TITLE:
Digital Financial Inclusion and Trade Openness in Africa
AUTHORS:
Alain Mukamba Mulungula, Frederic Nimubona
KEYWORDS:
Digital Finance Inclusion, Trade Openness, Africa
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.10 No.2,
March
10,
2022
ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to test the impact of digital financial
inclusion on trade openness using a panel of 16 African countries observed over
a 17-year period from 2002 to 2018. T >
N, this study favors a methodology based on static panel estimates using the
generalized least squares (GLS) method. The results obtained revealed that only
one variable (logGDP) out of the five retained has a statistically significant
influence on trade openness at the 1% level (p > t = 0.06) with a coefficient opposite to the predicted sign
of (﹣0.2371655). This coefficient shows that the decrease in national
production in these countries by 0.23% leads to a decrease in the level of
trade by 1%. In relation to the variable of interest (ATMs), it was found that
it negatively and significantly influences trade openness at the 1% level. When
the level of trade decreases by 0.6%, it means that the use of digital finance
has decreased by 1%. Also, the study finds an R2 within of meaning 0.0527
that at 5.27% the fluctuations in trade in these economies are explained by the
model variables.