Determinants of financial development in Ethiopia: ARDL approach

Abstract

Sustainable economic growth requires financial sector development. However, financial development is low in Ethiopia. Hence, the main objective of the study was to examine determinants of financial development in Ethiopia. Annual data from 1980 to 2019 was used and examined by ARDL estimation technique. Private sector credit and money supply as percentage of GDP were used as dependent variables. Independent variables include external debt, reserve requirement, real exchange rate, lending interest rate, inflation, political freedom index, trade openness and economic growth. Broad money supply model is positively affected by political freedom index, economic growth and trade openness both in the short run and long run. While it is negatively affected by interest rate and reserve requirement. However, real exchange rate has negative effect in the long run and insignificant effect in the short run. On the other hand, credit to private sector model is positively affected by inflation, and political freedom, economic growth and trade openness. While it is negatively affected by external debt, reserve requirement and lending interest rate. Error correction estimation result of credit to private sector model shows the adjustment coefficient is −0.263 and statistically significant at 5% level of significance, which means short run deviation from long run equilibrium is adjusted at a rate of 26.3%. The adjustment coefficient for broad money supply model is −0.254. The study recommends that the government needs to improve trade and the quality of factors of production, reduce reserve requirement, reducing interest rate on lending, political.