Financial Inclusion as a Pathway to Poverty Alleviation and Equality in Latin America: An Empirical Analysis

Jeniffer Rubio () and Micaela León
Additional contact information
Jeniffer Rubio: Centro de Investigaciones Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170124, Ecuador
Micaela León: Centro de Investigaciones Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de las Américas, Quito 170124, Ecuador

JRFM, 2025, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-22

Abstract: This study examines the impact of financial inclusion (FI) on reducing poverty and income inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), using panel data from 15 countries for the period 2004–2021. System GMM with robust errors was used to address endogeneity issues, and FI was assessed in terms of access to and use of the financial system. The results indicate that increased FI contributes to reducing poverty and income inequality in LAC. While access to financial services plays a crucial role in poverty reduction, the utilization of financial services has a more profound impact on combating income inequality. These results underscore the importance of policies designed to improve financial access and promote the use of financial products and services. It is recommended to expand the banking infrastructure, facilitate the provision of low-cost accounts, and strengthen financial education programs.

Keywords: financial inclusion; poverty; income inequality; Latin America and the Caribbean (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C E F2 F3 G (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/18/7/392/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/18/7/392/ (text/html)

Related works:
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:gam:jjrfmx:v:18:y:2025:i:7:p:392-:d:1702374

Access Statistics for this article

JRFM is currently edited by Ms. Chelthy Cheng

More articles in JRFM from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().