Determinants of financial inclusion development: a review and some policy recommendations for Vietnam

Tóm tắt

Previous studies have pointed out the important role of financial inclusion in the process of hunger elimination, poverty reduction, economic development and economic stabilization. Therefore, international development agencies and governments of many countries around the world, including Vietnam, have great attention to the development of financial inclusion. This paper is an attempt to recognize the factors that contribute to the development of financial inclusion in a country. The paper, based on results previous research on the issue in developing countries around the world, suggests the following: There are three groups of determinants: 1) Determinants belong to the supply side: these determinants are the ones that contribute to the development of financial markets such as financial networks, characteristics of financial products, the trust in financial institutions and development policies of financial institutions; 2) Determinants belong to the demand side, these are determinants that are related to individuals’ characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, educational level, job, salary, ability to save, ability to withstand shocks; and 3) Catalytic determinants that are related to the socio-economic environment such as cognitive tendency, consumer culture, population structure, sex discrimination, infrastructure development, communication and economic development. The findings of this paper not only contribute to the literature of the field but also help to suggest some policy recommendations in order to strengthen financial inclusion development in Vietnam.