Financial Inclusion, Fintech, and Income Inequality in Africa

Biruk Ashenafi and Yan Dong
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Yan Dong: Research Institute of Economics and Management, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611100, China

FinTech, 2022, vol. 1, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: Financial inclusion and Fintech have revolutionized the financial sector and fundamentally changed how we store, save, borrow, transfer, and invest money. This paper investigates the impact of financial inclusion and Fintech on income inequality using waves of survey data for 2011, 2014, and 2017 across 39 African countries. By using pooled ordinary least square and two-stage least square (2sls) estimation methods, we obtain three key findings. First, institutional factors such as political stability, control of corruption, and government effectiveness determine Fintech and financial inclusion. Second, Fintech encourages individuals to have a formal bank account, thereby promoting financial inclusion. Third, financial inclusion and Fintech exacerbate income inequality. The direct implication of our findings is that policymakers make tradeoffs whether they seek to achieve higher inclusion and Fintech or to reduce income inequality. We highlight that a pro-poor financial sector development is vital. Easing the bottleneck in obtaining loans, offering agriculture-based Fintech services, and improving digital literacy are important steps to gain the most out of inclusion and Fintech in reducing income inequality.

Keywords: Africa; Fintech; financial inclusion; income inequality; institutions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C6 F3 G O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jfinte:v:1:y:2022:i:4:p:28-387:d:974160

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