Table 2 Comparative literature review... | Emerald Publishing

Table 2

Comparative literature review

Author(s)	Context/Sector	Variables examined	Theoretical framework/Contribution	Methodological approach	Empirical/Application characteristics	Key findings	Contribution and gap addressed
Roman and Bilan (2015)	EU Banking Sector	GDP, unemployment, credit growth	Credit risk theory; macro-financial stability	Panel regression	Annual data; multi-country panel; bank-level	GDP reduces NPLs; unemployment increases NPLs	Establishes the standard inverse GDP-NPL relationship in developed markets; highlights the contrast to frontier agricultural economies
Umoren et al. (2016)	Nigeria, Agriculture	Agri-credit, GDP, inflation	Procyclicality in agricultural lending	Granger causality and OLS	Quarterly sector-level data; Nigeria	Bi-directional causality between agricultural credit and NPLs	Provides direct evidence of procyclicality in African agriculture but uses simpler causality tests, motivating a more robust lagged econometric approach
Ashraf and Butt (2019)	Pakistan	GDP, inflation, lending rates	Procyclical behaviour and financial instability	ARDL	Annual data (1980–2016)	GDP reduces NPLs; inflation raises NPLs	Uses ARDL but finds counter-cyclical GDP effect; underscores that findings are context-specific and may not apply to Ghana's agricultural structure
Yin et al. (2020)	China, Agriculture	Farm characteristics, land tenure, crop type, loan terms	Borrower-level credit risk determinants	Logistic regression	Farm-level loan data	Farm size, crop type and collateral significantly predict agricultural loan default	Demonstrates that agriculture-specific variables drive default risk, supporting the case for sector-disaggregated NPL analysis
Singh et al. (2021)	India	Interest rates, GDP, inflation	Credit market imperfections	VAR/VECM	Monthly data; whole banking sector	Inflation and GDP positively predict NPLs	Finds a positive GDP-NPL link in a large economy, supporting the possibility of procyclicality, but does not focus on the agricultural sector
Anita et al. (2022)	SAARC countries, Banking sector	Inflation, interest rate, credit risk indicators	Sectoral credit risk dynamics	Fixed effects	Annual agricultural credit panel	Inflation inversely related to agricultural NPLs	Offers rare sector-specific analysis in developing economy but with annual data, missing short-run dynamics and lagged effects captured by monthly analysis
Okyere and Mensah (2022)	Ghana, Banking Sector	GDP, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates	Macroeconomic determinants of aggregate NPLs	OLS regression	Annual data; aggregate banking sector	GDP and inflation significantly affect NPLs	Provides a Ghanaian baseline but at the aggregate level only; does not disaggregate by sector or model lagged effects, leaving the agricultural dimension unaddressed
Chowdhury et al. (2023)	Bangladesh	GDP, interest rate, exchange rate	Financial cycles and risk transmission	ARDL	Monthly macro-bank data	GDP positively correlated with NPLs; interest rate significant	Supports the procyclical GDP-NPL hypothesis in a frontier market, providing a relevant comparator but without sectoral disaggregation
Tan and Tang (2023)	China	Monetary policy and bank risk	Credit rationing and bank risk-taking	PVAR	Quarterly data	Higher interest rates increase NPLs	Represents the conventional view on interest rates; contrasts with the disciplining effect found here, highlighting the role of market structure and screening
Nehrebecka (2025)	Poland, Corporate Sector	Environmental risk, capital adequacy, credit quality	Long-run environmental and financial risk transmission	Panel ARDL	Firm-level data; publicly listed companies	Capital buffers reduce NPLs in the long run; environmental risk increases credit losses	Applies ARDL to sector-specific credit risk, demonstrating the methodology's suitability for capturing delayed transmission; supports the expectation of muted short-run CAR effects
Reigl (2025)	Multi-sector, Estonia	GDP, unemployment, interest rates, sectoral composition	Sectoral heterogeneity in NPL determinants	Panel regression with sectoral disaggregation	Quarterly data; major economic sectors	NPL determinants vary significantly across sectors; agriculture and construction show distinct patterns	Directly supports the argument that aggregate NPL analysis obscures sectoral differences, motivating the present study's focus on agriculture
Present Study	Ghana, Agricultural Sector	Lagged GDP, inflation, interest, CAR, recapitalisation	Credit risk theory; financial accelerator; procyclicality; asymmetric information	ARDL + ECM + Prais-Winsten (AR(1) correction)	Monthly data (2015–2022); explicit modelling of lagged effects; structural break via recapitalisation dummy; sector-specific analysis	GDP shows procyclical short-run effect; interest rate exerts discipline; CAR and recap marginal; NPLs persistent	Directly addresses the gap: provides the first robust, lag-focused analysis of agricultural NPLs in Ghana, integrating structural reform context and a dual-method correction for robust inference

