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Finance and Poverty: Evidence from India

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  • Beck, Thorsten
  • Ayyagari, Meghana

Abstract

Using state-level data from India over the period 1983 to 2005, this paper gauges the effect of financial deepening and outreach on rural poverty. Following the 1991 liberalization episode, we find a strong negative relationship between financial deepening, rather than financial breadth, and rural poverty. Instrumental variable regressions suggest that this relationship is robust to omitted variable and endogeneity biases. We also find that financial deepening has reduced poverty rates especially among self-employed in the rural areas, while at the same time it supported an inter-state migration trend from rural areas into the tertiary sector in urban areas, consistent with financial deepening being driven by credit to the tertiary sector. This suggests that financial deepening contributed to poverty alleviation in rural areas by fostering entrepreneurship and inducing geographic-sectoral migration.

Suggested Citation

  • Beck, Thorsten & Ayyagari, Meghana, 2013. "Finance and Poverty: Evidence from India," CEPR Discussion Papers 9497, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9497
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    8. Olabimtan Adebowale & Dr Ralitza Dimova, 2016. "Does access to formal finance matter for welfare and inequality? Micro level evidence from Nigeria," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 072016, GDI, The University of Manchester.
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    10. Beck, T.H.L. & Hoseini, M., 2014. "Informality and Access to Finance : Evidence from India," Other publications TiSEM 00e890f4-bd1a-46ba-9064-7, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic development; entrepreneurship; Financial liberalization; India; Migration; Poverty alleviation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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