Financial Inclusion for What?
The global evidence on the impact of financial inclusion consistently shows that poor people use financial services to help them achieve two outcomes that improve their well-being: building resilience and capturing opportunities.
Inclusive Growth vs. Household Finance: A False Choice
What’s better for inclusive economic growth: expanding access to financial services among individuals or businesses? Emerging evidence suggests they’re both critical.
3 Ways to Deepen Our Understanding of Women’s Financial Inclusion
Researchers can shed new light on the impact of financial inclusion on women by applying three principles in their work.
Looking Beyond the Average Impact of Financial Inclusion
CGAP's review of over 100 financial inclusion impact studies shows only 1 in 5 offers important contextual information to explain results. Greater focus on context is needed to understand impact.
Is Poverty Reduction the Right Outcome for Financial Services?
Today, the global development community generally accepts that poverty is more than just a lack of income. What do multidimensional concepts of poverty mean for those who see poverty reduction as the ultimate goal of financial inclusion?
Financial Health and the Impact of Financial Inclusion
Financial health has emerged as a useful framework for talking about whether financial services improve poor people's ability to manage their financial lives. But how can we understand whether better financial management improves people's well-being?
How Useful Is “Usage” in Measuring Financial Inclusion’s Impact?
Financial account usage rates can tell us a lot about the state of financial inclusion, but high usage shouldn’t be confused with impact on customers’ lives.
Learning from Financial Inclusion Research: What Should We Expect?
Impact evaluations, reviews, reviews of reviews— there's no shortage of research on whether and how financial inclusion impacts the poor. What should we expect to learn from this growing body of work?