IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/afjecr/339642.html

Digital Financial Inclusion and Financial Health in Kenya: Gendered Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Wandeda, Dickson Onyango
  • Poulard, Denise
  • Kipkorir, Kemboi Michael
  • Ikiriinya, Caroline Kinya
  • Lentimalei, John West
  • Michael, Karanja
  • Loyapan, Peter Epukon
  • Ntutu, Jemimmah

Abstract

This paper adopted propensity score matching to estimate the propensity of digital financial inclusion among women in Kenya and the average treatment effect of digital financial inclusion on financial health of women in Kenya. Utilizing the Financial Access Survey 2021 dataset on 22024 households, the study found that the socio-demographic aspects that contributed to the digital financial uptake among women was the level of education, marital status, religion, age, and place of residence, with significant differences between users and non-users of digital finance. In addition, with mobile phone and television ownership, there was a higher likelihood of women using digital finance, with a significant difference between users and non-users. Additionally, it was found that women in Kenya using digital finance are more likely to be financially healthy. We, therefore, recommend that more targeted approach by government and financial institutions towards enhancing digital literacy, the government needs to implement gender-responsive policies that would foster the subsidization of mobile devices and offer incentives for mobile network operators to strengthen rural network connectivity, and the Kenya government and financial institutions could capitalize on accessible communication channels such as mobile phones, radio, and community outreach programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Wandeda, Dickson Onyango & Poulard, Denise & Kipkorir, Kemboi Michael & Ikiriinya, Caroline Kinya & Lentimalei, John West & Michael, Karanja & Loyapan, Peter Epukon & Ntutu, Jemimmah, 2023. "Digital Financial Inclusion and Financial Health in Kenya: Gendered Analysis," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 11(3), June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:afjecr:339642
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.339642
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/339642/files/Wandeda.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.339642?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. Lyons, Angela C. & Kass-Hanna, Josephine & Fava, Ana, 2022. "Fintech development and savings, borrowing, and remittances: A comparative study of emerging economies," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PA).
    2. Sarah Hendriks, 2019. "The role of financial inclusion in driving women’s economic empowerment," Development in Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(8), pages 1029-1038, November.
    3. Heckman, James J. & Robb, Richard Jr., 1985. "Alternative methods for evaluating the impact of interventions : An overview," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1-2), pages 239-267.
    4. Peterson K. Ozili, 2021. "Financial inclusion research around the world: A review," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(4), pages 457-479, October.
    5. Elizabeth Lwanga Nanziri, 2016. "Financial Inclusion and Welfare in South Africa: Is there a Gender Gap?," Journal of African Development, African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA), vol. 18(2), pages 109-134.
    6. Richard Chamboko, 2022. "On the Role of Gender and Age in the Use of Digital Financial Services in Zimbabwe," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15, September.
    7. Sana Rashid & SMuhammad Bilal & SAbid Hussain & SManzoor Ahmad Shah, 2022. "Impact of Financial Inclusion on Financial Well-Being: Moderating Effect of Orientation towards Finance," Journal of Economic Impact, Science Impact Publishers, vol. 4(2), pages 124-133.
    8. Pierre Bachas & Paul Gertler & Sean Higgins & Enrique Seira, 2018. "Digital Financial Services Go a Long Way: Transaction Costs and Financial Inclusion," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 444-448, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Verma, Rahul & Chatterjee, Devlina, 2025. "Relative impact of digital and traditional financial inclusion on financial resilience: Evidence from 13 emerging countries," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    2. Peterson K. Ozili & David Mhlanga, 2024. "Why is financial inclusion so popular? An analysis of development buzzwords," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(1), pages 231-253, January.
    3. Vaishali Kamboj & Dipasha Sharma, 2025. "Mapping the landscape of digital financial inclusion and proposing integrative framework: trends, influential works, and future directions," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-19, December.
    4. Fang, Yi & Wang, Qi & Wang, Yanru & Yuan, Yan, 2024. "Media sentiment, deposit stability and bank systemic risk: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 1150-1172.
    5. Victor Aguirregabiria, 2006. "Another Look at the Identification of Dynamic Discrete Decision Processes: With an Application to Retirement Behavior," 2006 Meeting Papers 169, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    6. Clare J. M. Burns & Luke Houghton & Deborah Delaney & Cindy Shannon, 2023. "Ethical Decision-Making in Indigenous Financial Services: QSuper Case Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 13-29, August.
    7. Lucas A. Mariani & Jose Renato Haas Ornelas & Bernardo Ricca, 2023. "Banks’ Physical Footprint and Financial Technology Adoption," Working Papers Series 576, Central Bank of Brazil, Research Department.
    8. Ellison, Richard B. & Ellison, Adrian B. & Greaves, Stephen P. & Sampaio, Breno, 2017. "Electronic ticketing systems as a mechanism for travel behaviour change? Evidence from Sydney’s Opal card," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 80-93.
    9. Olayinka David-West & Oluwasola Oni & Folajimi Ashiru, 2022. "Diffusion of Innovations: Mobile Money Utility and Financial Inclusion in Nigeria. Insights from Agents and Unbanked Poor End Users," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 1753-1773, December.
    10. Dettmann, E. & Becker, C. & Schmeißer, C., 2011. "Distance functions for matching in small samples," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 55(5), pages 1942-1960, May.
    11. Chabé-Ferret, Sylvain, 2015. "Analysis of the bias of Matching and Difference-in-Difference under alternative earnings and selection processes," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 185(1), pages 110-123.
    12. James J. Heckman, 1991. "Randomization and Social Policy Evaluation Revisited," NBER Technical Working Papers 0107, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Jeffrey Smith, 2000. "A Critical Survey of Empirical Methods for Evaluating Active Labor Market Policies," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 136(III), pages 247-268, September.
    14. Rajeev Dehejia, 2013. "The Porous Dialectic: Experimental and Non-Experimental Methods in Development Economics," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2013-011, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    15. Christian Bayer & Falko Juessen, 2012. "On the Dynamics of Interstate Migration: Migration Costs and Self-Selection," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 15(3), pages 377-401, July.
    16. Patrick Kline & Christopher R. Walters, 2019. "On Heckits, LATE, and Numerical Equivalence," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 87(2), pages 677-696, March.
    17. Nobuhiko Fuwa & Asa Jose U. Sajise, 2009. "Exploring Environmental Services Incentive Policies for the Philippines Rice Sector: The Case of Intra-Species Agrobiodiversity Conservation," Natural Resource Management and Policy, in: Leslie Lipper & Takumi Sakuyama & Randy Stringer & David Zilberman (ed.), Payment for Environmental Services in Agricultural Landscapes, chapter 10, pages 221-238, Springer.
    18. Foreman-Peck, James & Zhou, Peng, 2022. "R&D subsidies and productivity in eastern European countries," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(2).
    19. Klebson Humberto De Lucena Moura & Raul Da Mota Silveira Neto, 2016. "Does A Longer Commuting Time Increases The Probability Of Being Victim Of Urban Violence? The Evidence From Brazilian Metropolitan Regions," Anais do XLII Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 42nd Brazilian Economics Meeting] 159, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].
    20. Andres, Luis & Foster, Vivien & Guasch, Jose Luis, 2006. "The impact of privatization on the performance of the infrastructure sector : the case of electricity distribution in Latin American countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3936, The World Bank.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;

    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:ags:afjecr:339642. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajer/index .

    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.