The role of impartial administration in financial sector performance: A comparative study of Latin America and Sub-Saharan African countries

Abstract Emerging nations are often distressed if their current administration and governance do not align with social and national needs. Among these worries, there is the fear of public funds misconduct and corruption in the nation’s major institutions. Indeed, inadequate administration results in embezzlement of funds, tax evasion, and low bureaucratic quality in all sectors. This study was undertaken to address the role of impartial administration specifically in the financial sector. The research considered a sample size composed of 12 countries from Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa in the period of 2000 to 2021. The net interest margin was considered a proxy for financial performance measurement. Additionally, an ordinary least squares and quantile regression was performed to record the effect of the variables on financial sector performance. Within this context, the findings exhibited different outcomes for these regions. For instance, in the Latin America region, the results revealed that public sector theft, bureaucratic quality, corruption level, local government index, and inflation have a negative impact on the performance of the financial sector while impartial public administration demonstrated a positive impact on financial performance. On the other hand, the Sub-Saharan African region demonstrated that bureaucratic quality, local government index, and inflation have a significant and positive impact on financial performance, whereas executive embezzlement and theft, corruption level, and government final expenditures were shown to negatively influence financial performance. Finally, the study’s findings provides insights into the policies and strategies to implement in order to support the financial framework.