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This paper aims to investigate automated teller machine (ATM) fraud in southwest Nigeria, as extant studies have not examined the unintended consequences of ATM subscription particularly the effect of the identity of fraudsters and the strategies for defrauding.

Using sequential exploratory strand of mixed method, data were collected from both ATM users and victims of ATM fraud using multi-stage sampling procedure. This involved purposive selection of Lagos and Oyo states.

Results showed that fraudsters were typically lovers, friends, relatives and sometimes children of victims. Strategies for defrauding included card cloning, swapping of cards and physical attacks at ATM galleries.

Because of the size of the sample which is small, the research results may lack generalizability. More expansive works are needed across Nigeria in this regard.

The paper includes implications for policy initiative concerning the deployment and use of payment systems such as ATM in Nigeria.

The paper reveals the limits of trust in cashless policy. It raises salient policy issues concerning the need for the governance of trust to engender adoption.

The paper characterizes fraudsters and their strategies for defrauding.

This paper aims to examine the impact of health and other exogenous shocks on stock markets in Africa. Particularly, the authors examined the resilience of the major stock markets in 12 African economies during the recent global pandemic.

This paper uses the recent panel vector autoregressive model, which enables us to capture the response of stock markets to shocks in COVID-19, commodity markets and exchange rate. For robustness, the authors also analysed the panel Granger causality test. Data was obtained for the period ranging from 2 January 2020 to 31 December 2020.

The results show that the growth in COVID-19 cases and deaths do not have any substantial impact on the stock market returns of these economies. In terms of commodity markets, the authors find that gold price has a negative contemporaneous effect on stock returns, but the effect fizzles out around the fifth day while crude oil price, on the other hand, has a significant positive simult aneous impact on stock returns and also converges around the fifth day. The authors further find that the exchange rate has a contemporaneous and nonlinear effect on stock returns and seems to be more dramatic when compared with the other variables. Overall, the results show that stock markets in Africa appear to be flexible and resilient against the COVID-19 outbreak but are affected by other exogenous shocks such as volatile commodity prices and the foreign exchange market. The effect is, however, short-lived – between one to five days.

Following the study’s findings, policies should be put in place to support financial markets by way of hedging against commodity instability and securing domestic currency financing. Policymakers are also recommended to concentrate on managing the uncertainties around their exchange rate markets and develop robust and efficient domestic financial markets to encourage local and foreign investors.

Several studies have been carried out on the effects of disasters (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) on stock markets, but only a few studies have examined the resilience of stock markets to health and other exogenous shocks. This study’s attempt is not only to examine the impact of COVID-19 health shocks on stock markets but also to analyse the resilience of the sampled stock markets. The authors also analyse the resilience of stock markets to commodity markets and exchange rates shocks.

Many West African countries face the challenge of growth inclusiveness. The region is also facing challenges of equipping its teeming population with high-quality skills despite many reforms and initiatives introduced in the past. This study, thus, identifies education as a crucial contributory factor to growth inclusiveness in the region. It, therefore, examined the role of education in growth inclusiveness in West Africa between 1990 and 2017.

The study utilised different proxies to capture quantity and quality dimensions of education. The unit root and ARDL “Bounds” tests were employed at a preliminary stage. Based on the preliminary tests, the study explored autoregressive distributed lags modelling technique to capture the short-run and long-run dynamic effects.

The empirical results reveal a positive impact of school enrolment measures in most of the countries in both short-run and long-run. Education quality measure exerts positive impact and significant in few countries under consideration.

These countries should give adequate attention to quality when designing education policy to foster their inclusive growth.

This study highlights the critical role of education in the inclusive growth pursuit. Education quantity is important to growth inclusiveness but the quality of education is more fundamental. The quality of education possessed determine to a large extent, what individual can contribute to the productive activities within the economy and accessibility to benefits from economic prosperity.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of institutions in the financial development-output growth volatility nexus. It provides new channels through which financial development can dampen the output growth volatilities of the countries under investigation.

