Browsing by Author "Pickson, Robert Becker"

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    The Effect of Bank Specific Factors on Loan Performance of HFC Bank in Ghana
    (International Journal of Economics and Finance, 2016-06-25) Ofori-Abebrese, Grace; Pickson, Robert Becker; Opare, Eric
    The default rate of loan in the country has been on the increase and worrying to all in recent times. This study assessed the effect of bank specific factors on the loan performance in HFC Bank in Ghana. The sample period used for the study was based on a quarterly data from 2008 to 2015. The study employed the ARDL bounds test of co-integration as an estimation technique to show the evidence of long run relationship among the variables. The study found bank’s loan interest rate, loan to asset ratio and bank’s loan loss provision over reserve as bank specific factors that influenced loan performance. These therefore showed that bank specific factors do have significant impact on loan performance. Hence, there is the need for bank management and regulators to undertake policies that can ensure efficiency in banks’ operations. Keywords
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    Empirical Analysis of the Potency of Fiscal Policy on Economic Growth in Ghana
    (Modern Economy, 2017-02-24) Ofori-Abebrese, Grace; Pickson, Robert Becker; Diabah, Benjamin Tsatsu
    Although the finance-growth relationship has been looked at in many African countries such as Ghana, the outcomes have been mixed while the causal direction between the two variables has particularly not been examined. This study, therefore, applied ARDL approach and Granger causality test to investigating the relationship and the causal direction between financial development and economic growth in Ghana during the period 1970-2013. The study revealed that the amount of credit from domestic sources to the private sector maintained a positively significant nexus with the growth of the economy whereas the domestic deposit was not the case. Also, the results established that there is a dependence of the Ghanaian economy to the changes in domestic credit to private sector whilst there exists a uni-directional causality running from the variations in economic growth to the domestic deposit in Ghana. Consistent with the findings, it is recommended that the authorities concentrate on improving the efficiency of the financial system to allow deposits to be channelled to growth-inducing investments to bring about the long-term growth of the economy.
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    Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between Industrial Performance and Macroeconomic Factors in Ghana
    (British Journal of Economics, Management & Trade, 2016-05-09) Mensah, Frederick; Ofori-Abebrese, Grace; Pickson, Robert Becker
    The conscious attempt to ascertain the wide range of macroeconomic factors that drive industrial production in Ghana necessitated this study. The main purpose of this study is to ascertain the impact that macroeconomic factors have on industrial performance in Ghana over the period 1980 to 2013. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model was employed to examine the long run and the short run dynamics of macroeconomic factors and industrial output. The study found cointegration relationship between industrial output and the macroeconomic factors. The results indicated that the major macroeconomic factors that affect industrial performance in Ghana are lending rate (+), inflation (+), employment (+) and government expenditure (+). Based on the findings, the study recommends that the government of Ghana should stabilize the macroeconomic environment of Ghana in order to achieve industrial growth and development.
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    The Interaction between Public Sector Wage, Inflation and Exchange Rate Volatility in Ghana
    (Theoretical Economics Letters, 2017-03-27) Ofori-Abebrese, Grace; Pickson, Robert Becker; Walanyo Azumah, George Kwesi
    Continuous depreciation of the cedi has been in the orbit of concern of policy makers for time immemorial. This is because, in spite of many policy actions to restore the continuous depreciation of the cedi amidst wage hikes and inflation, the efforts of policy makers seem to thwart in vain. The ARDL method was empirically used to determine whether the rising public sector wage bill and inflation have any impact on the value of the cedi over the period 1986 to 2014. The study discovered that inflation, money supply, interest rate and public wage bill have significant impact on exchange rate in the Ghanaian economy. The outcome of this study postulated that exchange rate determination in Ghana is also a fiscal phenomenon in spite of the significant and domineering role played by monetary expansion. Based on this information, the paper proposed that equal attention must be accorded both fiscal and monetary policy in exchange rate stabilization. It, therefore, suggested that there must be a purely independent central bank; devoid of political appointments and interference to carry out its mandate with free hands. An independent non-political fiscal body like the monetary policy committee under Bank of Ghana must also be established under the same body independent of the Ministry of Finance to ensure wage sustainability through the negotiation of public sector wage adjustment subject to budgetary constraints.
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    Investigating the Nexus between Stock Exchange and Economic Growth in Ghana
    (British Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences, 2016-03) Ofori-Abebrese, Grace; Kamasa, Kofi; Pickson, Robert Becker
    This study used ARDL model coupled with granger causality test to investigate the relationship between stock market development and economic growth in Ghana for the period from 1991 to 2011. The study revealed that stock market development has a negative impact on economic growth in the long-run and this was confirmed by the causality test that there do not exist any relationship between stock market development and economic growth in Ghana for the study period. Human capital and money supply have contributed positively to growth. Inflation and foreign direct investment have not shown to be deterministic variables to growth of the economy. The study concluded that operators of Ghana Stock Exchange should strategise well to attract more investors to the Stock Exchange. In addition, the independence of the Central Bank, further development of financial and money markets should be adhered to by the Bank of Ghana to facilitate the implementation of monetary policy in order to achieve price stability in the country.
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    Macroeconomic Factors and the Performance of Loans of Commercial Banks in Ghana: A Case Study of HFC Bank
    (European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, 2016-06) Ofori-Abebrese, Grace; Pickson, Robert Becker; Opare, Eric
    With the increasing rate of default of loans in the country, this study assessed the macroeconomic factors that influence loan performance of commercial banks in Ghana using HFC bank as a case study. The sample period used for the study was based on a quarterly data from 2008 to 2015. Using the ARDL bounds test of co-integration as an estimation technique, the results showed evidence of long run relationship among the variables. The results suggested that macroeconomic factors that influenced loan performance were inflation and T-bills. These therefore show that macroeconomic instabilities do have significant impact on loan performance. Hence, there is the need for policy makers to manage the economy well, embark on fiscal discipline and reduce government domestic borrowing to reduce Treasury bill rates in order to improve on loan performance.
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    PUBLIC SECTOR WAGE AND INFLATION IN GHANA
    (Asian Economic and Financial Review, 2017-04-10) Ofori-Abebrese, Grace; Walanyo Azumah, George Kwesi; Pickson, Robert Becker
    Achieving price stability has been in the orbit of concern of state authorities for time immemorial. This paper is therefore focused on determining empirically the impact of public wage bill on inflation in Ghana for the period of 1986-2014. Using an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) to cointegration model, it was discovered from the study that public wage bill, currency depreciation rate, money supply, and fiscal deficit all have significant impact on inflation in Ghana. The outcome of this study postulates that the rate of inflation determination in Ghana is also a fiscal phenomenon in spite of the significant and domineering role played by monetary expansion. Consequently, equal attention must be accorded both fiscal and monetary policy in the fight against the rate of inflation in Ghana for appreciable and sustained result.