What is it about?
This paper examines the influence of mobile technologies on financial inclusion, and the matter of whether mobile technologies and financial inclusion have an impact on the income of individuals in East Indonesia. We employ a rich dataset with more than 20,000 respondents from the Survey on Financial Inclusion and Access (SOFIA) in 2017. We compare both socio-economic determinants of access to formal and informal financial services, as well as the role play by simple tech devices and smart mobile technologies.
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Why is it important?
The study finds that mobile technologies and access to finance significantly increase the likelihood of higher incomes. Smart technologies and formal finance have higher effects on incomes compared to the effects of simple devices or semi-formal and informal finance. Significant gaps in financial access exist between individuals across East Indonesia in accordance with gender, income, education, and location. The use of Technologies account for a small difference in the broader access to financial services.
Perspectives
We first identify that socio-economic characteristics of individuals matter when studying financial inclusion, and that differences also matter across the variety of services. Meaning to say that the behavior of people towards different services (accounts, credit, savings, payments, transfers, remittances, insurance) are highly related to individual characteristics. We also find a large role of informal services, mainly serving those who are financially excluded from finance, although it is common to find the use of both (coexistence). The use of Technologies account for a small difference in the broader access to financial services, even among the youth.
Dr Miguel Angel Esquivias Padilla
Universitas Airlangga
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Mobile Technologies, Financial Inclusion, and Inclusive Growth in East Indonesia, Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, June 2020, Telecommunications Association Inc.,
DOI: 10.18080/jtde.v8n2.253.
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