In the 1950s and 1960s, after gaining independence from their colonial powers, most developing countries adopted “market substitution” as their policy for economic development and growth. In essence, this was an industrialisation strategy followed by these developing economies to concentrate on home-grown products and nurture their expertise in order to reach the status of industrialised nations. However, by the end of 1970s, many developing countries began to realize the failures of their inward-looking approach to industrialization when their economies were mired with high unemployment, inflation and chronic external debt. By the middle of 1980s, many of these countries began to change their policies and reorient themselves into market economies. However, with financial crises and economic recessions that resulted from pursuing market driven liberalization policies, these economies began to realize the flaws of the market driven approach to industrialization. Nevertheless, they continued with the liberalised policies incorporating market as well as non-market (institutional) reforms, aimed at strengthening regulation, improving corporate governance and curbing corruption to avoid the destabilising consequences of financial liberalization. The evolving economic policies that influenced financial development and growth in developing economies came about with the objective of enhancing household and private sector‘s savings. These policies have been designed to influence financial development and economic growth (which can impact upon private savings) in two different ways: (i) by increasing saving due to households taking precautionary motives, or (ii) negatively by spending more due to increase in overall expenditures. Theoretically, the combined effect on private saving is therefore ambiguous. The purpose of this thesis is to assess empirically the importance of various economic factors influencing private sector savings in emerging market economies. In addition, the influence of non-market institutional factors on savings is explored from the incorporation of newly institutional measures into these countries economic policies. Several econometric methodologies are employed with empirical analysis conducted on data for twenty emerging economies across three primary regions in the world, i.e. Asia Pacific, Middle East and North African (MENA), and South America. The twenty countries also include other emerging economies that are proximate to MENA regions such as South Africa, Turkey and Israel. In general, the findings based on SUR (Seemingly Unrelated Regression) methodology show that per capita growth, financial development, government savings, and trade openness have a positive impact on private savings; while youth and old dependency-age groups, real interest rate, and urban growth have a negative effect on private savings. In general, most of these results are consistent with previous studies for other countries. Additionally, causality tests are conducted using Vector Autoregressive (VAR) methodology as well as Pedroni and Johansen cointegration methods within the Vector Error Correction (VEC) model to determine both short-term and long-term causality effects between financial development and economic growth. The results indicate that in the long run financial development has a causal effect on growth; however, in the short run the results are quite mixed. For example, the short run result using the VAR method shows that income growth has Granger causality effect on financial development, but the F-test result for the VEC method shows evidence of bivariate causality. The long-term causality results also confirm the finding of previous research about the importance of developing financial sector in order to spur the country‘s economic growth. The final empirical investigation is to conduct panel data regression to test the impact of non-market institutions on private savings. The main result here is that sound institutional factors based on respect for property rights (e.g. bureaucracy, accountability and regulation quality) have a positive effect on aggregate private savings. Furthermore, political stability is found to have a negative impact on savings while efficient bureaucracy has a positive impact on savings. It can be construed that with an uncertain political environment, i.e. diminishing political stability, the public in general would save more than spend. On the other hand, efficient bureaucracy would boost public confidence about the country‘s governance, which can lead to increased overall savings by the public.