In this seminar, the results of a systematic review of systematic reviews will be presented to better understand the impact of a range of financial inclusion interventions on economic, social, gender and behavioural outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Financial inclusion is a dynamic space with a growing range of intervention types and players. However, the present high-level evidence does not suggest that financial inclusion initiatives have transformative effects or are changing the world. The review finds that the impacts of financial inclusion interventions are small and variable and may be no better than those of comparable alternatives, such as graduation or livelihoods interventions.
About the speakers
Maren Duvendack is a Senior Lecturer in Development Economics at the University of East Anglia, where her key research areas cover applied micro-econometrics, impact evaluation, systematic reviews and meta-analysis, microfinance, replication and reproduction of quantitative analyses as well as research ethics. Maren has extensively worked on microfinance impact evaluations in India and Bangladesh, and is particularly interested in the link between microfinance, empowerment and reproductive health.
Philip Mader is a research fellow in the Business, Markets and the State research cluster at IDS, and has over 8 years’ research and consulting experience in the field of international development. His research areas include political economy, finance and development, youth employment, management of public goods, financialisation, financial inclusion and financial literacy, and private governance and standards.