Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Tetteh, Godsway Korku
Author-Email: tetteh@merit.unu.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: Maastricht University, UNU-MERIT
Author-Name: Goedhuys, Micheline
Author-Email: goedhuys@merit.unu.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: Maastricht University, UNU-MERIT
Author-Name: Konte, Maty
Author-Email: mk4415@columbia.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: Barnard College, Columbia University, and UNU-MERIT
Author-Name: Mohnen, Pierre
Author-Email: mohnen@merit.unu.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: Maastricht University, UNU-MERIT
Title: Towards a new index of mobile money inclusion and the role of the regulatory 
	 environment
Abstract: It is an undeniable fact that financial inclusion has become a global
	 policy priority. Despite its popularity in the policy sphere, the
	 concept of financial inclusion lacks a comprehensive measure to monitor
	 and evaluate inclusive financial systems across the globe. To fill this
	 gap, we combine macro-level data from the Financial Access Survey of the
	 International Monetary Fund and the World Bank’s Global Findex database
	 to construct novel indices of financial inclusion. First, we compute new
	 financial inclusion indices that incorporate access to financial
	 services by groups prone to exclusion. Second, we account for the recent
	 upsurge in mobile money adoption in the developing world by computing a
	 novel mobile money inclusion index. We further relate the financial
	 inclusion indices with legal origin to ascertain the role of initial
	 conditions of the regulatory environment in countries’ financial
	 inclusion achievements. We find that whereas developed countries
	 continue to lead in banking inclusion, developing countries in
	 sub-Saharan Africa are at the frontiers of mobile money inclusion. Also,
	 we find evidence suggesting that the regulatory environment matters for
	 financial inclusion.
Classification-JEL: G21, O16, O35, O57
Keywords: Financial Inclusion, Banking Inclusion, Financial Innovation, Mobile
	 Money Inclusion 
Series: UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Creation-Date: 20200824
Number: 2020-035
File-URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2020/wp2020-035.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 275 Kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2020035