The aim of this study was to ascertain what can be done by the informal finance sector to
close the credit gap in order to improve access to finance by SMEs. SMEs are the backbone …

Access to finance by small-to-medium-enterprises (SMEs) remains an enigma that still
warrants further research. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the funding gap and …

This paper provides original econometric evidence on whether banking concentration stems
from financial inclusion in African countries. In applying a system generalized methods of …

Purpose This study investigates how bank competition affects financial stability and whether
government intervention contributes to shaping this relationship in North African countries …

Despite the existence of an extensive literature on determinants of bank profitability, there
exists no paper which comprehensively weaves through this literature. We humbly …

The recent literature on financial inclusion has demonstrated the importance of several
characteristics of the local and national infrastructure, including the physical proximity of …

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the heterogeneous effects of macroeconomic and
financial factors across various distributions of financial deepening in 22 African countries …

While it is known that some elements of the business environment (BE), such as
macroeconomic conditions, impact access to finance and the funding choices of SMEs, very …

Purpose The purpose of the study is to assess if a policy of female inclusive education
should be complemented with a policy of female ownership of bank accounts to fight female …

This work exploits a large panel dataset on Italian manufacturing SMEs to examine the
relationship between leverage and firms' financial stability. Specifically, we evaluate whether …