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study seeks to analyse the financial sector’s (commercial banks and the Bank of Namibia) policy interventions towards creating an inclusive financial system. To achieve this the objective of this study is in three folds, firstly to examine the level and extent of financial inclusiveness in Namibia, secondly to evaluate financial sector (commercial banks and the Bank of Namibia) policies to ascertain their effectiveness in promoting access to finance in Namibia, and thirdly to review international experiences to provide key learning lessons for Namibia’s financial system improvement. It is important that the problems associated with the high level of financial exclusion are understood. Through an analysis of the theoretical information and empirical results it is possible to establish how to improve financial inclusion which is critical for development and economic growth. Financial Inclusion (FI) has become a key pillar of development policy in a number of countries around the world on account of the fact that exclusive development is not sustainable. The paper explored the role of Mobile Money Services (MMS) in enhancing financial inclusion. The study was motivated by the proliferation of mobile phones amongst low income earners, the prepaid billing system sensitive to users’ incomes, adoption of ICT by government and the private sector that has enhanced e-commerce readiness of Uganda, as well as the launch of three Mobile Money Services in the country. A qualitative analysis of the web content of the three MMS providers was undertaken and focused on issues related to services provided; transaction charges; number of registered customers; number and volume of transactions; stakeholders; user interfaces and security; institutional relationships; policy and regulation; as well as appropriateness of the current business model(s). The findings indicate that while the MMS have enormous potential to enhance FI, it would require an open business model that involves all stakeholders to establish a truly national solution. Furthermore, the initial contribution of MMS to FI is in improving money transfer by lowering the transaction costs for small volumes. As a way forward, the regulatory authorities need to establish a legal framework that does not stifle innovation but ensures safety for customers’ savings. From the literature it becomes clear that there are various advantages associated with inclusive financial system. Various studies have demonstrated the positive correlation between financial inclusion and economic growth and poverty alleviation. Most of the data used in the study were collected by means of desk review for secondary data. Various articles and annual reports of commercial banks and regulators were analysed to provide an overview of the current state of financial inclusion in Namibia. However, primary data were also used to analyse the current initiatives of the commercial banks. The study finds that there are policy interventions that are in place and are being pursued by various players aimed at improving the public access to financial services. Results of the recently published FinMark2011 Survey report also indicate that 51 percent of adults are now included in the financial system compared to 31 percent recorded during the 2007 survey. Finally the study’s recommendations highlight various initiatives and activities which different stakeholders should undertake to improve the level of financial inclusion in the economy.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

This study examined the college student experience from a student perspective. The conceptual framework of Strauss' negotiated order was used to examine the relationship between structure and process in organizational settings. The ways in which students linked their immediate and larger social worlds were examined as an element in the adjustive processes of the organization. The data consisted of time activity reports, unstructured interviews, and a shadowing experience with a small sample of middle-class Mexican-American students at the University of Arizona. Content analysis of the data was conducted across three dimensions of "Making It On Campus"; Making the Grade, Making It With Others, and Making Money. Findings indicated that students perceived their experience from a generalized goal of becoming "On Your Own." Student coping strategies across the three areas of Making It became shared patterns of activities centered around attempts to organize their world, assert some control, and develop independence and autonomy.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in 25% fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Management (in the field of Public and Development Management), 2016 / Financial inclusion has taken centre stage in the development agenda in the 21st century. This was widely noticed after the global economic meltdown in 2008 where multinational companies faced bankruptcy and many people were negatively impacted. Financial inclusion is defined as being the state in which all people have access to appropriate and desired financial products and services. It is believed to be a key component of the financial sector and has been hailed by its proponents to be a positive driver of economic growth and poverty reduction. Financial inclusion is anchored on one pivotal concept which is financial literacy, or the ability of individuals to use knowledge and skills gained from financial education for betterment of their lives. The significance of financial inclusion has been acknowledged by many countries and Lesotho is no exception. The Support to Financial Inclusion in Lesotho (SUFIL) project was implemented with the aim of improving financial inclusion in Lesotho. This research was undertaken to ascertain the extent to which the SUFIL has achieved its aims and objectives. Overall, while there are some areas that require review or improvement, the project has had a positive impact in improving financial inclusion in Lesotho. / XL2018

