The Economic Impact of Banking the Unbanked : Evidence from Mexico
This paper examines the effects of providing financial services to low-income individuals on entrepreneurial activity, employment, and income. The analysis exploits cross-time and cross-municipality variation in the opening of Banco Azteca in Mexic...
Main Authors: | , |
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Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2012
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20090630083925 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4173 |
Summary: | This paper examines the effects of
providing financial services to low-income individuals on
entrepreneurial activity, employment, and income. The
analysis exploits cross-time and cross-municipality
variation in the opening of Banco Azteca in Mexico to
measure these effects with a difference-in-difference
strategy. Banco Azteca opened more than 800 branches
simultaneously in 2002, focusing on low-income clients. The
results show that the opening of Banco Azteca led to an
increase in the number of informal business owners by 7.6
percent. Total employment also increased, by 1.4 percent,
and average income went up by about 7 percent. |
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