The Anatomy of the Financial Inclusion Gap in the Caucasus and Central Asia

Tigran Poghosyan

No 2023/109, IMF Working Papers from International Monetary Fund

Abstract: This paper analyses how financial inclusion in the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) compares to peers in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Using individual-level survey data, it shows that the probability of being financially included, as proxied by account ownership in financial institutions, is substantially lower across gender, income groups, and education levels in all CCA countries relative to CEE comparators. Key determinants of this financial inclusion gap are lower financial and human development indices, weak rule of law, and physical access to bank branches or ATMs. This suggests that targeted policies aimed at boosting financial and human development, strengthening the rule of law, and supporting fintech solutions can broaden financial inclusion in the CCA.

Keywords: Caucasus and Central Asia; financial inclusion; financial access; estimation result; CEE comparator; CCA country; IMF working paper 23/109; CEE peer; Financial sector development; Financial account; Financial sector; Income; Global; Central Asia and the Caucasus (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34
Date: 2023-05-26
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cis, nep-fdg, nep-fle, nep-pay and nep-tra
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=533841 (application/pdf)

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:imf:imfwpa:2023/109

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/pubs/ord_info.htm

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in IMF Working Papers from International Monetary Fund International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC USA. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Akshay Modi ().