The Gender-Differential Effect of Financial Inclusion on Household Financial Resilience

This paper applies the kernel propensity score matching difference-in-differences method to examine gender-differential effects of financial inclusion on household financial resilience, using repeated cross-sectional data from two successive large-scale surveys of Ghanaian households. Applying standardised indices for financial inclusion and financial resilience, we find that financial inclusion significantly improves household financial resilience. Results from gender and locality disaggregated analyses suggest that the effect of financial inclusion on household resilience does not significantly vary by gender or locality. Results from different measures of financial inclusion show that savings and formal account ownership yield more pronounced resilience effect, with mobile money (m-money) exerting the least impact. Remittances via m-money – sending and receiving (a proxy for social capital) – provide significant financial resilience effects, with generally stronger effects in rural than in urban areas, especially for females.