Browsing by Author "Lakuma, Paul"

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    Improving the growth and transition of small and medium enterprises in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area.
    (Economic Policy Research Centre, 2017) Kuteesa, Annette; Lakuma, Paul; Gupta, Rakesh; Kasirye, Ibrahim
    Urban areas in Uganda are increasingly facing competition for their resources in the face of rising population. More than one out of every five Ugandans are residing in urban areas and the urban population is expected to triple in next two decades. Most of the urban population resides in GKMA—a region challenged with unemployment and inadequate opportunities. Enhancing firm performance in urban areas offers a promise for jobs and local revenue to boost city development. Local governments and city council need to create mechanisms that address firm constraints and harness the factors that drive firm competiveness, growth and transition. Potential opportunities lie in collaborating with financial institutions to provide affordable credit, improving taxation procedures, establishing of business spaces for the small firms and influencing vocational schools to impact relevant skills.
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    Macroeconomic Effects of Mobile Money: Evidence from Uganda
    (Financial Innovation, 2019) Mawejje, Joseph; Lakuma, Paul
    This study examined the effects of mobile money—a recent innovation in Uganda’s financial-sector landscape—on aggregate economic activity and other macroeconomic variables. We first estimated the long-run mobile-money demand function using vector error correction (VEC) techniques, distinguishing between balances and transfers/transactions. We then estimated the short-run effects of mobile money on selected macroeconomic variables using structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) methods. The results showed that mobile money had moderate positive effects on monetary aggregates, consumer price index, private-sector credit, and aggregate economic activity. Mobile money balances responded to changes in monetary policy instruments, signaling possible ameliorating effects for the conduct of monetary policy. Finally, the results showed that transactional motives related to mobile money had stronger macroeconomic effects than savings motives.