Do Financial Inclusion Characteristics Really Reduce Poverty? Evidence from Nigeria

Abstract

The relationship between financial inclusion and poverty has been a contentious issue among scholars in relation to developing nations despite an increased range of financial services extended to the society in the past. This study examined the extent at which financial inclusion characteristics have reduced poverty level in Nigeria. This study employed Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) technique and it covered 2008: Q1 – 2017: Q4. The study found that both actual usage dimension and payment infrastructure have significant effect on poverty reduction in Nigeria. It was, therefore, recommended that frequent usage of financial services at reduced cost will achieve poverty reduction in Nigeria.Keywords: Actual Usage Dimension, Geographical Accessibility, Payment Infrastructure, Per Capita Income