The adoption of risk governance best practices and its impact on bank stability and performance : evidence from Uganda’s commercial banking sector

Regulatory implementation of risk governance best practices notwithstanding, the stability of banking systems, a critical catalyst for economic growth and transformation, continues to be undermined by bank failures associated with risk governance weaknesses. Does the adoption of risk governance best practices truly enhance bank stability? In the absence of a universal answer to this question within the existing literature, this study (or “the study”) seeks to obtain a context-specific answer for small privately owned banks operating in relatively less sophisticated regulatory environments during a non-crisis period. The study theoretically integrates agency and institutional frameworks and empirically refers to published quantitative secondary data from commercial banks in Uganda for the period 2014 - 2023. Parametric tests and dynamic panel data models are used to test relevant hypotheses. The data reveals significant variation in the adoption of risk governance best practices between listed and non-listed banks. However, contrary to hypothesized expectations, risk governance best practices are found to have no significant impact on bank risk-taking, stability and performance. The main empirical contribution of the study is new evidence on risk-taking, stability and performance outcomes of bank risk governance best practices using non-crisis data from small, mostly privately-owned banks operating in a relatively less sophisticated legal and governance context. The integration of agency and institutional theories also represents an element of methodological advancement, allowing researchers to better reflect the role of external influences on entity level corporate governance structures and outcomes. Implications for practice include highlighting the necessity of taking measures to enhance the effectiveness of risk governance mechanisms as opposed to simply adopting them which may not guarantee their impact. Accordingly, the study presents recommendations for stability focussed bank governance practices, regulation, and supervision

Movers or Stayers? Understanding the Drivers of IDP Camp Decongestion During Post-Conflict Recovery in Uganda

The paper explores factors that influence the household decision to leave internal displacement camps in the immediate aftermath of violent conflict. Our analysis is based on two sources of information: household survey data collected in northern Uganda for households that were displaced by the civil conflict, and geo-referenced data on armed conflict events, with which we construct our developed index of recent conflict exposure. We compare households that moved out of camps with those that remained in the camps after the region was declared safe from rebel incursions. The study covers the first few months of the end of conflict, when return was regarded as largely voluntary. We find that a history of conflict both at the place of residence, and at the expected place of return reduces the likelihood of return. Access to camp services overall encourages households to stay in camps, although the effect varies with the proportion of young household members. Results also show that a history of economic skills poses varying effects on return decisions. While experience in cultivation is associated with a high likelihood of moving out of the camp, households with members with recent experience in trading are less inclined to return. From a policy perspective, the results point to the need for recovery initiatives to ensure access to adequate infrastructures in return locations in order to fast-track reintegration

Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Obaikol. We are grateful to the Land Tenure Reform of the Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment for commissioning a research on the Impact of HIV/AIDS on Property Rights and Agricultural Productivity to inform the preparation of th

Tenure in Mystery: the Status of Land Under Wildlife, Forestry and Mining Concessions in Karamoja Region, Uganda

In the 1960s, 94.6 per cent of the region of Karamoja was allocated to wildlife conservation. In 2002, the Ugandan Parliament approved the change in status of land use and tenure of about half of that land. More than a decade later, the local communities remain very little the wiser about the changed status of their land rights. People find their access to land is blocked and feel powerless against suspected land grabbing. Decisions on land – for conservation or for exploitation of natural resources – are being taken over the heads of the communities who live and work there and no adequate information is passed down to them. This article collates information on land given over to conservation, forestry and mining to provide a factual basis for interventions regarding communal tenure. Findings show that communities are vulnerable to internal and external loss of land and its resources – they do not have the information that would otherwise empower them to protect, negotiate and participate in ownership, use and management of their land.</jats:p

Land Tenure Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa: Interventions in Benin, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe

Since 2000, many African countries have introduced programs aimed at providing smallholder farmers with low-cost certificates for land held un-der customary tenure. Yet there are many contending views and debates on the impact of these land policies and this book reveals how tenure security, agricultural productivity, and social inclusion were affected by the interven-tions. It analyses the results of carefully selected, authoritative studies on in-terventions in Benin, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe and applies a realist synthesis methodology to explore the socio-political and economic contexts. Drawing on these results, the book argues that inadequate attention paid to the core characteristics of rural social systems obscures the benefits of customary tenure while overlooking the scope for reforms to reduce the gaps in social status among members of customary communities. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of land manage-ment and use, land and property law, tenure security, agrarian studies, political economy, and sustainable development. It will also appeal to development professionals and policymakers involved in land governance and land policy in Africa

Land Tenure Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa

This book examines the impacts of land tenure reform interventions implemented in Benin, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe. Since 2000, many African countries have introduced programs aimed at providing smallholder farmers with low-cost certificates for land held under customary tenure. Yet there are many contending views and debates on the impact of these land policies and this book reveals how tenure security, agricultural productivity, and social inclusion were affected by the interventions. It analyses the results of carefully selected, authoritative studies on interventions in Benin, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe and applies a realist synthesis methodology to explore the socio-political and economic contexts. Drawing on these results, the book argues that inadequate attention paid to the core characteristics of rural social systems obscures the benefits of customary tenure while overlooking the scope for reforms to reduce the gaps in social status among members of customary communities. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of land management and use, land and property law, tenure security, agrarian studies, political economy, and sustainable development. It will also appeal to development professionals and policymakers involved in land governance and land policy in Africa