The aim of this study was to comparatively assess the impact of formal and informal finance on household welfare in the Gambia. The Gambia 2015 to 2016 Integrated Household Survey (IHS3) data was analyzed using Stata software version 17.0 to assess the impact of access to the various forms of finance on household food and non-food consumption expenditures, education expenditure, total income, and a subjective assessment of welfare. The study found that access to either formal or informal finance has some deleterious impacts on welfare, with the negative impacts from formal finance being generally lesser than those from informal finance, signaling that the different forms of finance have near-varying repercussions on household welfare. Access to and conditions of formal finance should be improved by removing or making less stringent the requirements, most of which are hard for households to meet.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.