Impact of microfinance on education demand: An empirical analysis of WAEMU countries

Momar khary Mbow (), Diadié Diaw () and Albert Lessoua ()
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Momar khary Mbow: University of Paris 8-Vincennes, LAREM-UCAD
Diadié Diaw: University of Rennes 2, LiRIS
Albert Lessoua: ESCE - International Business School, OMNES Education

Economics Bulletin, 2025, vol. 45, issue 4, 1777 - 1793

Abstract: This paper studies the impact of microfinance on education dynamics within a sample of eight developing countries in West Africa (WEAMU) over the period 1996-2020. This article addresses an important issue that has received little attention in the literature, the role of microfinance in the private financing of education in Sub-Saharan Africa. The results show that access to microcredit through the increase in the number of active borrowers improves income for the poor and reduces inequalities in education access within the region. They also draw attention to the perverse effects that a high level of lending could have on education. The large loans that borrowers prefer increase the opportunity cost of sending children to school and thus the risk of these children being taken out of the education system to serve as labor for their parents. It is therefore important to make borrowers and lenders aware of the consequences of child labor.

Keywords: Microfinance; Poverty; Education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G2 I2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-12-30
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