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No Men, No Cry? How Gender Equality in Access to Credit Enhances Financial Stability

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  • Caroline PERRIN

    (LaRGE Research Center, Université de Strasbourg)

  • Laurent WEILL

    (LaRGE Research Center, Université de Strasbourg)

Abstract

Literature has found that women outperform men in terms of loan repayment. We can therefore question whether more gender equality in access to credit fosters financial stability. We test this hypothesis using cross-country data on financial inclusion from the World Bank’s Global Findex database and bank-level data on financial stability. We perform regressions at the bank level to check if the female-to-male ratio of access to credit affects financial stability. We find evidence that the gender gap in access to credit exerts a detrimental influence on financial stability. This finding is confirmed in robustness checks that control for alternative measures of financial stability and endogeneity. Therefore our findings support the view that enhancing access to credit for women relative to men is beneficial for financial stability.

Suggested Citation

  • Caroline PERRIN & Laurent WEILL, 2021. "No Men, No Cry? How Gender Equality in Access to Credit Enhances Financial Stability," Working Papers of LaRGE Research Center 2021-02, Laboratoire de Recherche en Gestion et Economie (LaRGE), Université de Strasbourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:lar:wpaper:2021-02
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    financial inclusion; access to credit; financial stability; gender equality.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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