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Financial inclusion and healthcare in Africa: Examining the moderating role of education

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  • Muhamadu Awal Kindzeka Wirajing
  • Ali Haruna
  • Tii N. Nchofoung

Abstract

The 2023 Sustainable Development Goal Report reveals that Africa is still struggling in its pursuit to achieve universal healthcare coverage. However, financial risk protection and human capital development could come to the rescue by facilitating the attainment of quality healthcare services. This study examines the effect of financial inclusion on healthcare in Africa, spanning from 2000 to 2021. Healthcare is proxied by life expectancy at birth, the immunisation rate, and the lifetime risk of maternal death. Financial inclusion is approached through access and usage of financial services. After controlling for the problem of potential endogeneity through the system generalised method of moment (GMM), the findings reveal that financial inclusion enhances healthcare in Africa, signifying that financially included individuals have a higher conditional probability of spending more on improving their health relative to the financially excluded individuals. Moreover, the findings indicate that education and technology diffusion are imperative in the quest for enhancing healthcare in Africa. In addition, after testing for sensitivity analysis by adopting different indicators of healthcare, the results remain consistent throughout the study, confirming the role of financial inclusion in enhancing healthcare in Africa. After computing the marginal effects, the findings depict that education and financial inclusion interact to produce positive synergy effects, signifying that the positive role of financial inclusion and education in enhancing healthcare outweighs the negative conditional effect. The results recommend policymakers establish a framework that promotes financial literacy for the enhancement of healthcare in Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Muhamadu Awal Kindzeka Wirajing & Ali Haruna & Tii N. Nchofoung, 2024. "Financial inclusion and healthcare in Africa: Examining the moderating role of education," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 97-127, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:rdevec:v:28:y:2024:i:1:p:97-127
    DOI: 10.1111/rode.13043
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    1. Muhamadu Awal Kindzeka Wirajing & Tii N. Nchofoung & Roger Tsafack Nanfosso, 2024. "Inclusive education and labour productivity: The case of Sub‐Saharan African countries," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 92(4), pages 498-523, December.
    2. Germain Stephane Ketchoua & Elvis K. Avenyo & Fiona Tregenna, 2025. "Revisiting the sustainable industrialization paradigm in Africa: Exploring the influence of digitalization," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 2634-2658, April.

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