Characterising market power and its determinants in the Zambian banking indudstry

This article evaluates the intensity of competition by estimate a bank-specific and time varying Lerner Index as a measure of market power by Zambian banks in the post-reform period. Using a model of oligopolistic conduct, we show that Zambian banks exercised market power in setting prices. Furthermore, market concentration, efficiency performance, diversity in revenue sources and regulatory intensity accounted for much of the banks’ exercise of market power. However, the results indicate that credit risk and macroeconomic uncertainty had a weakening effect on the banks’ exercise of market power. The policy lesson from the analysis is that regulatory authorities should continue with the policy of opening up the financial sector to more players in order to foster contestability in the banking industry.Banking, market power, competition

Evaluation for stable resistance to Stenocarpella maydis in tropical maize (Zea mays L.)

Maize ear rots caused by Stenocarpella maydis cause reduction in yield and quality of the maize due to the mycotoxins produced by the pathogen. Breeding for resistance is the most feasible option in managing ear rots. However, to obtain stable resistance to S. maydis has been a challenge partly due to effect of the environment and availability of different isolates. The objective of this research was therefore, to determine the effect of multiple isolate inoculations in breeding for resistance to S. maydis and to identify genotypes with stable resistance. Seven inbred lines were crosses in a 7 x 7 full diallel without reciprocals. The resultant crosses (21) and their parents (7) were planted and evaluated at two sites, Lusaka and Mpongwe, during the 2015/16 cropping season. The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. Treatments were: (1) single inoculation with isolate A, (2) single inoculation with isolate B and (3) a multiple inoculation of two isolates AB and (4) control with no inoculation at all. The mean genotypic scores were found to be 5.52, 4.96, 5.50 and 1 for treatment 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The t-test analysis revealed that treatment 1 had a higher mean disease severity score (5.52) as compared to treatment 2 (4.96) (P < 0.01). Equally mean for treatment 2 (4.96) and 3 (5.50) were significantly different (P < 0.01). However, there were no significant differences between mean disease severity score for treatment 1 and 3. This indicated that multiple isolate inoculations could give rise to inappropriate genetic information due to the possibility of antagonistic effect between isolates. The genotypes (P2 x P4) and (P3 x P6) crosses were found to have stable resistance to S. maydis. These exhibited consistent significant negative SCA effects (P< 0.05) in both locations

The Question of Method in Theology: An African Response to Bernard Lonergan Using Bantu Theological Anthropology

The question of method in theology has become the locus of contemporary intercultural and cross-cultural theological investigations. For any theological system to claim credulity in the public opinion of theological discourse it must demonstrate credible methodological processes inherent in its epistemological process to affirm the validity of its knowledge claims. It is method in theology which is among the criteria used to evaluate the theological integrity of an epistemic system. This paper, therefore, endeavors to explain the existence of method(s) not only in discursive and formal theologies but also in the theologies of ordinary people and communities alike. The paper demonstrates this affirmation by way of bringing Lonergan’s method in theology into conversation with African Bantu theology by contending that there is an inextricable link between epistemology and theology. Doctrines in theology are first and foremost subjects of revelation which are processed through a particular method. Hence, both Bernard Lonergan’s method and Bantu cultural theological anthropology become legitimate sources of theological knowledge production. Although both epistemic systems affirm the primacy of the consciousness of experience as the first starting point of theology they nevertheless differ in regard to function of theology and the operative process it uses to affirm its statement of faith. Whereas Lonergan’s is individuated and highly speculative Bantu theology is relational, communitarian and overtly functional. Further, Lonergan’s system contends that God can be objectively known by way of authentic subjectivity. Bantu theology, in contrast, posits that God can be known and experienced through participation in the vital force of life. In summary, this thesis contends that in the enterprise of theology there exists a multiplicity of epistemic systems and methodologies which serve specific purposes for a given theological enterprise. It is the foregoing that constitutes the scope, purpose and results of this study

