Research Articles (Economics and Finance)

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Browsing Research Articles (Economics and Finance) by Author "Guvuriro, Sevias"

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    Economic sustainability of small mining towns: a case study in South Africa
    (SAGE Publications, 2023) Meggersee, Angelien; Guvuriro, Sevias
    Small mining towns are often single-industry towns that turn to ghost towns or face negative socio-economic impacts upon mine closure. This study qualitatively explores the roles that mining companies and other key stakeholders (should) play in the development of local economies of the small mining communities to bring about economic sustainability, employing a constant comparative analysis. A small mining town in South Africa is the case study. Legislative and policy frameworks were scrutinized for their effectiveness in promoting economic sustainability. In-depth interviews with key stakeholders were carried out. Key factors limiting the effective implementation of developmental strategies were also explored. The study finds that weak community involvement, lack of trust, poor collaboration, poor municipal capacity, and legislation and policy flaws impact economic sustainability. Sustainable local economic development efforts are reported though. However, such efforts are insufficient because of the legislation and policy frameworks that are promoting short-term growth. Also, the town’s overdependence on the mining company, local government not optimally fulfilling their roles and responsibilities, and minimal community members’ participation on local economic development are other hindrances. However, the fact that the mining company and local municipality do acknowledge the shortcomings in their efforts towards promoting economic sustainability is a promise in minimizing the socio-economic effects of mine closures.
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    Exploring association between self-reported financial status and economic preferences using experimental data
    (MDPI, 2021) Mudzingiri, Calvin; Guvuriro, Sevias; Gomo, Charity
    Research on economic behaviour of individuals in different financial statuses such as being in a good financial standing or in a threatening financial situation are inconclusive. Some evidence suggest that the culture of poverty may shape and dominate the economic preferences of those who are poor and even make them being prone to trembling and making mistakes thereby making decisions that do not maximize their utility. Other evidence suggest that the poor exercise extra caution and fail to maximize utility. This study investigates the association between selfreported financial status and economic preferences in a developing country setting using data from an incentivized experiment and a survey. Extended random effects panel probit regression models are employed as an analytical strategy. The study established a positive association between being financially broke or very broke and being risk averse. In addition, a positive association is found between being financially ‘very broke’ and impatient. Such findings illustrate the importance of psychology of poverty in economic preferences and in decision-making in general, even as poverty is temporary as represented by self-reported financial status.
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    Exploring association between self-reported financial status and economic preferences using experimental data
    (MDPI, 2021-05) Mudzingiri, Calvin; Guvuriro, Sevias; Gomo, Charity
    Research on economic behaviour of individuals in different financial statuses such as being in a good financial standing or in a threatening financial situation are inconclusive. Some evidence suggest that the culture of poverty may shape and dominate the economic preferences of those who are poor and even make them being prone to trembling and making mistakes thereby making decisions that do not maximize their utility. Other evidence suggest that the poor exercise extra caution and fail to maximize utility. This study investigates the association between self-reported financial status and economic preferences in a developing country setting using data from an incentivized experiment and a survey. Extended random effects panel probit regression models are employed as an analytical strategy. The study established a positive association between being financially broke or very broke and being risk averse. In addition, a positive association is found between being financially ‘very broke’ and impatient. Such findings illustrate the importance of psychology of poverty in economic preferences and in decision-making in general, even as poverty is temporary as represented by self-reported financial status.
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    Gender differences in intra‐household financial decision‐making: an application of coarsened exact matching
    (MDPI, 2021-10) Booysen, Frederik; Guvuriro, Sevias
    Most studies that explore collective models of intra‐household decision‐making use economic outcomes such as human capital, earnings, assets, and relative income shares as proxies of the relative distribution of bargaining power. These studies, however, fail to incorporate important measures of control over and management of the economic resources within households. In the current study, a direct measure of financial decision‐making power within the household is used to directly assess the distribution of bargaining power. Coarsened exact matching, an identification strategy not yet applied in studies of this nature, is applied to couple‐level observational data from South Africa’s longitudinal National Income Dynamics Study. The influence of gender differences in intra‐household decision‐making on resource allocations to per capita household expenditure is assessed. In the case of greater financial decision‐making power in couples being assigned to wives rather than husbands, per capita household expenditure on education increases significantly. The empowerment of women with financial decision‐making power therefore holds the promise of realizing the benefits of investments in human capital.
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    On the predictors of loan utilization and delinquency among microfinance borrowers in Zimbabwe: A Poisson regression approach
    (Taylor & Francis, 2022) Chamboko, Richard; Guvuriro, Sevias
    Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are a prominent financial inclusion initiative in many developing countries. In Zimbabwe, however, less is known about microfinance borrowers, determinants of loan utilisation and borrowers’ repayment behaviour. Demonstrating that MFIs serve those who are economically marginalised and traditionally excluded from the formal financial system is useful in a country where most of the economic activities are in the informal sector. This study investigated the factors associated with the utilisation of microfinance loans and delinquency among microfinance borrowers using the Poisson, logit and the zero-truncated Poisson regression models on 6165 unique borrowers in Zimbabwe. The study findings revealed that microfinance loans were significantly more likely to be accessed by low-income individuals, who took small loans with relatively high instalments. Women were less likely to access microfinance loans, and reliable borrowers were more likely to access repeat loans. The level of income, number of previous loans and loan terms explained the delinquency among borrowers. Largely, the findings suggest that microfinance in Zimbabwe serves the needs of the low-income group. However, policies that seek to improve access to credit for women and youth remain a priority.