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Narrowing the gender gap in mobile banking

Author

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  • Lee, Jean N.
  • Morduch, Jonathan
  • Ravindran, Saravana
  • Shonchoy, Abu S.

Abstract

Mobile banking and related digital financial technologies can make financial services cheaper and more widely accessible in low-income economies, but gender gaps persist. We present evidence from two connected field experiments in Bangladesh designed to encourage the adoption and use of mobile banking by poor, illiterate households. The study focuses on migrants who live in Dhaka and send money back to their extended families. Despite large differences between female and male migrants in income and education, the first experiment shows that a training program led to similarly large, positive impacts on mobile banking use by female migrants (a 51 percentage point increase) and male migrants (46 percentage point increase), substantially narrowing the gender gap. However, the increases in adoption did not lead to similar patterns in usage: men increased digital remittances by 11 times as much as women. A second experiment tests whether introducing the technology in the context of family networks made an additional difference to gender gaps. The evidence suggests an 11 percentage point increase in adoption by women and just a 1 percentage point increase by men, although statistical power is low for this comparison and estimates are imprecise.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Jean N. & Morduch, Jonathan & Ravindran, Saravana & Shonchoy, Abu S., 2022. "Narrowing the gender gap in mobile banking," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 276-293.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:193:y:2022:i:c:p:276-293
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.10.005
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ameen Omar Shareef & K.P. Prabheesh, 2022. "Does International Monetary Policy Influence The Bank Risk? Evidence From India," Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, Bank Indonesia, vol. 25(2), pages 135-154, August.
    3. Apeti, Ablam Estel, 2023. "Household welfare in the digital age: Assessing the effect of mobile money on household consumption volatility in developing countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    4. Jean N. Lee & Jonathan Morduch & Saravana Ravindran & Abu S. Shonchoy, 2023. "The Social Meaning of Mobile Money: Willingness to Pay with Mobile Money in Bangladesh," Working Papers 2304, Florida International University, Department of Economics.
    5. Ablam Estel Apeti, 2022. "Household welfare in the digital age: Assessing the effect of mobile money on household consumption volatility in developing countries," Post-Print hal-03819779, HAL.
    6. Novi Maryaningsih & Suahasil Nazara & Febrio N. Kacaribu & Solikin M. Juhro, 2022. "Central Bank Digital Currency: What Factors Determine Its Adoption?," Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, Bank Indonesia, vol. 25(1), pages 1-24.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender; Financial inclusion; Digital money; Migration; Field experiment; Bangladesh; Domestic migration; Remittances;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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