experience under the 2013 Policy Support Instrument (PSI). The current 2013 PSI was approved by the IMF’s Executive Board in June 2013 with an initial duration of three years. Overall, performance under this PSI has been assessed to be satisfactory. Most quantitative assessment criteria were met, and macroeconomic stability maintained. However, the pace of structural reforms slowed down compared with the past, and only about half of the structural benchmarks were ultimately met. The experience shows the importance of ensuring commitment to the reforms, explaining them better, and getting broad-based buy-in to achieve progress.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; Uganda; debt; IMF-World Bank debt sustainability framework; baseline debt projection; exchange rate; interest rate; government debt; IMF staff; PSI focus; Financial sector development; Double taxation; Tax incentives; Public investment and public-private partnerships (PPP); Global; Sub-Saharan Africa; Africa
Cover Departmental Papers
Financial Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Promoting Inclusive and Sustainable Growth
Mr. Montfort Mlachila
,
Ahmat Jidoud
,
Ms. Monique Newiak
,
Bozena Radzewicz-Bak
, and
Ms. Misa Takebe
This paper discusses how sub-Saharan Africa’s financial sector developed in the past few decades, compared with other regions. Sub-Saharan African countries have made substantial progress in financial development over the past decade, but there is still considerable scope for further development, especially compared with other regions. Indeed, until a decade or so ago, the level of financial development in a large number of sub-Saharan African countries had actually regressed relative to the early 1980s. With the exception of the region’s middle-income countries, both financial market depth and institutional development are lower than in other developing regions. The region has led the world in innovative financial services based on mobile telephony, but there remains scope to increase financial inclusion further. The development of mobile telephone-based systems has helped to incorporate a large share of the population into the financial system, especially in East Africa. Pan-African banks have been a driver for homegrown financial development, but they also bring a number of challenges.
Keywords:
DPPP; DP; financial system; monetary union; market index; banking sector; return on assets; financial institution index; commodity price; return on equity; Financial sector development; Financial inclusion; Basel II; Financial sector; Sub-Saharan Africa; Africa; East Africa; Global; Asia and Pacific
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
United Republic of Tanzania: Selected Issues-Macrofinancial Issues
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This Selected Issues paper analyzes the financial sector in Tanzania. The Tanzanian financial system has a number of characteristics commonly seen in other low-income countries. The system is relatively small, dominated by banks, and has not been particularly inclusive. Costs related to basic financial services have come down. However, in other areas, progress remains limited. Firms’ access to credit remains a problem, access to the financial infrastructure continues to lag, and market development remains at a low level. The banking system overall is well-capitalized and reasonably profitable, but there is considerable variation among bank categories.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; excess reserves; interest rate; transmission mechanism; Community bank; deposits-to-GDP ratio; mobile money; market participant; reserve money target; Mobile banking; Financial sector development; Commercial banks; Credit; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Monetary Policy in a Developing Country: Loan Applications and Real Effects
Charles Abuka
,
Ronnie K Alinda
,
Ms. Camelia Minoiu
,
José-Luis Peydró
, and
Mr. Andrea F Presbitero
The transmission of monetary policy to credit aggregates and the real economy can be impaired by weaknesses in the contracting environment, shallow financial markets, and a concentrated banking system. We empirically assess the bank lending channel in Uganda during 2010–2014 using a supervisory dataset of loan applications and granted loans. Our analysis focuses on a short period during which the policy rate rose by 1,000 basis points and then came down by 1,200 basis points. We find that an increase in interest rates reduces the supply of bank credit both on the extensive and intensive margins, and there is significant pass-through to retail lending rates. We document a strong bank balance sheet channel, as the lending behavior of banks with high capital and liquidity is different from that of banks with low capital and liquidity. Finally, we show the impact of monetary policy on real activity across districts depends on banking sector conditions. Overall, our results indicate significant real effects of the bank lending channel in developing countries.
Keywords:
WP; bank balance; Monetary policy transmission; Bank lending channel; Bank balance sheet channel; Developing countries; lending rate; demand shock; market power; bank capital; Loans; Bank credit; Credit; Financial statements; Liquidity; Sub-Saharan Africa; East Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Identifying Constraints to Financial Inclusion and Their Impact on GDP and Inequality: A Structural Framework for Policy
Ms. Era Dabla-Norris
,
Yan Ji
,
Robert M. Townsend
, and
Ms. Filiz D Unsal
We develop a micro-founded general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents to identify pertinent constraints to financial inclusion. We evaluate quantitatively the policy impacts of relaxing each of these constraints separately, and in combination, on GDP and inequality. We focus on three dimensions of financial inclusion: access (determined by the size of participation costs), depth (determined by the size of collateral constraints resulting from limited commitment), and intermediation efficiency (determined by the size of interest rate spreads and default possibilities due to costly monitoring). We take the model to a firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey for six countries at varying degrees of economic development—three low-income countries (Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique), and three emerging market countries (Malaysia, the Philippines, and Egypt). The results suggest that alleviating different financial frictions have a differential impact across countries, with country-specific characteristics playing a central role in determining the linkages and tradeoffs between inclusion, GDP, inequality, and the distribution of gains and losses.
Keywords:
WP; participation cost; Gini coefficient; cost of capital; intermediation cost; Financial inclusion; inequality; income distribution; hetergenous agents; optimal contract; credit regime; lending interest rate; Self-employment; Credit; Income inequality; Collateral