Thesis (M.M. (Finance & Investment))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, 2017. / Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) are proving to be a pivotal asset in providing essential access to financial services to the urban and rural poor who are traditionally shunned by the mainstream blue-chip financial service providers in developing countries. However, in the literature, MFIs providing entrepreneurial assistance have been lumped together with MFIs providing a more exploitative and consumption loan offering. This then masks the value or the poverty reducing effect of MFIs that have financial products geared to assist the creation of small businesses for the poor. The aim of this study is to examine South Africa’s microfinance institutions and their impact on poverty reduction in urban and rural areas. To this end the research question is as follows: what is the impact of the MFI on poverty reduction around eThekwini region? This study was conducted among microfinance institutions and the beneficiaries of MFIs in eThekwini region. In order to gain better insights and in order to better understand the real depth and knowledge of this topic, the researcher needed a view of both the service provider and their customers. A structured close ended survey questionnaire was designed for MFI managers and borrowers. The responses received show that Microfinance institutions are a useful means to reduce poverty among the poor. On this basis, it is recommended that the government must play an active role to regulate MFIs but more importantly to find innovate ways to help fund or subsidize their activities among the poor. / MT 2017

The Market Timing - Buy and Hold (MT-BH) is introduced, tested against widely accepted performance models of market timing and tested if implamentation is possible. The MT-BH metric measures the condition of engaging in market timing strategies relative to buy and hold investing across an equity market. The metric provides an alternative explanation to why market timing results of investors and managers vary through time and across different equity markets. This dissertation examines how the is correlated with traditional market timing measures of the Treynor and Sharpe ratios over the 1995-2010 time period and how it affects widely used measures of regression based market timing models of Treynor- Mazuy and Henriksson-Merton. The Market Timing - Buy and Hold (MT-BH) metric can be applied to any equity market over any time period to condition the market timing skill of money managers in any equity market around the world. The final accomplishment of this dissertation is to determine if readily available finance and macro-economic variables can help investors determine which years are more favorable to pursue market timing strategies and which years favor buy and hold investing. When real GDP growth rates, inflation rates and PE ratios were low or negative and when dividend yields were high, market timing strategies were favorable across 44 country market indexes from 1994-2008. These results were robust to country level of development, negative market return years and other control variables. The conditions for pursing market timing strategies were time variant and detectable with macro-economic and finance variables. The MT-BH metric allows investors and brokers to determine when to switch from buy and hold investing to a market timing strategy using macro-economic and financial variables and helps to explain why market timing skill of managers is rarely found to be persistent. / by William Fount Johnson, III. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The increase of divorce rate and infidelity with rapid economic development leads people to think about the influence of money on romantic relationships. Previous studies focused on the exploration of the relation between income and romantic relationships. They revealed that money facilitates the development of romantic relationships, but is also associated with relationship conflicts and crisis. However, little is known about how money is related to the occurrences of relationship problems. The current study centered on the negative effects of money on romantic relationships, and explored the possible psychological processes underlying these effects. I predicted that some money-related attitudes and feelings would exert a negative effect on individuals’ relationship satisfaction and investment, and increase