Welfare Effects of Financial Inclusion Services in Ghana: A Comparative Analysis of Mobile Money and Other Financial Services

AbstractThe study examines the effects of financial inclusion services —mobile money and other alternative financial service options—on consumption expenditure and poverty status by employing the augmented inverse probability weighted (AIPW) estimator to address selection bias and unobserved heterogeneity in the adoption of these services. Using a nationally repres entative survey data in Ghana, the results show that adoption of financial inclusion services increases household consumption expenditure and also decreases the probability of being poor. Specifically, the effects are larger for adoption of other alternative financial service options relative to ado ption of mobile money services. Estimating the interaction effects shows that there are complementarities between adoption of mobile money and other alternative financial service options. The results also show considerable heterogeneity with effects largely observed in male-headed households compare d to female-headed households. The results suggest that adoption of financial inclusion services could serve as welfare improvement strategies in developing countries and draw policy attention to the gendered welfare effects.
Source: Global Social Welfare - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research