A comprehensive data set for 71 countries covering the period from 1996 to 2012 and the System GMM approach were used. The choice of the methodology is to deal with endogeneity issues such as measurement errors, reverse causality among other issues.

A number of findings were emanated from the empirical analysis. First, the estimates provided evidence of the volatility-reducing effect of financial development. Second, institutions do not have the same reducing influence on output growth volatility. Third, the interaction of financial development and institutions showed that the output volatility reduction arising from financial development is enhanced in the presence of improved institutions.

The policy implications derived from this study are in twofolds: first, it is important for policymakers to formulate policies that would ensure and enhance the development of the financial sectors, since its importance in minimizing output volatility has been established. Second, institutional quality should be developed so as to further enhance the growth volatility-reducing influence of financial development. Particularly, institutions should be improved along the multiple dimensions captured in the analysis.

To the best knowledge, the novelty of this study to the literature is the introduction of institutions, which is hypothesized to increase the dampening effects of financial development in output growth volatility.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the role of institutions on the remittances–output growth volatility relationship.

The data set of this paper is limited to 71 remittances recipient countries. In an attempt to deal with endogeneity issues, the paper adopts the use of system generalised method of moment (GMM).

First, in consonance with earlier studies, the growth volatility reducing influence of remittances flows was established. Second, unlike the extant literature, the growth volatility reduction potential of remittances was found to be more pronounced in the presence of well-functioning institutions. Finally, the interaction of remittances with our six institutional quality measures showed that growth volatility reduced considerably with better institutions.

In terms of policy, remittances recipient countries need to simultaneously pursue economic and governance reforms. Both of these will enhance the counter-cyclicality of remittances and possibly other capital flows.

Substantial efforts have been devoted to investigating the impact of remittances on output growth volatility, while very little research attention has been devoted to analysing the impact of institutions on the remittances–output growth volatility nexus.

The purpose of this paper is to examine factors underlying gender preference of domestic servants (DS). Children in domestic service constitute the most common form of urban child labour. Literature has shown that domestic service employment has a gender face with the girl-child more susceptible. This is the gap this research fills.

The study employed both quantitative and qualitative strategies selecting respondents and analysing the study. The respondents were employers of DS and were mainly women. Qualitative data were generated from 15 employers reached through the snowball method. The stratified purposive sampling technique was used to identify private and public organisations in the selected localities where copies of a questionnaire were administered.

The results showed that factors considered for employing DS are linked to traditional conception of household tasks. Consequently, girls (86.4 per cent) were preferred for performing domestic chores, providing emotional support for employers’ children and were viewed as receptive, “mouldable”, and hardworking to male (11.4 per cent). Not minding these functional roles they perform, some employers reported that female DS could “snatch” their husbands, influence their children negatively, and may be spiritually possessed and physically “unclean”. Male servants were considered foul, repulsive, and revolting to correction; besides, they sexually assault female children of employers; hence they were least demanded.

Because of the size of the sample which is small, the research results may lack generalisability. More expansive works are needed in this regard.

The paper includes implications for policy initiative concerning the plight of working women and security of DS.

The paper reveals the social factors considered in recruiting DS and their implications on family relations.

This paper fulfills the identified gap to study gender preference in domestic servitude.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the victimization experiences of farming and herding communities in Nasarawa State, Nigeria.

The study employed purposive sampling, extracting data from 27 victims in Lafia and Obi local government areas. Data were collected using in-depth and key informant interviews. In a balance of tales, both farming and herding communities claimed victimhood status.

While farming communities suffered internal displacement resulting from destruction of farmland, forceful takeover of own community, destruction of livelihoods and human fatalities; herding community victimization manifested in destruction of livelihood (killing of cows), cattle rustling and human fatalities. Arising from the findings, the authors suggest proactive policing and victim compensation to reduce the incidence and severity of victimization.

The study is unique as it probed into the neglected domain of victimization experiences of farming and herding communities.