2013年-世界发展银行全球_Financial_Inclusion_and_Legal_Discrimination_Against_Women___Evidence_from_Developing_Countries_47页_703kb

Summary: Financial Inclusion and Legal Discrimination Against Women

Core Content

This paper investigates the relationship between financial inclusion and legal discrimination against women in 98 developing countries, using data from the Global Financial Inclusion (Global Findex) database. It highlights the persistent gender gap in the use of financial services, including account ownership, savings, and borrowing behavior. The study emphasizes that legal and cultural barriers significantly influence women's access to and use of financial services.

Main Points

Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion

• Account Ownership: Approximately half of adults worldwide have a formal account, but the gender gap is more pronounced in developing countries.
  • In high-income countries, 5 percentage points of the gap exist (62% men vs. 55% women).
  • In developing countries, the gap is 9 percentage points (33% men vs. 29% women).
  • The gap is largest in South Asia (16 percentage points) and smallest in Sub-Saharan Africa (5 percentage points).
• Savings:
  • 36% of adults globally saved in the past 12 months, with a 7 percentage point gap in high-income countries (38% men vs. 34% women) and a 4 percentage point gap in developing countries (33% men vs. 29% women).
  • Women are more likely to save informally.
• Credit Use:
  • 34% of adults globally borrowed in the past 12 months, with a 4 percentage point gap (36% men vs. 32% women).
  • In developing countries, 37% of adults borrowed, mostly from informal sources.
  • In high-income countries, the use of formal credit is more common, with a smaller gap in credit use (33% men vs. 29% women).

Legal and Cultural Barriers

• Legal Discrimination:
  • Countries with higher legal restrictions on women's rights (e.g., to work, head a household, choose where to live, inherit property, or obey their husbands) show lower rates of account ownership, savings, and borrowing among women.
  • These legal restrictions are often codified in laws and regulations, though they may not reflect customary practices unless codified.
• Gender Norms:
  • Cultural norms, such as early marriage and violence against women, are also linked to financial exclusion.
  • In many Middle Eastern and South Asian countries, women require a male co-signer for loans.
  • Husbands' adverse credit histories can indirectly affect women's access to credit.
  • Women often face challenges in obtaining national identification documents, which are necessary for opening accounts.

Individual Characteristics

• Women are less likely to be financially included due to lower income, education, and employment levels.
• They are more likely to be poor, head single adult households, and be divorced, separated, or widowed.
• Women are also less likely to be self-employed or formal business owners.

Key Findings

• Legal Discrimination:
  • Women in countries with legal restrictions are significantly less likely to own accounts, save, and borrow.
  • The study confirms that legal barriers are a key factor in the gender gap in financial inclusion.
• Gender Norms:
  • Cultural norms, such as early marriage and violence against women, also contribute to the gender gap.
  • These norms affect women's ability to access financial services directly or indirectly.
• Empirical Evidence:
  • The use of formal financial services is lower among women, even after controlling for individual and country-level characteristics.
  • The paper uses a combination of individual-level data and country-level legal and cultural indicators to analyze these differences.
• Policy Implications:
  • Addressing legal and cultural barriers is essential to improve financial inclusion for women.
  • Financial inclusion should not only focus on access but also on ownership, as it is a critical component of economic empowerment.

Methodology

• The study combines individual-level data from the Global Findex and Gallup World Poll with country-level legal and cultural indicators from the World Bank’s WBL and OECD’s GID databases.
• It uses multivariate regression analysis to explore the relationship between legal and cultural factors and financial inclusion.
• The analysis focuses on up to 98 developing countries due to the lack of variation in legal indicators among high-income economies.

Conclusion

• The paper underscores the importance of addressing legal and cultural discrimination to improve financial inclusion for women.
• It suggests that while financial tools like deposit accounts are valuable, women's ability to access and use them is significantly hindered by legal and social constraints.
• The findings support the need for policy reforms that promote gender equality in legal frameworks and cultural norms to enhance women's economic empowerment through financial inclusion.