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Using household survey data gleaned from Ghana, we carried out a microeconometric analysis of the relationship between mobile money (m-money) and multidimensional well-being. A key feature of this paper is the computation of a well-being index, incorporating important household welfare dimensions including health, education, and wealth, thus allowing an examination of the link between m-money and well-being from a multidimensional perspective. Using instrumental variable probit models with phone ownership and public sector employment as instruments, we find that although access to m-money is important it is its usage that has a profound well-being effect. We also explore alternative specifications of the models in which access to, and usage of, m-money explains the variations in the individual well-being components, which also relate to the Sustainable Development Goals. The results from these alternative specifications suggest that there are significant welfare disparities between those who just have access to m-money and those who use it frequently. The policy implication of this finding is that measures that encourage m-money usage would not only promote At least since the early 2000s, developing countries (particularly in Africa) had been grappling with how to reach out to the unbanked and underbanked population, who are usually the poor and often marginalized groups in society (the youth and women). Providing banking facilities to poor individuals is expensive due to the investments required to establish functioning bank branches (Ahmad et al., 2020;Beck et al., 2007;Narain, 2009). The high transaction costs associated with reaching out to this segment of the population form the main supply-side constraints to financial inclusion. Admittedly, this problem is particularly more serious in Africa where good infrastructure to support financial outreach is lacking, which widens the financial gap in the region, even among the developing economies (Beck et al., 2007).The rapid growth of mobile phone penetration in Africa over the past decade-from 28.5 phones per 100 inhabitants in 2007 to 64.8 phones per 100 inhabitants in 2013-has enabled the introduction of mobile money (m-money) on the continent. It was first introduced in South Africa in 2006, followed by the continent's most successful m-money, M-PESA in Kenya (Ahmad et al., 2020;Suri & Jack, 2016). M-money has become ubiquitous in Africa, spreading from East to West Africa and beyond, and it is emerging as a game changer in many African countries. This is particularly welcoming as it is considered as an important financial innovation that can be leveraged to break barriers to financial inclusion, especially in rural areas (Munyegera & Matsumoto, 2016).Evidently, financial inclusion has been improving in Africa since the advent of the m-money. For example, in Ghana, financial inclusion increased by 17% between 2014 and 2017 according to the Global Findex surveys (Demirguc-Kunt et al., 2018). 1 This improvement was largely attributed to the increase in the numb...

Using a nationally representative household survey data collected from Ghana, this paper investigates the relationship between financial inclusion and household well-being.The paper computes a comprehensive index for financial inclusion incorporating all its dimensions: availability, accessibility, usage and quality. Our econometric analyses employ both discrete and continuous models to produce robust results. The main result indicates that there are significant welfare gains from increased financial inclusion irrespective of its measure and control for endogeneity. The results also suggest that enhanced financial inclusion increases the likelihood of improving food consumption, medical treatment, cash income and school attendance outcomes. Thus, there is a clear policy implication: increasing financial inclusion will significantly contribute to the attainment of some key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Results-based financing (RBF) programmes in the clean cooking sector have gained increasing donor interest over the last decade. Although the risks and advantages of RBF have been discussed quite extensively for other sectors, especially health services, there is limited research-documented experience of its application to clean cooking. Due to the sheer scale of the important transition from ‘dirty’ to clean cooking for the 4 billion people who lack access, especially in the Global South, efficient and performance-proven solutions are urgently required. This paper, undertaken as part of the work of the UKAid-funded Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) programme, aims to close an important research gap by reviewing evidence-based support mechanisms and documenting essential experiences from previous and ongoing RBF programmes in the clean cooking and other sectors. On this basis, the paper derives key strategic implications and learning lessons for the global scaling of RBF programmes and finds that qualitative key performance indicators such as consumer acceptance as well as longer-term monitoring are critical long-term success factors for RBF to ensure the continued uptake and use of clean cooking solutions (CCS), however securing the inclusion of these indicators within programmes remains challenging. Finally, by discussing the opportunities for the evolution of RBF into broader impact funding programmes and the integration of energy access and clean cooking strategies through multi-sector approaches, the paper illustrates potential steps to enhance the impact of RBF in this sector in the future.

We investigate mobile money adoption, and how it affected household behaviour and financial inclusion in Ghana. We first provide an overview of mobile phone and mobile money development in Ghana. Then we present results of two household surveys carried out in 2017 and 2019 and conducted in all regions of Ghana, each survey covering 1000 households. In 2019 more than 90% reported that they use mobile money reflecting its widespread adoption in Ghana by that time. Different socio-economic characteristics are important in the take-up and use of mobile money. Mobile money users tend to make greater use of formal financial services than non-users and may therefore be more financially included. Mobile money is used for a range of transactions especially remittances, but also payments for goods and services, including financial services and savings. Mobile money may also impact social networks insofar as face-to-face meetings may be replaced by mobile phone interactions.