PurposeThis study investigates the impact of total health expenditure on life expectancy in a panel of 43 African countries from 2000 to 2018.Design/methodology/approachThe dynamic panel generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation method developed by Arellano and Bond (1991) is used in this study. This approach generates estimates that are heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation consistent, as well as controls for unobserved time-invariant country-specific effects and eliminates any endogeneity in the panel model.FindingsThe results reveal that health expenditure on its own has a positive significant influence on life expectancy. However, health expenditure via the moderating effect of government effectiveness reduces life expectancy. The authors also observe that school enrollment and the level of economic activity significantly drive life expectancy.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to 43 out of 54 African countries, and it covers a period of 18 years: 2000 to 2018.Practical implicationsThe authors argue that larger health expenditure will aid in improving the life expectancy rate in Africa. However, in practice, this would be difficult given the needs of other priority sectors.Social implicationsSince most developing countries' health expenditures are small, a policy option is that healthcare services should be subsidized such that the poorest people can also access them.Originality/valueThe study differs from the previous attempts, and with this, the authors contribute significantly to the literature. First, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the authors are unaware of any study considering the role of government effectiveness as a moderating factor in investigating the effect of health expenditure on life expectancy in the African context. Thus, the authors fill a yawning gap in the literature. Second, the authors employ a recent dataset with larger sample size. Finally, to address the problem of endogeneity and simultaneity bias, the authors use the system GMM technique.

This study seeks to examine the impact of financial development on bank profitability in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We also investigate how institutional quality, bank stability, financial openness, and competition affect profitability. The researchers employ data from 33 countries covering from 2000 to 2017. Using the generalized method of moments (GMM) technique, the findings show that financial development exerts a negative significant effect on banking sector profitability. This result holds regardless of the indicator of profitability. This indicates that financial development dampens profitability in SSA. The study also reveals that institutional quality and bank stability positively and significantly influence profitability. We further observe that the impact of financial openness and competition on profitability significantly differs depending on the measure of profitability. The study discusses key implications for policy.

Financial inclusion has garnered global attention due to the detrimental effect that financial exclusion has on tackling socioeconomic challenges such as poverty. Using a dynamic panel approach, our study examines the drivers of financial inclusion in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the period 2000 to 2017. We discover that financial globalization and literacy rates positively and significantly drive financial inclusion. We also find that rural population growth has a profound adverse impact on financial inclusion. The study further reveals that bank profitability, bank stability, and economic growth have a negative albeit insignificant effect on financial inclusion. The positive effect of financial globalization on financial inclusion has important policy implications for Sub-Saharan African countries. In this respect, the integration of the local financial system with global financial markets will facilitate efforts to achieve financial inclusion in the region.