Gender and Household Welfare Through Financial Inclusion in Liberia
Date
2022
Authors
Mulbah, Francis F.B.
Mantey, Vida
Olumeh, Dennis Etemesi
Okemer, Ipara Billy
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research Consortium
Abstract
Financial inclusion (FI) is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), particularly no poverty, gender equality, and reduced inequalities (GSMA,
2021). However, there is limited evidence of its impacts on household welfare in fragile
andpost-conflict countries (FPCCCs). FPCCCs suchas Liberia,have anunderdeveloped
financial sector and limited financial inclusion resulting in very lowaccess to financial
services in the country (Sile, 2013). Although there are efforts to improve financial
inclusion in Liberia, there is evidence that suggests the persistent gender gap in terms
of access to financial services. Forinstance, only 12% of Liberian women have a bank
account, compared to 21% of men and only 24.4% of women use their mobile phones
for financial transactions, compared to 30 percent of men (LISGIS, 2020)
While determinants and impacts of FI in SSA have received significant attention in
the literature, the role of financial inclusion on household welfare in FPCCs remains
largely neglected. Also, information on how gender affects FI and its effectiveness
on household welfare is scarce. In this study, we cross-examine the role of gender
in improving household welfare in Liberia through financial inclusion. Access to
formal financial services improves financial inclusion. Existing literature has shown
that countries with strong financial systems have relatively good financial inclusion.
However, this is different from FPCCs which have weak institutional frameworks and
poor infrastructure. Therefore, this cannot be replicated in FPCCS like Liberia which
has limited financial capabilities and financial literacy.