IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jintdv/v34y2022i8p1606-1632.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of financial inclusion in improving household well‐being

Author

Listed:
  • Carlos Sakyi‐Nyarko
  • Ahmad Hassan Ahmad
  • Christopher J. Green

Abstract

Using a nationally representative household survey data collected from Ghana, this paper investigates the relationship between financial inclusion and household well‐being. The paper computes a comprehensive index for financial inclusion incorporating all its dimensions: availability, accessibility, usage and quality. Our econometric analyses employ both discrete and continuous models to produce robust results. The main result indicates that there are significant welfare gains from increased financial inclusion irrespective of its measure and control for endogeneity. The results also suggest that enhanced financial inclusion increases the likelihood of improving food consumption, medical treatment, cash income and school attendance outcomes. Thus, there is a clear policy implication: increasing financial inclusion will significantly contribute to the attainment of some key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Suggested Citation

  • Carlos Sakyi‐Nyarko & Ahmad Hassan Ahmad & Christopher J. Green, 2022. "The role of financial inclusion in improving household well‐being," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(8), pages 1606-1632, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:34:y:2022:i:8:p:1606-1632
    DOI: 10.1002/jid.3661
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3661
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/jid.3661?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Arthur Lewbel & Yingying Dong & Thomas Tao Yang, 2012. "Comparing features of convenient estimators for binary choice models with endogenous regressors," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(3), pages 809-829, August.
    2. Alok Bhargava & Dean T. Jamison & Lawrence J. Lau & Christopher J. L. Murray, 2006. "Modeling the effects of health on economic growth," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Econometrics, Statistics And Computational Approaches In Food And Health Sciences, chapter 20, pages 269-286, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. Christopher Baum & Yingying Dong & Arthur Lewbel & Tao Yang, 2012. "Binary choice models with endogenous regressors," SAN12 Stata Conference 9, Stata Users Group.
    4. Allen, Franklin & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Klapper, Leora & Martinez Peria, Maria Soledad, 2016. "The foundations of financial inclusion: Understanding ownership and use of formal accounts," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 1-30.
    5. Tianshu Zhao & Dylan Jones-Evans, 2017. "SMEs, banks and the spatial differentiation of access to finance," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(4), pages 791-824.
    6. Dean Karlan & Robert Osei & Isaac Osei-Akoto & Christopher Udry, 2014. "Agricultural Decisions after Relaxing Credit and Risk Constraints," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(2), pages 597-652.
    7. Maurin, Eric, 2002. "The impact of parental income on early schooling transitions: A re-examination using data over three generations," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(3), pages 301-332, September.
    8. Ahmad Hassan Ahmad & Christopher Green & Fei Jiang, 2020. "Mobile Money, Financial Inclusion And Development: A Review With Reference To African Experience," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 753-792, September.
    9. Carlos Sakyi-Nyarko & Ahmad Hassan Ahmad & Christopher J. Green, 2022. "The Gender-Differential Effect of Financial Inclusion on Household Financial Resilience," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(4), pages 692-712, April.
    10. Rojas, Mariano, 2008. "Experienced Poverty and Income Poverty in Mexico: A Subjective Well-Being Approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 1078-1093, June.
    11. Joshua Yindenaba Abor & Mohammed Amidu & Haruna Issahaku, 2018. "Mobile Telephony, Financial Inclusion and Inclusive Growth," Journal of African Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 430-453, July.
    12. van Rooyen, C. & Stewart, R. & de Wet, T., 2012. "The Impact of Microfinance in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review of the Evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(11), pages 2249-2262.
    13. Pascaline Dupas & Jonathan Robinson, 2013. "Savings Constraints and Microenterprise Development: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Kenya," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 163-192, January.
    14. Hirut B. Haile & Intan Osman & Rashidah Shuib & Siti Waringin Oon, 2015. "Is there a Convergence or Divergence between Feminist Empowerment and Microfinance Institutions' Success Indicators?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(7), pages 1042-1057, October.
    15. Nava Ashraf & Dean Karlan & Wesley Yin, 2006. "Tying Odysseus to the Mast: Evidence From a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(2), pages 635-672.
    16. Navajas, Sergio & Schreiner, Mark & Meyer, Richard L. & Gonzalez-vega, Claudio & Rodriguez-meza, Jorge, 2000. "Microcredit and the Poorest of the Poor: Theory and Evidence from Bolivia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 333-346, February.
    17. Razak M Gyasi & David R Phillips & Daniel Buor & Deborah Carr, 2020. "The Role of a Health Protection Scheme in Health Services Utilization Among Community-Dwelling Older Persons in Ghana," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 75(3), pages 661-673.