Characterising market power and its determinants in the Zambian banking indudstry

This article evaluates the intensity of competition by estimate a bank-specific and time varying Lerner Index as a measure of market power by Zambian banks in the post-reform period. Using a model of oligopolistic conduct, we show that Zambian banks exercised market power in setting prices. Furthermore, market concentration, efficiency performance, diversity in revenue sources and regulatory intensity accounted for much of the banks’ exercise of market power. However, the results indicate that credit risk and macroeconomic uncertainty had a weakening effect on the banks’ exercise of market power. The policy lesson from the analysis is that regulatory authorities should continue with the policy of opening up the financial sector to more players in order to foster contestability in the banking industry

Characterising market power and its determinants in the Zambian banking indudstry

This article evaluates the intensity of competition by estimate a bank-specific and time varying Lerner Index as a measure of market power by Zambian banks in the post-reform period. Using a model of oligopolistic conduct, we show that Zambian banks exercised market power in setting prices. Furthermore, market concentration, efficiency performance, diversity in revenue sources and regulatory intensity accounted for much of the banks’ exercise of market power. However, the results indicate that credit risk and macroeconomic uncertainty had a weakening effect on the banks’ exercise of market power. The policy lesson from the analysis is that regulatory authorities should continue with the policy of opening up the financial sector to more players in order to foster contestability in the banking industry

Performance of Zambian Commercial Banks in the Post-Liberalisation Period: Evidence on Cost Efficiency, Competition and Market Power

This study investigates three aspects important of performance for Zambia commercial banks. Specifically, the thesis addresses the aspect of cost efficiency and the factors that affect inefficiency performance. The study also empirically answers the policy question regarding the banks' exercise of market power and the low degree of competition. Using a richly assembled panel data set obtained from the Bank of Zambia on individual banks from 1998 to 2006, the thesis utilises theoretically sound methodologies in addressing these research questions. The results from the analysis reveal the following. Firstly, using stochastic frontier estimation approach, cost inefficiency was estimated to be 8 percent. This means that mismanagement of resources was an impediment to the efficiency performance. Nonetheless, we observed a reduction in cost inefficiency over time, with domestic private banks displaying remarkable improvement. A combination of bank-specific and exogenous factors deterred banks from attaining optimal cost efficiency. Notably, impaired loans, asset concentration and macroeconomic instability undermined the banks' ability to operate optimally. Regulatory factors did not exacerbate cost inefficiency. Secondly, Zambian banks operated in an oligopolistic set-up. Based on a methodology anchored in the New Empirical Industrial Organisation literature, the results of a competitive test showed that banks earned their revenue under conditions of monopolistic competition. This finding was buttressed by the estimated time varying Lerner Index, a measure of market power. The index showed that commercial banks set their prices above marginal cost by more than 50 percent. However, the degree of market power narrowed towards the end of the sample period. Market concentration, efficiency performance, diversity in revenue sources and regulatory intensity accounted for much of the banks' exercise of market power. On the other hand, the high proportion of interbank deposits, credit risk exposure and inflation dampened the banks' exercise of market power. To our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind in Zambia. Therefore, the results of the thesis have important policy implications. More significantly, since there is room for deepening the degree of competition and furthering efficiency gains, regulatory authorities should strengthen measures aimed at ameliorating risk problems in the banking industry in a bid to lower the banks' exercise of market power. The authorities should also accelerate should also accelerate efforts of reducing recourse to Treasury bills as a deficit financing tool in order to negate the banks' appetite for securities as a source of revenue. This can be done by placing more emphasis on the legal and institutional framework for resolving problem credit situations. This will intensify competition and propagate efficiency gains in the banking market. The authorities should also expeditiously tackle instability in the macroeconomic environment, particularly the high rate of inflation which hampered the banks' revenue performance and exacerbated the exercise of market powe

The efficacy of multiple isolate resistance evaluation for stenocarpella maydis in breeding for ear rot resistance in tropical maize(Zea mays L.)

