Sectoral linkages of financial services as channels of economic development—An input–output analysis of the Nigerian and Kenyan economies

Sectoral linkages of financial services of the Nigerian and Kenyan economies are evaluated by means of an input–output analysis for 2007, 2009 and 2011. Backward linkages, forward linkages, multiplier effects and variation indices for the financial services sectors are determined. Due to the increasing importance of mobile money, we additionally investigate these linkages for the communication sector. We find high forward and backward linkages for the Nigerian financial services sector only. Here, changes in final demand for or primary input into the financial sector have a wide and evenly spread impact on the rest of the economy classifying the financial sector as a key sector. Regarding Kenya, however, the sectoral linkages of the financial services sector are lower. This may be due to the well-developed mobile financial market in Kenya. But results for the communication sector, however, yield rather low linkage values and multiplier effects for both economies. All results are confirmed by a robustness test. Nonetheless, they could have been influenced by a lack of data coverage especially with regard to mobile money and a high degree of informal financial transactions. Still, our findings confirm the significance of financial services as channels of economic development for both the economies.