International journal of economic perspectives

Does basic infrastructure shape the urbanization–growth relationship? Evidence from a cross-country panel

2026-10-05T16:08:12+00:00

Urbanization has the potential to create agglomeration advantages; however, the extent to which these advantages are realized may vary with the infrastructure available to support increasingly concentrated populations. This study examines whether the relationship between urbanization and economic growth varies with the level of basic-services infrastructure using an unbalanced panel of 158 economies over 2000–2024. Data are drawn from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators. A Basic Services Infrastructure Index is constructed using principal component analysis of access to electricity, urban drinking water, and urban sanitation, while Internet penetration is treated separately as a measure of digital connectivity. Using two-way fixed-effects estimation, the study examines direct and moderating relationships while accounting for country and year effects. The results indicate no statistically significant direct association between urbanization and GDP-per-capita growth. However, the positive and statistically significant interaction between urbanization and basic-services infrastructure indicates that the urbanization–growth association becomes more favourable as access to basic services increases. In contrast, Internet penetration does not exhibit a statistically significant moderating relationship. The basic-services interaction remains stable across multiple robustness specifications, although it weakens in the restricted sample for which human-capital data are available. Finally, marginal-effects analysis does not identify a statistically significant positive infrastructure threshold within the observed range. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of considering basic-service capacity when examining the relationship between urbanization and economic growth.

Mapping the research landscape of behavioural finance and artificial intelligence in retail stock market investment

2026-09-28T07:15:50+00:00

Retail investors’ decisions increasingly reflect a complex interplay between psychological biases and technology-driven tools, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), in contemporary financial markets. This bibliometric and thematic review maps the evolving intellectual landscape at the intersection of behavioural biases, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and retail investment decision-making. Using 428 English-language, peer-reviewed articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science from 2020 to 2026, the study applies the bibliometrix R package and the PRISMA framework to ensure systematic screening and analysis. The findings indicate a strong upward growth trajectory, with nearly 74% of publications appearing between 2024 and 2026, reflecting the rapid expansion of scholarly interest in this area. The publication landscape is concentrated in a limited number of influential journals, with IEEE Access and the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance emerging as key sources and Author-level analysis also reveals a small group of highly influential researchers. Geographically, research output is dominated by China, India, and the United States, with limited international collaboration. The thematic structure identifies investments, financial markets, machine learning, and forecasting as core themes, while artificial intelligence, fintech, and behavioural finance are emerging areas. Overall, the study shows a clear shift from fintech-oriented research toward a more AI-driven agenda, with growing attention to investor sentiment, financial stability, algorithmic trading, and natural language processing.

The Digital tax administration in Nigeria: An empirical assessment of the new national e-invoicing regime

2026-10-23T12:12:22+00:00

This study examined Digital Tax Administration in Nigeria; an Empirical Assessment of the new National E-Invoicing regime. The study was motivated by the growing adoption of digital technologies by tax authorities to enhance taxpayer compliance, revenue assurance, transparency, and administrative efficiency. Specifically, it assessed the effects of System Integration (SI) on Taxpayer Compliance (TC) and Invoice Automation (IA) on Tax Revenue Assurance (TRA) in Nigeria. A quantitative approach and survey research design were adopted. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to respondents knowledgeable in taxation and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Simple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses at a 5% significance level, with emphasis on the regression coefficient, coefficient of determination, t-statistic, and F-statistic. The findings showed that System Integration significantly and positively affects Taxpayer Compliance, while Invoice Automation significantly and positively influences Tax Revenue Assurance in Nigeria. The study concludes that digital invoicing can strengthen tax administration through improved compliance and revenue assurance. It recommends that the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) deploy advanced analytical tools for risk-based audits and detection of unusual transactions and invoice discrepancies.

Universal Health Insurance (UHI) in Ivory Coast: Determinants of enrolment and impact on inequalities in access to care

2026-10-19T20:35:37+00:00

This article analyses the determinants of enrolment in Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and its impact on inequalities in access to healthcare in Côte d’Ivoire, using data from the 2021 Harmonised Household Living Conditions Survey (EHCVM, n = 40,475 individuals). The study relies on a two-level multilevel logit model (individuals, regions), an Erreygers-corrected concentration index, and Propensity Score Matching (PSM). The results show that age, education, marital status, income and media access positively and significantly influence UHC enrolment, whereas gender, household size, area of residence and distance to a health facility show no robust effect. The concentration index (CI = -0.1348; Erreygers index = -0.1243) reveals that access to care is concentrated among the poorest individuals. Finally, the PSM estimation shows that UHC enrolment increases the probability of using a health service by about 9 percentage points (ATT = 0.0904; p < 0.01). These results suggest that UHC improves healthcare utilisation, but that its effect on reducing inequalities remains limited without a parallel improvement in the supply of care.

Bank competition and maturity of loans in WAEMU countries

2026-11-12T14:49:07+00:00

This study aims to empirically evaluate the effect of bank competition on the maturity of bank credit in the countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). This objective was achieved by using a relatively recent econometric method, namely FMOLS, on a sample of 7 countries in the union over the period 1996-2021. The results of the estimation reveal that in the long term, in the presence of strong competition, banks will favour their relations with their customers by offering long-term loans. On the other hand, when competition is weak, banks will opt for short-term credit. These results, therefore, validate the predictions of the market power hypothesis.