Factors of regional financial inclusion in Morocco

Elouaourti, Zakaria; Ezzahid, Elhadj

doi:10.1111/rsp3.12516

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…This result corroborates that found by Rahaman (2011) who pointed out that in the presence of external financing constraints, small firms rely more on internal funds. According to Enterprise Surveys (2013 data), in Morocco, access to finance is heterogeneous by firm size and geographic region (Elouaourti and Ezzahid, 2022). 30.1% of small Moroccan firms cite access to finance as a major constraint, compared to 25.3% and 25.3% for medium and large firms, respectively.…”

Section: Empirical Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Financial services and firm performance, are there any differences by size? Worldwide evidence using firm-level data

Elouaourti

Ezzahid

2022

JES

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PurposeDo financial services needs depend on the firm size? To highlight the impact of different categories of financial services on firm performance, we establish a correspondence between financial services and firms' performance classified according to their size, controlling with the determinants of firm performance and the obstacles that hinder the development of each category of firm.Design/methodology/approachWe have mobilized microeconomic data on 78,629 firms stratified by size and covering 135 countries, extracted from the Enterprise Surveys database. A two-stage least squares (2SLS) regression analysis with instrumental variable modeling is used.FindingsOur empirical results show that a firm's financing behavior differs according to its size. For micro and small firms, the availability of internal financing has a positive impact on their performance. For medium-size firms, the use of debt stimulates firm performance. For large firms, the positive effect of debt diminishes as the level of debt increases, which leads this category of firms to increase their capital. We complemented the our study by exploring the issue of whether barriers to firm performance differ by size. Our results bring a support to the idea that medium-size firms suffer more than micro, small, and large firms. The size of this category of firms does not allow them to operate in the informal sector as micro and small firms do, and does not allow them to influence political authorities to operate in their favor as large firms do.Originality/valuePrevious studies have focused on investigating the effects of access to finance and/or financing constraints on firm's performance, neglecting the issue of identifying which financial services have the most impact on firm performance depending on firms' size. This study fills the gap in the literature in two main ways. First, we identify the financial services that have the most impact on firm performance using firm-level data covering 78,629 firms by size (micro, small, medium, and large). Second, we investigate the different barriers to firm performance by size.

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Section: Empirical Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Financial services and firm performance, are there any differences by size? Worldwide evidence using firm-level data

Elouaourti

Ezzahid

2022

JES

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“…The weight of each sub‐indicator in the synthetic index is:

w_{j} goodbreak= {Weight}_{j} goodbreak= \frac{{((), L F_{j})}^{2}}{VT}

‘LF is the loading factor and VT is the total variance measured by the sum of the eigenvalues in the explained variance table. The composite index for country i in year t is’ (Ezzahid & Elouaourti, 2019, p.82, 2021, 2022; Elouaourti & Ezzahid, 2022a):

Institutional Quality Index {(IQI)}_{it} goodbreak= \sum_{j = 1}^{J} w_{j} goodbreak\times {Indicator}_{ijt}

Index j refers to one of the six subindicators aggregated to obtain the synthetic index.…”

Section: Empirical Methodology: Data Variables and Empirical Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…'LF is the loading factor and VT is the total variance measured by the sum of the eigenvalues in the explained variance table. The composite index for country i in year t is' (Ezzahid & Elouaourti, 2019, p.82, 2021Elouaourti & Ezzahid, 2022a):…”

Section: Control Of Corruption a Variable That Captures The Effective...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional convergence and catching up process in Africa: A tale of three clubs

