Impact of Financial Inclusion on Human Development Index: Special Reference to BRICS Countries

Abstract

The BRICS countries are frequently referred to as “emerging economies”; they account for a sizable proportion of the global population and face issues such as poverty, income inequality, slow economic growth, gender inequality, and high unemployment rates. Policy measures are currently being considered and implemented in response to these difficulties. Previous studies suggest that greater financial inclusion has a positive effect on such countries’ development, hence its importance as a tool used to deal with the socioeconomic challenges faced by emerging economies. When we talk about “financial inclusion,” we are referring to the ease with which people can access and make use of basic financial services, such as savings accounts, credit cards, and insurance. In this paper, we use data from the Global Findex Database and the World Bank Database to create the Financial Inclusion (Finclusion) Index, which provides a comparative measure of financial access for different nations. The primary purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of financial inclusion on HDI in 105 countries; per capita income and gender development are also compared across BRICS countries. The study found that financial inclusion had a significant impact on human development in general and a positive effect on the development of women in particular. The result is valid for the BRICS countries, where financial inclusion has considerably boosted human development and is positively correlated with women empowerment.