    18. Enoch M Kikulwe & Elisabeth Fischer & Matin Qaim, 2014. "Mobile Money, Smallholder Farmers, and Household Welfare in Kenya," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(10), pages 1-13, October.
    19. Orazio Attanasio & Britta Augsburg & Ralph De Haas & Emla Fitzsimons & Heike Harmgart, 2011. "Group lending or individual lending? Evidence from a randomised field experiment in Mongolia," IFS Working Papers W11/20, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    20. Emma Riley, 2016. "Mobile Money and Risk Sharing Against Aggregate Shocks," CSAE Working Paper Series 2016-16, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    21. Bruno Crépon & Florencia Devoto & Esther Duflo & William Parienté, 2015. "Estimating the Impact of Microcredit on Those Who Take It Up: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Morocco," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(1), pages 123-150, January.
    22. Cragg, John G. & Donald, Stephen G., 1993. "Testing Identifiability and Specification in Instrumental Variable Models," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 222-240, April.
    23. Ahamed, M. Mostak & Mallick, Sushanta K., 2019. "Is financial inclusion good for bank stability? International evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 403-427.
    24. Noelia Cámara & David Tuesta, 2018. "Measuring financial inclusion: a multidimensional index," IFC Bulletins chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), The role of data in supporting financial inclusion policy, volume 47, Bank for International Settlements.
    25. Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo & Rachel Glennerster & Cynthia Kinnan, 2015. "The Miracle of Microfinance? Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(1), pages 22-53, January.
    26. Conrad Murendo & Gamuchirai Murenje & Pepukai Prince Chivenge & Rumbidzai Mtetwa, 2021. "Financial Inclusion, Nutrition and Socio‐Economic Status Among Rural Households in Guruve and Mount Darwin Districts, Zimbabwe," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 86-108, January.
    27. Carlos Chiapa & Silvia Prina & Adam Parker, 2016. "The Effects of Financial Inclusion on Children's Schooling, and Parental Aspirations and Expectations," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 683-696, July.
    28. P. Mosley, 2001. "Microfinance and Poverty in Bolivia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(4), pages 101-132.
    29. HwaJung Choi, 2007. "Are Remittances Insurance? Evidence from Rainfall Shocks in the Philippines," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 21(2), pages 219-248, May.
    30. Robert Cull & Kinnon Scott, 2010. "Measuring Household Usage of Financial Services: Does it Matter How or Whom You Ask?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 24(2), pages 199-233, April.
    31. Ganle, John Kuumuori & Afriyie, Kwadwo & Segbefia, Alexander Yao, 2015. "Microcredit: Empowerment and Disempowerment of Rural Women in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 335-345.
    32. Aguila, Emma & Angrisani, Marco & Blanco, Luisa R., 2016. "Ownership of a bank account and health of older Hispanics," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 41-44.
    33. Lewbel, Arthur, 2000. "Semiparametric qualitative response model estimation with unknown heteroscedasticity or instrumental variables," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 145-177, July.
    34. Bali, Turan G. & Brown, Stephen J. & Caglayan, Mustafa O., 2014. "Macroeconomic risk and hedge fund returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(1), pages 1-19.
    35. William Jack & Tavneet Suri, 2014. "Risk Sharing and Transactions Costs: Evidence from Kenya's Mobile Money Revolution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(1), pages 183-223, January.
    36. Montgomery, Heather & Weiss, John, 2011. "Can Commercially-oriented Microfinance Help Meet the Millennium Development Goals? Evidence from Pakistan," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 87-109, January.
    37. Serge Ky & Clovis Rugemintwari & Alain Sauviat, 2018. "Does Mobile Money Affect Saving Behaviour? Evidence from a Developing Country," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 27(3), pages 285-320.
    38. Ingrid Woolard & Murray Leibbrandt, 1999. "Household Incomes, Poverty and Inequality in a Multivariate Framework," Working Papers 99031, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    39. Isaac Mbiti & David N. Weil, 2013. "The Home Economics of E-Money: Velocity, Cash Management, and Discount Rates of M-Pesa Users," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 369-374, May.
    40. Quanda Zhang & Alberto Posso, 2019. "Thinking Inside the Box: A Closer Look at Financial Inclusion and Household Income," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(7), pages 1616-1631, July.
    41. Andrew Ellul & Vijay Yerramilli, 2013. "Stronger Risk Controls, Lower Risk: Evidence from U.S. Bank Holding Companies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(5), pages 1757-1803, October.
    42. Arthur Lewbel & Yingying Dong & Thomas Tao Yang, 2012. "Viewpoint: Comparing features of convenient estimators for binary choice models with endogenous regressors," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 45(3), pages 809-829, August.
    43. Munyegera, Ggombe Kasim & Matsumoto, Tomoya, 2016. "Mobile Money, Remittances, and Household Welfare: Panel Evidence from Rural Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 127-137.