Author(s)	Context/Sector	Variables examined	Theoretical framework/Contribution	Methodological approach	Empirical/Application characteristics	Key findings	Contribution and gap addressed
Roman and Bilan (2015)	EU Banking Sector	GDP, unemployment, credit growth	Credit risk theory; macro-financial stability	Panel regression	Annual data; multi-country panel; bank-level	GDP reduces NPLs; unemployment increases NPLs	Establishes the standard inverse GDP-NPL relationship in developed markets; highlights the contrast to frontier agricultural economies
Umoren et al. (2016)	Nigeria, Agriculture	Agri-credit, GDP, inflation	Procyclicality in agricultural lending	Granger causality and OLS	Quarterly sector-level data; Nigeria	Bi-directional causality between agricultural credit and NPLs	Provides direct evidence of procyclicality in African agriculture but uses simpler causality tests, motivating a more robust lagged econometric approach
Ashraf and Butt (2019)	Pakistan	GDP, inflation, lending rates	Procyclical behaviour and financial instability	ARDL	Annual data (1980–2016)	GDP reduces NPLs; inflation raises NPLs	Uses ARDL but finds counter-cyclical GDP effect; underscores that findings are context-specific and may not apply to Ghana's agricultural structure
Yin et al. (2020)	China, Agriculture	Farm characteristics, land tenure, crop type, loan terms	Borrower-level credit risk determinants	Logistic regression	Farm-level loan data	Farm size, crop type and collateral significantly predict agricultural loan default	Demonstrates that agriculture-specific variables drive default risk, supporting the case for sector-disaggregated NPL analysis
Singh et al. (2021)	India	Interest rates, GDP, inflation	Credit market imperfections	VAR/VECM	Monthly data; whole banking sector	Inflation and GDP positively predict NPLs	Finds a positive GDP-NPL link in a large economy, supporting the possibility of procyclicality, but does not focus on the agricultural sector
Anita et al. (2022)	SAARC countries, Banking sector	Inflation, interest rate, credit risk indicators	Sectoral credit risk dynamics	Fixed effects	Annual agricultural credit panel	Inflation inversely related to agricultural NPLs	Offers rare sector-specific analysis in developing economy but with annual data, missing short-run dynamics and lagged effects captured by monthly analysis
Okyere and Mensah (2022)	Ghana, Banking Sector	GDP, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates	Macroeconomic determinants of aggregate NPLs	OLS regression	Annual data; aggregate banking sector	GDP and inflation significantly affect NPLs	Provides a Ghanaian baseline but at the aggregate level only; does not disaggregate by sector or model lagged effects, leaving the agricultural dimension unaddressed
Chowdhury et al. (2023)	Bangladesh	GDP, interest rate, exchange rate	Financial cycles and risk transmission	ARDL	Monthly macro-bank data	GDP positively correlated with NPLs; interest rate significant	Supports the procyclical GDP-NPL hypothesis in a frontier market, providing a relevant comparator but without sectoral disaggregation
Tan and Tang (2023)	China	Monetary policy and bank risk	Credit rationing and bank risk-taking	PVAR	Quarterly data	Higher interest rates increase NPLs	Represents the conventional view on interest rates; contrasts with the disciplining effect found here, highlighting the role of market structure and screening
Nehrebecka (2025)	Poland, Corporate Sector	Environmental risk, capital adequacy, credit quality	Long-run environmental and financial risk transmission	Panel ARDL	Firm-level data; publicly listed companies	Capital buffers reduce NPLs in the long run; environmental risk increases credit losses	Applies ARDL to sector-specific credit risk, demonstrating the methodology's suitability for capturing delayed transmission; supports the expectation of muted short-run CAR effects
Reigl (2025)	Multi-sector, Estonia	GDP, unemployment, interest rates, sectoral composition	Sectoral heterogeneity in NPL determinants	Panel regression with sectoral disaggregation	Quarterly data; major economic sectors	NPL determinants vary significantly across sectors; agriculture and construction show distinct patterns	Directly supports the argument that aggregate NPL analysis obscures sectoral differences, motivating the present study's focus on agriculture
Present Study	Ghana, Agricultural Sector	Lagged GDP, inflation, interest, CAR, recapitalisation	Credit risk theory; financial accelerator; procyclicality; asymmetric information	ARDL + ECM + Prais-Winsten (AR(1) correction)	Monthly data (2015–2022); explicit modelling of lagged effects; structural break via recapitalisation dummy; sector-specific analysis	GDP shows procyclical short-run effect; interest rate exerts discipline; CAR and recap marginal; NPLs persistent	Directly addresses the gap: provides the first robust, lag-focused analysis of agricultural NPLs in Ghana, integrating structural reform context and a dual-method correction for robust inference

Source(s): Author's own construct