Ibourk

Elouaourti

2023

Regional Science Policy & Practice

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The aims of this article were twofold. First, to tackle the issue of convergence from an analytical point of view by presenting the mathematical developments of the main economic growth models, which emphasized that the convergence of African economies is conditional to the investment level in the early stages of physical capital accumulation. As the latter increases, the convergence of African economies is determined by other factors (investment in research and development (R&D) and human capital, etc.). Second, to verify the empirical validity of these models by confronting them with data from 33 African economies stratified by development level over the period 2004–2019. Empirical results using both spatial and nonspatial panel estimation methodology and the ‘beta‐convergence’ approach pointed to three ‘convergence clubs,’ as well as a conditional convergence for all these clubs. However, the determinants of convergence among African economies differ by development level. In low‐income economies, convergence is conditional to financial development and inflation level. For lower‐middle‐income economies, institutional quality and inflation level contribute to the convergence of this club. The convergence of upper‐middle‐income economies is conditioned by public spending and human capital. In terms of policy implications, countries should develop measures that strengthen institutional reforms to improve the functioning of financial systems, democratic accountability, control of corruption, business climate, economic growth, strengthening the legal environment, and improving competition by reducing public expenditures. This paper is original insofar as it advances the field from the current state of knowledge in several ways. First, to stand out from the existing literature, we conducted a comparative analysis of the institutional quality levels across 33 African countries by developing an institutional quality index through the use of a principal component analysis (PCA) method. Second, we tested the empirical validity of the convergence hypothesis beneath economic growth theories and in the African context; moreover, it has verified the possible existence of ‘convergence clubs,’ then, it brought to light the main determinants of the convergence of these clubs.

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“…These marginal effects can provide insight into the relative importance of each independent variable in predicting the outcome of interest. Furthermore, the logit model is a widely used technique in empirical research and is well established in the literature (Elouaourti & Ezzahid, 2022a). The econometric specification of our model on the 1,096 firm microdata is as follows:

{FTC}_{i, j, s, t} goodbreak= α_{1} goodbreak+ α_{2} {(The top manager is female)}_{i, j, s, t} goodbreak+ α_{k} \sum_{k = 3}^{7} X_{i, j, s, t} goodbreak+ φ_{j} goodbreak+ θ_{s} goodbreak+ ε_{i, j, t}

where FTC corresponds to the firms that have temporarily closed due to the COVID‐19 health crisis and is a binary variable equal to 1 if the firm has closed due to COVID‐19 and equal to 0 otherwise.…”

Section: Empirical Methodology: Data Variables and Empirical Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Empirical Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID‐19 and the fate of Moroccan female‐led firms: Regional level evidence

Elouardighi,

Oubejja

2023

Regional Science Policy & Practice

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This study examines the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic on Moroccan female‐led firms, considering both short‐term and long‐term impacts. It investigates the influence of different pandemic waves on these firms, taking into account their size and location, to gain valuable insights into their crisis management strategies. Using a micro‐level database made up of 1,096 Moroccan firms observed during the initial three waves of the pandemic, we extract data from the World Bank ‘Enterprise Survey: impact on firms’ database. Our analysis, using a logit model, reveals that the impact of the pandemic varied by the gender of the firm head and survey period. Female‐led firms were more severely affected by the health crisis compared with their male peers. The quick application of policy adaptations played a crucial role in reducing the impact of the health crisis on male‐led enterprises. Small firms, particularly those situated in regions such as Beni Mellal‐Khenifra, Drâa‐Tafilalet, Oriental, and Marrakech‐Safi, have been significantly affected by the COVID‐19 crisis. This study makes two key contributions. Firstly, it provides an empirical analysis of the pandemic's impact on Moroccan firms using enterprise‐level data, which is unprecedented in Morocco. Secondly, it investigates the repercussions of the pandemic on female‐led Moroccan firms of varying sizes and regions, acknowledging the disproportionate impact on women during economic crises. The study aims to offer valuable insights for supporting the recovery of female‐led firms in the future. Our findings emphasize the importance of targeted assistance for small firms and those located in affected regions to mitigate the crisis's consequences and promote economic revival. These businesses play a crucial role in the local economy, and supporting their survival and resilience in the post‐COVID‐19 era is essential.

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Factors of regional financial inclusion in Morocco

Cited by 12 publications

References 21 publications

Financial services and firm performance, are there any differences by size? Worldwide evidence using firm-level data

Financial services and firm performance, are there any differences by size? Worldwide evidence using firm-level data

Regional convergence and catching up process in Africa: A tale of three clubs

COVID‐19 and the fate of Moroccan female‐led firms: Regional level evidence

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