Title: The impact of ICT on financial inclusion: evidence from Arab countries

Authors: Amal Dabbous; Abdallah Nassereddine

Addresses: Department of Economics, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, P.O. Box 11-5020, Riad El Solh 11072809, Lebanon ' Department of Economics, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, P.O. Box 11-5020, Riad El Solh 11072809, Lebanon

Abstract: Financial inclusion is among the top priorities in the development agendas. Financial inclusion in the Arab region lags behind other regions in the developing world. ICT has been recommended as a mean to promote financial inclusion especially through easier access to financial services. Despite the fact that existing papers in the literature find support for the positive effect of ICT on financial inclusion, no paper has investigated this effect in the Arab world. Using an unbalanced panel of nine Arab countries for the period between 2003 and 2013, this paper explores the impact that three ICT variables has on financial inclusion. To achieve this goal, two indexes are used to measure financial inclusion across the sample of nine countries. The results of the weighted least squares estimation reveal a significant positive effect of ICT on financial inclusion.

Keywords: information and communication technology; ICT; financial inclusion; weighted least squares; WLS; Arab countries.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSS.2018.100204

International Journal of Services and Standards, 2018 Vol.12 No.3/4, pp.309 - 331

Received: 31 Mar 2017
Accepted: 05 Jan 2018

Published online: 18 Jun 2019 *

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