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This volume contains papers that address the role of banks, the stock market, foreign direct investment and financial management in the development process in African countries.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between banking sector efficiency and economic growth in Africa.

Methodology/approach – The paper used the stochastic frontier approach stating the banking sector cost function as a Fourier flexible to estimate bank efficiency. We then used the Arellano–Bond GMM estimator to investigate the relationship between banking sector efficiency and economic growth. Annual data for banking sector financial statements were used in estimating efficiency scores.

Findings – The study found banking sector efficiency in the sample to be 69%. We also found a positive relationship between banking sector efficiency and economic growth, confirming the critical role banks play in the economy.

Practical implications – Banking sector efficiency score of 69% implies banks in Africa could save up to 31% of their total cost if they were to operate efficiently. Policy direction should therefore focus on policies and incentives that will improve the efficiency of the banking sector and hence economic growth. The study brings to the fore the importance of the qualitative aspect of the banking sector in allocating financial resources in the real economy. Focus in the real economy should not be only on the size of the banking system but also on the quality with which resources are allocated.

Originality/value of paper – This study is among the first dedicated solely to African countries. It does set the pace for future research in the area and also confirms in Africa the Schumpeterian hypothesis that the banking sector is key in allocating resources in the real economy.

Purpose – This paper investigates competitive bank behaviour in Africa for the period 1999–2008 and further examines the impact of institutional quality and political atmosphere on competitive bank behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach – This study used panel data methodology based on the Panzar–Rosse (1987) design.

Findings – The findings of the study indicates that the nature of banking system in Africa can best be described as monopolistically competitive. Also, our findings endorse the importance of institutional quality and political stability in fostering competitive banking sector. In particular, the rule of law shows positive and significant relationship with competitive bank behaviour. Additionally, the quality of regulations suggests positive association with bank competitive behaviour. With respect to political environment, stable political atmosphere is conducive for promoting competitive banking sector. Improved regulatory quality coupled with reduced level of perception about corruption fosters competitive bank behaviour.

Originality/value – This paper provides useful information relevant to policy makers in the banking sector about the nature of bank competitive behaviour in Africa and the drivers behind the competitive behaviour.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of governance structures in Ghanaian hospitals by comparing the governance systems in public and private hospitals.

This study employs a comparative case methodology. It compares the governance structures in private hospitals to that of public hospitals in Ghana to ascertain whether they exhibit different or similar governance systems. The results obtained are analyzed and discussed to ascertain the extent to which the governance structures in these hospitals conform to Taylor's principles of good governance.

The results of the study revealed numerous differences in the governance structures in private and public hospitals in Ghana. From the review of Taylor's principles of good governance and the comparative case analysis, it was observed that some of the principles are not present in the current hospital governance systems.

The findings of this paper have important implications for proper governance and management of the Ghanaian health institutions.

The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of debt policy (capital structure) on the financial performance of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana and South Africa. Previous studies, especially on large firms, have shown that capital structure affects firm performance. Though the issue has been widely studied, largely missing from this body of literature is the focus on SMEs.

Panel data analysis is used to investigate the relations between measures of capital structure and financial performance.

Using various measures of performance, the results of this study indicate that capital structure influences financial performance, although not exclusively. By and large, the results indicate that capital structure, especially long‐term and total debt ratios, negatively affect performance of SMEs. This suggests that agency issues may lead to SMEs pursuing very high debt policy, thus resulting in lower performance.

The main value of this paper is the analysis of the effect of debt policy on the performance of SMEs in Ghana and South Africa.

This study seeks to assess how the adoption of corporate governance structures affects the performance of SMEs (small to medium‐sized enterprises) in Ghana.

Regression analysis is used to estimate the relationship between corporate governance and ownership structure and performance.

The results show that board size, board composition, management skill level, CEO duality, inside ownership, family business, and foreign ownership have significantly positive impacts on profitability. Corporate governance can greatly assist the SME sector by infusing better management practices, stronger internal auditing, greater opportunities for growth and new strategic outlook through non‐executive directors. It is clear that corporate governance structures influence performance of SMEs in Ghana.

This paper provides insights on the effects of corporate governance and ownership structure on the performance of Ghanaian SMEs. The paper also shows the implications of SMEs gaining access to finance as a result of adopting a good governance system.

This paper aims to examine links between women's access to micro‐finance and how they use maternal healthcare services in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA).

The authors use theoretical and empirical literature to propose a framework to sustain and improve women's access to maternal healthcare services through micro‐financing.

It is found that improved access to micro‐finance by women, combined with education may enhance maternal health service uptake.

The paper does not consider empirical data in the analysis. The authors advocate empirically testing the framework proposed in other SSA countries.

It is important to empower women by facilitating their access to education and micro‐finance. This has implications for improving maternal healthcare utilization in SSA.

The paper moves beyond poor access to maternal health services in SSA and proposes a framework for providing sustainable solutions.