The foundations of financial inclusion: Understanding ownership and use of formal accounts

Franklin Allen, Asli Demirguc-Kunt, Leora Klapper and Maria Martinez Peria

Journal of Financial Intermediation, 2016, vol. 27, issue C, 1-30

Abstract: Financial inclusion—defined as the use of formal accounts—can bring many benefits to individuals. Yet, we know very little about the factors underpinning it. This paper explores the individual and country characteristics associated with financial inclusion and the policies that are effective among those most likely to be excluded: poor, rural, female or young individuals. Overall, we find that greater financial inclusion is associated with lower account costs, greater proximity to financial intermediaries, stronger legal rights, and more politically stable environments. However, the effectiveness of policies to promote inclusion varies depending on the characteristics of the individuals considered.

Keywords: Household finance; Financial institutions; Government policy and regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (276)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1042957315000534
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
Working Paper: The foundations of financial inclusion: understanding ownership and use of formal accounts (2012)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jfinin:v:27:y:2016:i:c:p:1-30

DOI: 10.1016/j.jfi.2015.12.003

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Financial Intermediation is currently edited by Elu von Thadden

More articles in Journal of Financial Intermediation from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().