Vol 7, No 4 (2019)
The Impact of Financial Inclusion on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nguling’wa Philip Balele
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of financial inclusion on economic growth using a panel of 25 Sub-Saharan African countries, each observed over six years from 2009 - 2014. It tests whether an increase in the level of financial inclusion, controlling for gross savings and gross primary school enrollment leads to economic growth. The findings based on a two-way random effects estimation reveal the impact of financial inclusion on economic growth. Gross savings lead to economic growth, but gross primary school enrollment has an unexpected negative impact. Since the individual dimensions used in the construction of the financial inclusion index are built from limited sub-components, the financial inclusion index should be treated as a rough representation. This finding implies that Sub-Saharan African countries can increase economic growth by enhancing financial inclusion by leveraging financial technology.
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Keywords
Financial inclusion; Economic growth; Sub-Saharan Africa.
Publication information
Volume 7, Issue 4
Year of Publication: 2019
ISSN: 1857 - 8721
Publisher: EDNOTERA
How to cite
Balele, P. N.: The Impact of Financial Inclusion on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Applied Economics and Business, Vol 7, No. 4, 51-68. (2019)