Access to financial services and the financial inclusion agenda around the world: A cross-country analysis with a new data set

Abstract

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

Climate change and financing adaptation by farmers in northern Nigeria

“…This argument finds support in the literature. While noting that the relationship between financial development and economic growth has been well documented in King and Levine (1993), Beck et al (2000), Demirgüç-Kunt and Maksimovic (1998), Beck et al (2004), Levine (2005), Klapper et al (2006), Demirgüç-Kunt and Levine (2008), and Ardic et al (2011) pointed out that recent debates have been extended to include the notion of financial exclusion as a barrier to economic development and the need to build inclusive financial systems (see Beck et al 2007). They cited Caskey et al (2006), who used evidence from household data to argue that access to basic financial services, such as savings, payments, and credit, can make a substantial positive difference in improving the lives of poor people.…”

Does mobile telephony spur growth? Evidence from Indian states

“…Information on the number of subscribers the number of cellular service providers was obtained from the website of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), supplemented by IndiaStat database. 2 Financial inclusion data: Following previous literature (Ardic, Heimann, & Nataliya, 2011;Beck et al, 2008;Demirguc Kunt et al, 2015;Kendall, Mylenko, & Ponce, 2010), we utilize the following indicators of financial inclusion outreach at the state-level:…”

A heterogeneous agent model of credit-linked index insurance and farm technology adoption

“…While much of the poor remain unbanked (Ardic et al (2011) estimate that 64% of adults in developing countries are excluded from financial markets), the option to save -whether formally or informally -can have a significant impact on farm risk management strategies.…”