IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jintdv/v33y2021i2p316-341.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Defining and measuring financial inclusion: A systematic review and confirmatory factor analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Vanesa Pesqué‐Cela
  • Lihui Tian
  • Deming Luo
  • Damian Tobin
  • Gerhard Kling

Abstract

This study re‐examines the construct of financial inclusion, through a literature review and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). First, we conduct a systematic review of definitions, measures and data sources. Second, we apply CFA to test two prominent financial inclusion indices. The CFA analysis reveals a high correlation between the ‘access’ and ‘use’ dimensions; hence, indices fail to capture the multidimensionality of financial inclusion. Existing indices tend to be biased towards measuring the supply‐side and quantitative aspects of financial inclusion. The extent to which lower income individuals and smaller firms have been incorporated into the formal financial sector is not captured.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:33:y:2021:i:2:p:316-341
    DOI: 10.1002/jid.3524
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3524
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/jid.3524?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. Chattopadhyay, Sadhan Kumar, 2011. "Financial Inclusion in India: A case-study of West Bengal," MPRA Paper 34269, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2011.
    2. 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.
    3. Milford Bateman & Ha-Joon Chang, 2012. "Microfinance and the Illusion of Development: From Hubris to Nemesis in Thirty Years," World Economic Review, World Economics Association, vol. 2012(1), pages 1-13, September.
    4. Demirgüç-Kunt, A. & Beck, T.H.L. & Honohan, P., 2008. "Finance for all? : Policies and pitfalls in expanding access," Other publications TiSEM aec73d3a-d6eb-457f-9182-3, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    5. Park, Cyn-Young & Mercado, Rogelio, 2015. "Financial Inclusion, Poverty, and Income Inequality in Developing Asia," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 426, Asian Development Bank.
    6. Claessens, Stijn, 2006. "Access to financial services: a review of the issues and public policy objectives," Journal of Financial Transformation, Capco Institute, vol. 17, pages 16-19.
    7. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    8. Ratna Sahay & Martin Cihak & Papa M N'Diaye & Adolfo Barajas & Srobona Mitra & Annette J Kyobe & Yen N Mooi & Seyed Reza Yousefi, 2015. "Financial Inclusion; Can it Meet Multiple Macroeconomic Goals?," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 15/17, International Monetary Fund.
    9. Imai, Katsushi S. & Gaiha, Raghav & Thapa, Ganesh & Annim, Samuel Kobina, 2012. "Microfinance and Poverty—A Macro Perspective," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(8), pages 1675-1689.
    10. Beck, Thorsten & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Martinez Peria, Maria Soledad, 2007. "Reaching out: Access to and use of banking services across countries," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 234-266, July.
    11. Ardic, Oya Pinar & Heimann, Maximilien & Mylenko, Nataliya, 2011. "Access to financial services and the financial inclusion agenda around the world : a cross-country analysis with a new data set," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5537, The World Bank.
    12. Mandira Sarma, 2008. "Index of Financial Inclusion," Working Papers id:1575, eSocialSciences.
    13. Cyn-Young Park & Rogelio Mercado, 2018. "Financial Inclusion, Poverty, And Income Inequality," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 63(01), pages 185-206, March.
    14. Chakravarty, Satya R. & Pal, Rupayan, 2013. "Financial inclusion in India: An axiomatic approach," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 813-837.
    15. Mandira Sarma, "undated". "Index of Financial Inclusion," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi Working Papers 215, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, India.
    16. Asli Demirguc-Kunt & Leora Klapper, 2013. "Measuring Financial Inclusion: Explaining Variation in Use of Financial Services across and within Countries," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 44(1 (Spring), pages 279-340.
    17. 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.
    18. 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.
    19. Asli Demirguc-Kunt & Leora Klapper, 2013. "Measuring Financial Inclusion: Explaining Variation in Use of Financial Services across and within Countries," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 46(1 (Spring), pages 279-340.