the possibility of getting a better alternative by motivating them to approach the attractive opposite-sex, thus decreasing relationship commitment. I recruited Mainland Chinese college students and community samples involved in romantic relationships and conducted three studies under the framework of the investment model. A paper-and-pencil questionnaire was used in Study 1 to investigate the relationship between attitudes towards money and relationship investment. Results showed that people who assigned a high value to money underestimated their partners’ investment, and performed fewer pro-relationship behaviors. In Study 2 and Study 3, I used the priming method to trigger a relatively rich or poor feeling. Study 2 focused on respondents’ satisfaction with their partners and revealed that men feeling relatively rich were less satisfied with their partners’physical appearance than those feeling relatively poor. This difference was not significant for women. In Study 3, I examined how individuals thought and behaved in a situation with an opposite-sex attractive alternative. Results showed that men feeling relatively rich sat closer to the attractive alternative than men feeling relatively poor. Compared with men, women feeling rich reported less interest in dating the attractive alternative but sat closer to him than women feeling poor. Put simply, the importance that an individual places in money is negatively related to relationship investment, and the awareness of being rich may cause low satisfaction and increase an individual’s propensity to approach the alternative. According to the investment model, results from my studies demonstrate that these money-related attitudes and feelings could potentially exert a negative impact on romantic commitment, and this could be an important reason for the instability of romantic relationships. Findings from my studies also revealed some gender differences in the influences of money, indicating that the magnitude and direction of these influences could partially depend on which relationship partner owns the money. These findings have both conceptual and practical implications for the psychology of money and romantic relationships. / 近年來，中國經濟在飛速發展，與此同時，離婚率不斷上升，出軌事件日益增加，這讓人們開始思考金錢對愛情關係的影響。已有研究者探討了收入與愛情之間的關係，發現金錢可以促進愛情關係的發展，但是也與關係中的衝突和危機相關。金錢如何導致了關係問題的出現，有關這一問題的研究成果有限。因此，本研究以金錢對愛情關係的消極影響為焦點，探索這些影響背後可能的心理機制。我假設某些與金錢有關的態度和感受對關係滿意度和關係投資會有消極影響，並且，會增加個體獲得一個更好的新關係的可能性，根據投資模型(Rusbult, 1983)，關係承諾由此會被削弱。我以正處於愛情關係中的大學生和成人為被試，在投資模型的理論框架下實施了三個研究。研究一使用紙筆測驗考察了個體對於金錢的態度和關係投資之間的關係，結果表明，重視金錢的人往往會低估伴侶對關係的投入，並且做出較少的親關係行為。在研究二和研究三的實驗中，我使用了啟動方法引發相對富有或貧窮的感覺。研究二以對伴侶的滿意度為焦點，發現感覺相對富裕的男性對伴侶外貌的滿意度低於感覺貧窮的男性，對女性來說，這種差異不顯著。研究三的目的是檢驗在有吸引力異性在場的情境中個體的想法和行為。結果表明，與感覺相對貧窮的男性相比，感覺富有的男性選擇了距離有吸引力的異性比較近的座位。與感覺相對貧窮的女性相比，感覺富有的女性與有吸引力異性約會的興趣較小，但是選擇了距離其比較近的座位。簡言之，個體對金錢的重視程度與關係投資負相關，並且感覺富有可能會導致較低的滿意度和較高的接近其他異性的傾向。根據投資模型，可以認為這些與金錢有關的態度和感受可能會對關係承諾有消極影響，這可能是導致愛情關係不穩定的一個重要原因。本研究的結果揭示了一些有關金錢影響的性別差異，表明金錢影響力的大小和方向可能在某種程度上取決於在關係中哪一方擁有金錢。這些研究結果對於金錢心理學和愛情關係心理學都有重要的理論和實踐意義。 / Li, Yiming. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-101). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on 20, December, 2016). / Detailed summary in vernacular field only.

by Ng Kwok-Hong [and] So Hung. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1981. / Bibliography: leaves 114-115.

There appears to be a growing recognition among economists and other social commentators that people attempt to enhance their relative position (which is commonly described as status) through consumption choices and other behaviour. It has been less common to consider whether attempts to enhance relative position impact on saving behaviour. This thesis makes a number of contributions relating to the impact of relative position on saving behaviour. In this thesis I: - consider why concern for relative position may impact on saving behaviour. I demonstrate, with a simple intertemporal model the surprising result that when people are concerned with relative position, income risk can lead to most people saving less and the rich saving more. - conduct an empirical study to test the importance of relative position on saving behaviour. I find a statistically and economically significant relationship between peer income and saving behaviour consistent with theories that people actively forgo saving to seek to enhance their relative position. I use the data to demonstrate that relative position can help to explain why prior research has consistently found that the rich have higher saving rates. - consider the policy implications of relative position to saving behaviour. I examine the policies, primarily corrective taxation, that have been advocated to address externalities of relative position in a static setting. I find that there are significant issues when these policies are considered in an intertemporal setting. I examine the policy of mandatory saving in addressing distortions caused by relative position and the possibility that concern for relative position improves the effectiveness of mandatory saving policy.