Maize ear rots caused by Stenocarpella maydis are among the most important impediments to increased maize production in Zambia. They cause reduction in yield and quality of the maize. The mycotoxins produced by the pathogen have health implications on livestock and humans. Breeding for resistance is the most feasible option in managing ear rots and it is affordable to small scale farmers. However, to obtain stable resistance to S. maydis has been a challenge partly due to effect of the environment. The effect due to isolates of S. maydis is not yet understood. The objectives of this study were therefore: (i) Determine the general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) effects of the lines and crosses respectively (ii) the effect of multiple isolate inoculations in breeding for resistance to S. maydis; (iii) to determine the appropriateness of indirect trait selection for resistance to S. maydis in tropical maize. Seven inbred lines of varying resistance to S. maydis were mated in a half diallel to generate 21 F1 single crosses. The resultant crosses together with their parents were planted at two sites, Lusaka and Mpongwe for evaluation during the 2015/16 cropping season. The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. The treatments were: (1) single inoculation of each isolate A, (2) single inoculation of each isolate B and (3) a multiple inoculation of two isolates AB and (4) control with no inoculation at all. The mean genotypic scores were found to be 5.52, 4.96, 5.50 and 1 for treatment 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The t-test analysis revealed that treatment 1 had a higher mean disease severity score (5.52) as compared to treatment 2 (4.96) (P < 0.001). Equally mean for treatment 2 (4.96) and 3 (5.50) were significantly different (P < 0.001). However, there were no significant differences between mean disease severity score between treatment 1 and 3. This indicated that multiple inoculations cannot be used as a screening resistance breeding technique as it could give rise to inappropriate genetic information due to probable antagonistic effect between isolates (A could have suppressed isolate B when multiple inoculated). Specific combining ability (SCA) effects across all treatments were significant (P < 0.05) in specific locations. The variance components using Baker’s ratio were found to be 0.012 and 0.03 in Lusaka and Mpongwe respectively. The results indicate that nonadditive gene effects were important in this study. Six and two crosses in location 1 and 2 respectively showed negative significant SCA effects to S. maydis reaction. Two crosses, (P2 x P4) and (P3 x P6) showed consistent significant negative SCA effects in both locations implying that they possess a trait resistant to S. maydis. Negative correlations of grain texture (r = -0.58, in both locations) and husk cover (r = -0.63 and -0.70 in Lusaka and Mpongwe respectively) to mean disease severity score of S. maydis across treatments were significant (P < 0.01). However, the r2 values i.e. grain texture ( 0.34 for both locations) and husk cover (0.40 and 0.49 for Lusaka and Mpongwe respectively) in relation to mean disease severity indicate that indirect selection for resistance to S. maydis cannot be utilized as a substitute for direct selection but can be used to supplement it. Keywords: Maize, ear rot, Stenocarpella maydis, resistance, mycotoxi

Foreign Aid and Inclusive Development: Updated Evidence from Africa, 2005-2012*

Objective Motivated by the April 2015 World Bank Publication on MDGs, which reveals that poverty has been declining in all regions of the world with the exception of African countries, this study investigates the effects of a plethora of foreign aid dynamics on inequality‐adjusted human development. Methods Contemporary and noncontemporary OLS, fixed effects, and a system GMM technique with forward orthogonal deviations are employed. The empirical evidence is based on an updated sample of 53 African countries for the period 2005–2012. Results The following findings are established. First, the impacts of aid dynamics with high degrees of substitution are positive. These include aid for: social infrastructure, economic infrastructure, the productive sector, and multisectors. Second, the effect of humanitarian assistance is consistently negative across specifications and models. Third, the effects of program assistance and action on debt are ambiguous because they become positive with the GMM technique. Conclusions Justifications for these changes and clarifications with respect to existing literature are provided. Policy implications are discussed in light of the post‐2015 development agenda. We also provide some recommendations for a rethinking of theories and models on which development assistance is base