    20. Ms. Ratna Sahay & Mr. Martin Cihak & Mr. Papa M N'Diaye & Mr. Adolfo Barajas & Ms. Srobona Mitra & Ms. Annette J Kyobe & Yen N Mooi & Mr. Seyed Reza Yousefi, 2015. "Financial Inclusion: Can it Meet Multiple Macroeconomic Goals?," IMF Staff Discussion Notes 2015/017, International Monetary Fund.
    21. Jayati Ghosh, 2013. "Microfinance and the challenge of financial inclusion for development," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 37(6), pages 1203-1219.
    22. repec:wea:worler:v:2012:y:2012:i:1:p:2 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Kendall, Jake & Mylenko, Nataliya & Ponce, Alejandro, 2010. "Measuring financial access around the world," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5253, The World Bank.
    24. Alan C. Acock, 2013. "Discovering Structural Equation Modeling Using Stata," Stata Press books, StataCorp LP, number dsemus, March.
    25. Mandira Sarma, 2008. "Index of Financial Inclusion," Finance Working Papers 22259, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    26. André Mialou & Goran Amidzic & Alexander Massara, 2017. "Assessing Countries’ Financial Inclusion Standing– A New Composite Index," Journal of Banking and Financial Economics, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 2(8), pages 105-126, October.
    27. Brigit Helms, 2006. "Access for All : Building Inclusive Financial Systems," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6973.
    28. Abhijit Banerjee & Dean Karlan & Jonathan Zinman, 2015. "Six Randomized Evaluations of Microcredit: Introduction and Further Steps," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(1), pages 1-21, January.
    29. Mr. Alexander Massara & André Mialou, 2014. "Assessing Countries’ Financial Inclusion Standing - A New Composite Index," IMF Working Papers 2014/036, International Monetary Fund.
    30. Demirguc-Kunt,Asli & Klapper,Leora & Singer,Dorothe, 2017. "Financial inclusion and inclusive growth : a review of recent empirical evidence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8040, The World Bank.
    31. World Bank, 2014. "Global Financial Development Report 2014 : Financial Inclusion," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 16238.
    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. Sana Rashid & Zulfqar Ahmed Bowra & Abid Hussain, 2022. "An Empirical Investigation Of Financial Inclusion On Financial Wellbeing Of Working Women: A Mediating Role Of Financial Capability," Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 11(1), pages 14-23, March.
    2. 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.
    3. Chandralekha Ghosh & Rimita Hom Chaudhury, 2024. "Ranking of countries based on multi‐dimensional financial inclusion index: A global perspective," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 1345-1377, April.
    4. Rocío Maehara & Luis Benites & Alvaro Talavera & Alejandro Aybar-Flores & Miguel Muñoz, 2024. "Predicting Financial Inclusion in Peru: Application of Machine Learning Algorithms," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-25, January.
    5. Ubeda, Fernando & Mendez, Alvaro & Forcadell, Francisco Javier & López, Belén, 2024. "How socially sustainable multinational banks promote financial inclusion in developing countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124260, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Damane, Moeti & Ho, Sin-Yu, 2024. "The impact of financial inclusion on financial stability: review of theories and international evidence," MPRA Paper 120369, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Jesús Antonio López Cabrera & Francisco Gabriel Villarreal & Diego Cardoso López, 2023. "Una propuesta de medición de la inclusión financiera en México," Remef - Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas Nueva Época REMEF (The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance), Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas, IMEF, vol. 18(3), pages 1-41, Julio - S.
    8. 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.
    9. Kais Tissaoui & Abdelaziz Hakimi & Taha Zaghdoudi, 2024. "Can financial inclusion enhance human development? Evidence from low- and middle-income countries," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    10. Hou, Yan & Li, Xiaobo & Wang, Hui & Yunusova, Rimma, 2024. "Focusing on energy efficiency: The convergence of green financing, FinTech, financial inclusion, and natural resource rents for a greener Asia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    11. Ahmad, Ahmad Hassan & Green, Christopher J. & Jiang, Fei & Murinde, Victor, 2023. "Mobile money, ICT, financial inclusion and growth: How different is Africa?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    12. Amoako, Frimpong & Asuamah Yeboah, Samuel, 2023. ""Community Voices in Control: A Systematic Review of Local Representation's Influence on RCB Governance Structure’’," MPRA Paper 118629, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Sep 2023.
