A Comparative Study of Financial Inclusion in South Asian Countries

Abstract

Though South Asian economies (SAEs) are progressing by adopting and implementing inclusive financial strategies, many adults, females, those with little or no education, who are not in the labor force, and those from the poorest households are still largely excluded when compared to high-income economies (HIEs). This article intends to explore how promotional inclusive finance is moving forward in the SAEs and whether it helps to converge with the HIEs. Variations in account ownership across SAEs by different characteristics as well as the gaps in account ownership with the HIEs and the globe have also been explored. For understanding and analytical purposes, this study uses the Global Findex Database 2017, the most comprehensive in the world dataset for measuring the extent of inclusive finance in terms of account ownership. Though global recognition of the importance of inclusive finance has been established, the literature lacks a comprehensive study that can identify the gaps in comparing account ownership of the SAEs with the HIEs and the world. This paper intends to fill up these gaps using descriptive statistics on account ownership for transactions, which is the ‘maker’ of financial inclusion.