Author
Mouna Amari
Other affiliations: University of Sfax
Bio: Mouna Amari is an academic researcher from University of Gabès. The author has contributed to research in topics: Inequality & Economic inequality. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 5 publications receiving 33 citations. Previous affiliations of Mouna Amari include University of Sfax.
Papers
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined linkages between information and communication technology (ICT) dynamics, inequality and poverty in order to establish critical masses of poverty and inequality that should not be exceeded in order for ICT dynamics to promote gender inclusive education in 57 developing countries for the period 2012-2016.
26 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined linkages between information and communication technology (ICT) dynamics, inequality and poverty in order to establish critical masses of poverty and inequality that should not be exceeded in order for ICT dynamics to promote gender inclusive education in 57 developing countries for the period 2012-2016.
Abstract: This study examines linkages between information and communication technology (ICT) dynamics, inequality and poverty in order to establish critical masses of poverty and inequality that should not be exceeded in order for ICT dynamics to promote gender inclusive education in 57 developing countries for the period 2012-2016. Poverty is measured with the poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of the population) while inequality is proxied by the Gini coefficient, the Atkinson index and the Palma ratio. The ICT dynamics are measured with ‘internet access in school’, ‘virtual social network’, ‘personal computers’ ‘mobile phone penetration’, ‘internet penetration’ and ‘fixed broadband subscriptions’. The empirical evidence is based on interactive Generalized Method of Moments estimators from which thresholds are computed contingent on the validity of tested hypotheses. First, the Gini coefficient should not exceed 0.5618 in order for ‘internet access in school’ to positively affect inclusive education. Second, the poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of the population) should remain below 33.6842% in order for ‘internet access in school’ to favorably influence inclusive education. Third, the Palma ratio should not exceed 3.3766 in order for internet penetration to favorably affect inclusive education. Fourth, for personal computers to increase inclusive education, the Gini coefficient, Palma ratio and poverty headcount (% of the population) should not exceed 0.4781, 3.5294 and 17.7272, respectively. The study confirms the significant role technological deepening plays in advancing inclusive education by means of policies that reduce poverty and income inequality, with potentially wider applicability to other developing economies. The study has provided poverty and inequality levels that should not be exceeded in order for personal computers, internet penetration and ‘internet access in school’ to promote gender inclusive education.
25 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the effect of financial literacy level and risk aversion on the saving behavior of French households and found that financial literacy moderate the relationship between risk aversion and saving behavior.
Abstract: The objective of this study is to explore the effects of financial literacy level and risk aversion on the saving behavior. The literature review showed dialectical results. Therefore, this study attempts to clarify the debatable of these results by studying the mediating effect of risk aversion on the relationships between demographics determinants and saving behavior moderated by the effect of the financial literacy level.,The data were collected from the University of Normandy; the study sample included 516 respondents representing different segments of French households. The structural equation analysis was utilized to control the impact of financial literacy as a moderate variable and the risk aversion as a mediator variable among the link between sociodemographic factors and saving behavior.,The results demonstrated that there were significant effects of demographics factors on risk aversion. Moreover, financial literacy moderates the relationships between risk aversion and saving behavior.,The major limitation of this research is the small size of the study sample. This paper is restricted to French households. Future financial education training should cover the European context.,This study provides further evidence that financial literacy should be considered an important factor for improving household well-being. The paper encourages governments and financial institutions to create a national financial education program.,This paper is the first attempt to employ a sample of low-income households after financial education training in the French context.
22 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors studied the relationship between information and communication technology (ICT) readiness, use, and intensity and environmental sustainability factors in the lower and middle lower-income countries from 2012 to 2018.
Abstract: PurposeThis paper aims to study the relationship between information and communication technology (ICT) readiness, use, and intensity and environmental sustainability factors in the lower and middle lower-income countries from 2012 to 2018.Design/methodology/approachICT readiness, use and intensity are measured with the impact of ICT on access to basic services, phone penetration and Internet penetration, while CO2 emissions per capita, fossil fuel energy consumption and methane emissions are used as indicators for air pollution. To achieve this goal, a two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation was performed which thresholds are computed contingent on the validity of tested hypotheses.FindingsThe results demonstrate that increasing ICT readiness, use and intensity in lower and lower-middle-income countries enhance environmental sustainability by decreasing CO2 emissions and energy consumption.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the limitations of this study is that the conclusions and policy recommendations do not take into account the specificities of each country. Indeed there are some differences in the growth pattern of ICT in the lower and middle-lower-income countries. Taken together, the authors conclude that increasing ICT has a positive net effect on CO2 and methane emissions per capita, while increasing the impact of ICT access in basic services has a net negative effect on CO2 fossil fuel energy consumption and methane emissions.Practical implicationsThe world needs immediate emissions reduction to avoid the long-term danger of climate change. Second, government authorities should give additional efforts in the more pollutant sector such as transport and industry to monitor their energy consumption.Originality/valueTo explore this issue further, the negative net effects suggest that ICT needs to be further developed beyond the determined thresholds, to attain the required negative net effect on fossil fuel energy consumption.
10 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined financial literacy and economics education among university students in Tunisia and found that financial illiteracy is prevalent among young adults, particularly among young adult populations, which may affect all areas of their lives.
Abstract: Financial literacy is a key element in financial decision making and well-being, which may affect all areas of our lives. Inadequate levels of financial literacy, particularly among young adults, is a global problem. This study addresses the following questions: are young adults financially literate, and how can this be measured? This study examines financial literacy and economics education among university students in Tunisia. The findings suggest that university students have inadequate knowledge of personal investment. Most importantly, the authors find that financial illiteracy is prevalent. Although this study was limited to Tunisian students, applications to broader young adult populations, particularly in the assessment method, are easily made.