    13. He, Jinfu & Liu, Yu, 2024. "Digital inclusion finance, social governance and household investment decisions," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PB).
    14. 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.

    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. Shruti Malik & Girish Chandra Maheshwari & Archana Singh, 2019. "Understanding Financial Inclusion in India: A Theoretical Framework Building Through SAP–LAP and Efficient IRP," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 20(2), pages 117-140, June.
    2. 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.
    3. Loan Thi-Hong Van & Anh The Vo & Nhan Thien Nguyen & Duc Hong Vo, 2021. "Financial Inclusion and Economic GROWTH: An International Evidence," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(1), pages 239-263, January.
    4. Amit Pandey & Ravi Kiran & Rakesh Kumar Sharma, 2023. "Investigating the Determinants of Financial Inclusion in BRICS Economies: Panel Data Analysis Using Fixed-Effect and Cross-Section Random Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-21, January.
    5. Amit Pandey & Ravi Kiran & Rakesh Kumar Sharma, 2022. "Investigating the Impact of Financial Inclusion Drivers, Financial Literacy and Financial Initiatives in Fostering Sustainable Growth in North India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-21, September.
    6. Anh L.N. Ngo, 2019. "Index of Financial Inclusion and the Determinants: An Investigation in Asia," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 9(12), pages 1368-1382, December.
    7. Ayushi Raichoudhury, 2020. "Major Determinants of Financial Inclusion: State-Level Evidences from India," Vision, , vol. 24(2), pages 151-159, June.
    8. Ghosh, Saibal, 2016. "Does mobile telephony spur growth? Evidence from Indian states," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(10), pages 1020-1031.
    9. María-Jesús Gallego-Losada & Antonio Montero-Navarro & Rocío Gallego-Losada & José-Luis Rodríguez-Sánchez, 2024. "Measuring financial divide in the rural environment. The potential role of the digital transformation of finance," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 2791-2810, December.
    10. Fan Liu & Barnabé Walheer, 2022. "Financial inclusion, financial technology, and economic development: a composite index approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 1457-1487, September.
    11. Shahid Manzoor Shah & Amjad Ali, 2023. "Macro Dimensions of Financial Inclusion Index and its Status in Developing Countries," Journal of Policy Research (JPR), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 9(1), pages 1-12, March.
    12. Barine Michael Nwidobie, 2019. "Financial Inclusion Index in Nigeria: An Exploratory Analysis," International Journal of Publication and Social Studies, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 4(1), pages 26-36, March.
    13. Alicia Girón & Amirreza Kazemikhasragh & Antonella Francesca Cicchiello & Eva Panetti, 2022. "Financial Inclusion Measurement in the Least Developed Countries in Asia and Africa," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(2), pages 1198-1211, June.
    14. Bao Zhu & Shiting Zhai & Jing He, 2018. "Is the Development of China’s Financial Inclusion Sustainable? Evidence from a Perspective of Balance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    15. Sonia Kumari Selvarajan & V. G. R. Chandran, 2024. "Financial Inclusion Trajectories: Geographical Dispersion, Convergence, and Development Implications," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 36(4), pages 897-924, August.
    16. Ozili, Peterson K, 2020. "Financial inclusion research around the world: a review," MPRA Paper 101809, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Tram, Thi Xuan Huong & Lai, Tien Dinh & Nguyen, Thi Truc Huong, 2023. "Constructing a composite financial inclusion index for developing economies," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 257-265.
    18. Helena Susana Amaral Geraldes & Ana Paula Matias Gama & Mário Augusto, 2022. "Reaching Financial Inclusion: Necessary and Sufficient Conditions," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 599-617, July.
    19. US Thathsarani & Jianguo Wei & GRSRC Samaraweera, 2021. "Financial Inclusion’s Role in Economic Growth and Human Capital in South Asia: An Econometric Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-18, April.
    20. Giorgio Nuzzo & Stefano Piermattei, 2020. "Discussing Measures of Financial Inclusion for the Main Euro Area Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 765-786, April.

    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:33:y:2021:i:2:p:316-341. 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.