The impact of financial inclusion on mental health

• Main Authors: Joseph B. Ajefu (Author), Ayse Demir (Author), Houra Haghpanahan (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Elsevier, 2020-08-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2352-8273; 10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100630
• Keywords: 115; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Social sciences (General); H1-99
• Source: SSM: Population Health, Vol 11, Iss , Pp 100630- (2020)

This paper examines the impact of financial inclusion on the mental health of heads of household in Nigeria. The study employed data from the 2015/2016 Nigerian General Household Survey (GHS), matched with georeferenced data concerning financial services obtained from the Insight2Impact (i2i) GIS interface. The results indicate that financial inclusion has a strong positive impact on mental health. The study used a robust instrumental variable method, in which a household's distance from the nearest financial institution was used as the instrument for financial inclusion. In addition, it identified the potential channels through which financial inclusion can influence mental health, including: (1) food expenditure; (2) remittances; and (3) risk-coping mechanisms. The findings of this study reinforce growing evidence for the benefits of financial inclusion for alleviating depression symptoms.