8 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated if financial development benefits from financial globalisation are questionable until certain thresholds of financial globalization are attained, and provided policy makers with levels of FDI (as percentage of GDP) that are required to start materialising financial development gains from financial globalization.
Abstract: Purpose - We investigate if financial development benefits from financial globalisation are questionable until certain thresholds of financial globalisation are attained. Design/methodology/approach - Financial globalisation is proxied with Net Foreign Direct Investment Inflows as a percentage of GDP (FDIgdp) whereas financial development entails dynamics of depth, efficiency, activity and size. The empirical evidence is based on; (i) data from 53 African countries for the period 2000-2011 and (ii) interactive Generalised Method of Moments with forward orthogonal deviations. Findings- The following findings are established. First, thresholds of FDIgdp from which financial globalisation increases money supply are 20.50 and 16.00 for below- and above-median sub-samples of financial globalisation respectively. Second, FDIgdp thresholds from which financial globalisation increases banking system activity and financial system activity for below-median sub-samples of financial globalisation are 13.81 and 13.29 respectively. Third, for financial size, there is evidence of: (i) a positive threshold of 21.30 in the full sample and (ii) consistent increasing returns without a modifying threshold for the above-median sub-sample. Practical implications- Evidence of a positive threshold implies that while the initial effect of financial globalisation on financial development is negative, there is a positive marginal effect, such that at a certain level of FDIgdp (or threshold), the overall effect of financial globalisation on the given financial development dynamic becomes positive. It follows that financial globalisation is both negative and positive for financial development, with a U-shaped relationship. Therefore the appropriate role of policy should neither be to stem the tide of capital flows nor to encourage them, but to understand what levels or thresholds of capital flows are required to benefit domestic financial development. Originality/value- We have extended the debate on initial or threshold conditions for the financial development benefits from financial globalisation by providing policy makers with levels of FDI (as percentage of GDP) that are required to start materialising financial development benefits from financial globalisation.
210 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess the relevance of basic formal education in information technology for inclusive human development in 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2000-2012 and find that poor primary education dampens the positive effect of mobile phone penetration on inclusive human Development.
Abstract: This study assesses the relevance of basic formal education in information technology for inclusive human development in 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2000-2012. The question it aims to answer is the following: what is the relevance of basic formal education in the effect of mobile phone penetration on inclusive human development in sub-Saharan Africa when initial levels of inclusive human development are taken into account? The empirical evidence is based on instrumental quantile regressions. Poor primary education dampens the positive effect of mobile phone penetration on inclusive human development. This main finding should be understood in the perspective that, the education quality indicator represents a policy syndrome because of the way it is computed, notably: the ratio of pupils to teachers. Hence, an increasing ratio indicates decreasing quality of education. It follows that decreasing quality of education dampens the positive effect of mobile phone on inclusive development. This tendency is consistent throughout the conditional distribution of inclusive human development. Policy implications for sustainable development are discussed.
66 citations
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TL;DR: The mechanisms through which ICT can affect the environment, namely education, transportation, foreign direct investment, regulatory quality, and institutional quality, are identified, which have critical implications for combatting climate change.
Abstract: The debate on the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in environmental sustainability remains a puzzle in empirical research. It is unclear whether ICT can help mitigate the afte...
49 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, a comparative analysis between sampled African countries and the corresponding sampled developing countries was conducted to understand the greater diffusion of mobile money innovations in Africa. But, not all factors driving mobile money innovation in Africa are apparent in the findings of Lashitew et al. (2019).
Abstract: The present research extends Lashitew, van Tulder and Liasse (2019, RP) in order to understand the greater diffusion of mobile money innovations in Africa. To make this assessment, a comparative analysis is engaged between sampled African countries and the corresponding sampled developing countries. Three main types of predictor groups are used for the study, namely: demand, supply and macro-level factors. The empirical evidence is based on Tobit regressions. The tested hypothesis is confirmed because from a comparative analysis between African-specific estimates and those of the sampled countries, not all factors driving mobile money innovations in Africa are apparent in the findings of Lashitew et al. (2019). An extended analysis is also performed to take on board the concern of multicollinearity from which, the best estimators from the study are derived. Comparative findings from correlation analysis show that an African specificity is largely traceable to the ‘unique mobile subscription rate’ variable. An in-depth empirical analysis further confirms an African specificity in the outcome variables (especially in the mobile used to send/receive money) which, may be traceable to informal sector variables not documented in Lashitew et al. (2019). Scholarly and policy implications are discussed.
39 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how increasing ICT penetration in sub-Saharan Africa can contribute towards environmental sustainability by decreasing CO2 emissions, based on the Generalised Method of Moments and forty-four countries for the period 2000-2012.
Abstract: This study examines how increasing ICT penetration in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) can contribute towards environmental sustainability by decreasing CO2 emissions. The empirical evidence is based the Generalised Method of Moments and forty-four countries for the period 2000-2012. ICT is measured with internet penetration and mobile phone penetration while CO2 emissions per capita and CO2 emissions from liquid fuel consumption are used as proxies for environmental degradation. The following findings are established: First, from the non-interactive regressions, ICT (i.e. mobile phones and the internet) does not significantly affect CO2 emissions. Second, with interactive regressions, increasing ICT has a positive net effect on CO2 emissions per capita while increasing mobile phone penetration alone has a net negative effect on CO2 emissions from liquid fuel consumption. Policy thresholds at which ICT can change the net effects from positive to negative are computed and discussed. These policy thresholds are the minimum levels of ICT required, for the effect of ICT on CO2 emissions to be negative. Other practical implications for policy and theory are discussed.
30 citations