Financial Inclusion, Regulation, Financial Literacy, and Financial Education in Armenia

Armen Nurbekyan () and Naneh Hovanessian

No 843, ADBI Working Papers from Asian Development Bank Institute

Abstract: Financial inclusion has significantly advanced in Armenia during the last decade. Rural and urban areas, however, have benefited unevenly. The high cost of providing financial services, the lack of physical infrastructure, higher poverty rates, and the low level of financial literacy are the main barriers to financial inclusion in the rural areas. The availability of, and the high level of trust in, postal services in all villages, along with innovative technologies, should be exploited to address the inadequate physical infrastructure. Insurance services, in particular health and agriculture insurance, have a high growth potential. Mandatory health insurance along with an e-health infrastructure can boost high-quality financial inclusion. Targeted financial education policies addressing the most vulnerable groups, in particular the rural population and the unemployed, will significantly increase the quality of financial inclusion. Addressing data gaps, especially in the small and medium-sized enterprises sector, should be a priority for policy makers. Overall, a clear separation of strategies for financial inclusion from the National Strategy for Financial Education clarifying quantitative goals and policies will be beneficial.

Keywords: financial inclusion; financial literacy; regulation; Armenia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G21 G28 I22 O16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2018-05-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cis, nep-cwa, nep-fle, nep-ias, nep-knm and nep-tra
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: Financial Inclusion, Regulation, Financial Literacy and Financial Education in Armenia (2018)
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