    44. Swamy, Vighneswara, 2014. "Financial Inclusion, Gender Dimension, and Economic Impact on Poor Households," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1-15.
    45. Vanesa Pesqué‐Cela & Lihui Tian & Deming Luo & Damian Tobin & Gerhard Kling, 2021. "Defining and measuring financial inclusion: A systematic review and confirmatory factor analysis," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 316-341, March.
    46. Kabeer, Naila, 2001. "Conflicts Over Credit: Re-Evaluating the Empowerment Potential of Loans to Women in Rural Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 63-84, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Romanus Osabohien & Amar Hisham Jaaffar & Armand Fréjuis Akpa & Mihajlo Jakovljevic, 2024. "Mobile money, medical cost anxiety and welfare of individuals within the reproductive age in Malaysia," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ahmad Hassan Ahmad & Christopher Green & Fei Jiang, 2020. "Mobile Money, Financial Inclusion And Development: A Review With Reference To African Experience," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 753-792, September.
    2. Gutiérrez-Nieto, Begoña & Serrano-Cinca, Carlos, 2019. "20 years of research in microfinance: An information management approach," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 183-197.
    3. Thereza Balliester Reis, 2022. "Socio‐economic determinants of financial inclusion: An evaluation with a microdata multidimensional index," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(3), pages 587-611, April.
    4. Yao, Becatien H. & Shanoyan, Aleksan & Schwab, Benjamin & Amanor-Boadu, Vincent, 2022. "Mobile money, transaction costs, and market participation: evidence from Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    5. Singh, Nirvikar, 2018. "Financial Inclusion: Concepts, Issues and Policies for India," MPRA Paper 91047, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Zelu, Barbara Ama & Iranzo, Susana & Pérez Laborda, Alejandro, 2022. "Financial Inclusion and Women Economic Empowerment in Ghana," Working Papers 2072/535075, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    7. Catia Batista & Pedro C. Vicente, 2018. "Is mobile money changing rural Africa? Evidence from a field experiment," NOVAFRICA Working Paper Series wp1805, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics, NOVAFRICA.
    8. Carlos Sakyi‐Nyarko & Ahmad Hassan Ahmad & Christopher J. Green, 2022. "Investigating the well‐being implications of mobile money access and usage from a multidimensional perspective," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 985-1009, May.
    9. N'dri, Lasme Mathieu & Kakinaka, Makoto, 2020. "Financial inclusion, mobile money, and individual welfare: The case of Burkina Faso," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3).
    10. Steinert, Janina I. & Zenker, Juliane & Filipiak, Ute & Movsisyan, Ani & Cluver, Lucie D. & Shenderovich, Yulia, 2018. "Do saving promotion interventions increase household savings, consumption, and investments in Sub-Saharan Africa? A systematic review and meta-analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 238-256.
    11. Emmanuel Kwablah Apiors & Aya Suzuki, 2018. "Mobile Money, Individuals’ Payments, Remittances, and Investments: Evidence from the Ashanti Region, Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-26, May.
    12. Aron, Janine, "undated". "'Leapfrogging': a Survey of the Nature and Economic Implications of Mobile Money," INET Oxford Working Papers 2017-02, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, revised Jan 2017.
    13. Chiara, De Gasperin & Valentina, Rotondi & Luca, Stanca, 2019. "Mobile Money and the Labor Market: Evidence from Developing Countries," Working Papers 403, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2019.
    14. Ky, Serge Stéphane & Rugemintwari, Clovis & Sauviat, Alain, 2021. "Friends or Foes? Mobile money interaction with formal and informal finance," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1).
    15. Arthur Lewbel, 2019. "The Identification Zoo: Meanings of Identification in Econometrics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 57(4), pages 835-903, December.
    16. Dyah Titis Kusuma Wardani & Navi'ah Khusniati & Susilo Nur Aji Cokro Darsono, 2023. "Sociodemographic Effects on Financial Inclusion: Implications from Online Transaction in Developing-8 Countriesfrom Online Transaction in Developing-8 Countries Abstract: The world has reached the ind," Economics and Finance in Indonesia, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia, vol. 69, pages 67-86, Juni.
    17. Pignatel, Isabelle & Tchakoute Tchuigoua, Hubert, 2020. "Microfinance institutions and International Financial Reporting Standards: An exploratory analysis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    18. Bontemps, Christophe & Nauges, Céline, 2017. "Endogenous Variables in Binary Choice Models: Some Insights for Practitioners," TSE Working Papers 17-855, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    19. Avom, Désiré & Bangaké, Chrysost & Ndoya, Hermann, 2023. "Do financial innovations improve financial inclusion? Evidence from mobile money adoption in Africa," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    20. Awel Y. & Azomahou T.T., 2015. "Risk preference or financial literacy? Behavioural experiment on index insurance demand," MERIT Working Papers 2015-005, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:34:y:2022:i:8:p:1606-1632. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/5102/home .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.