Can financial inclusion enhance human development? Evidence from low- and middle-income countries

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine if financial inclusion in low-, lower-middle-, and upper-middle-income nations promotes human development. Our aim was accomplished by employing an empirical technique of using the System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) and dynamic threshold panel (DTP) data on a sample of 79 nations between 2000 and 2017. Three sub-samples representing low-, lower-, and upper-middle-income nations were created from the entire sample. In general, lower- and upper-middle-income nations’ human development is positively impacted by financial inclusion, according to SGMM empirical studies. Furthermore, the DTP method’s results show that there is a threshold impact for both human development and financial inclusion. The degree of human development in upper-middle-income and lower-middle-income countries is greatly raised by financial inclusion, whether the threshold is met or beyond.