Nexus between Financial Inclusion, Financial Inequality, Economic Growth and Income Inequality
Year: 2024
Type: preprint
Abstract: This article attempts to analyze the nexus between financial inclusion, inequality in the distribution of financial services, economic growth and inequality by using a sample of 112 countries. It estimates financial inclusion index for the countries using a number of access and usage indicators and then investigates the linkages of such index with growth, financial inequality, and income inequality. Results show that even though Nepal has progressed a lot in expanding financial inclusion, it ranks 70 out of the 112 countries included in the study in a cross-country context implying that more need to be done in the future to come in the forefront. In addition, results from the growth and inequality regression demonstrate that in the presence of higher inequality in the distribution of financial services, the gains from financial inclusion might not be realized as expected. This calls for the attention of the policymakers to address the inequality in financial services so that financial inclusion can contribute to higher and equitable growth.
Author: Bhatta, Siddha Raj
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7020901040