An Investigation into the Level of Financial Inclusion among Regional Blocs in Africa

Abdullahi, Salimat (2020) An Investigation into the Level of Financial Inclusion among Regional Blocs in Africa. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

The availability and equal opportunity to access and use financial services determine an inclusive financial system. This has been the core objective of many nations as it plays a crucial role in economic development. However, investigation concerning financial inclusion among emerging regional blocs have not really been carried out in the literature. There are opportunities for future research in that area because regional blocs will not only proffer solutions that will improve the economic condition of member countries but will also make unified financial policies that will enhance the level of inclusive finance among its member states. This paper contributes to literature by determining the level of financial inclusion among the eight regional blocs in Africa. Two stage robust principal component analysis was carried out on Findex and Financial Access Survey data to ascertain the three sub-indices of financial inclusion (access, usage and quality), as well as the financial inclusion index of the blocs over the period of 2011, 2014, and 2017. SADC, ECOWAS, COMESA and, CEN-SAD outperformed AMU, EAC, ECCAS and IGAD which have not improved beyond a low level of financial inclusion. Previous researchers have identified the whole African region as that which needs proper attention in terms of financial inclusion. This information would create awareness on the areas that need immediate attention. Future work should examine the demographic characteristics of the population that are financially inclusive against the ones that are not.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HG Finance Q Science > QA Mathematics > Electronic computers. Computer science T Technology > T Technology (General) > Information Technology > Electronic computers. Computer science
Divisions:	School of Computing > Master of Science in FinTech
Depositing User:	Dan English
Date Deposited:	29 Jan 2021 12:39
Last Modified:	29 Jan 2021 12:57
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/4557

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