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Branchless banking: Evaluating the doorstep delivery of financial services in rural India

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  • Kochar, Anjini

Abstract

This paper evaluates the effect on household savings of India's recent financial inclusion drive, a drive that generated an unprecedented increase in access to financial institutions by using mobile technologies to deliver services practically at the doorstep of rural households. Using household data from just before and after the initiation of the policy, matched with village-level data on financial institutions, I identify the effects of access to financial institutions utilizing longitudinal variation in conjunction with geographic eligibility criterion that provided services to villages based on the size distribution of villages in the service area assigned to the bank.

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  • Kochar, Anjini, 2018. "Branchless banking: Evaluating the doorstep delivery of financial services in rural India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 160-175.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:135:y:2018:i:c:p:160-175
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2018.07.001
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    Cited by:

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    2. C. Justin Cook & Manisha Shah, 2022. "Aggregate Effects from Public Works: Evidence from India," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(4), pages 797-806, October.
    3. A. A. I. N. Marhaeni & Kittisak Jermsittiparsert & Sudarmo & Lucia Rita Indrawati & Andjar Prasetyo & Noviati Fuada & Arnis Rachmadhani & Tri Weda Raharjo & Heri Wahyudianto & Bekti Putri Harwijayanti, 2023. "Adoption of the Green Economy through Branchless Rural Credit Banks during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Gupta, Suraksha & Kanungo, Rama Prasad, 2022. "Financial inclusion through digitalisation: Economic viability for the bottom of the pyramid (BOP) segment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 262-276.
    5. Bencheng Liu & Yangang Fang, 2021. "The Nexus between Rural Household Livelihoods and Agricultural Functions: Evidence from China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-19, March.
    6. Gupta, Sanal & Singh, Puran, 2023. "What drives activity of banking agents? Evidence from Rural India," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    7. Min Zhao & Peipei Chu, 2022. "Does the Inclusive Financial Policy Innovation Promote Rural Revitalization—A Synthetic Control Test of a National Pilot Zone for Inclusive Financial Reform," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-21, November.
    8. Xue Wang & Guangwen He, 2020. "Digital Financial Inclusion and Farmers’ Vulnerability to Poverty: Evidence from Rural China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, February.
    9. Pelletier, Adeline & Khavul, Susanna & Estrin, Saul, 2019. "Innovations in emerging markets: the case of mobile money," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101585, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Singh, Vinay Kumar & Ghosh, Sajal, 2021. "Financial inclusion and economic growth in India amid demonetization: A case study based on panel cointegration and causality," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 674-693.
    11. Pelletier, Adeline & Khavul, Susanna & Estrin, Saul, 2019. "Innovations in emerging markets: the case of mobile money," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101150, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Shilpa Aggarwal & Valentina Brailovskaya & Jonathan Robinson, 2023. "Saving for Multiple Financial Needs: Evidence from Lockboxes and Mobile Money in Malawi," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(4), pages 833-851, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    G21; O12; O16; Financial inclusion; Mobile technology; Savings;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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