Does multidimensional financial inclusion have an impact on subjective poverty in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WEAMU)?

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Résumé

This article examines the impact of multidimensional financial inclusion (MFI) on subjective poverty, using data from the Harmonised Household Living Conditions Survey (HSLC) conducted in 2021 across the WAEMU region. The Alkire and Foster approach was employed to measure MFI. To address potential endogeneity, a recursive ordered probit–probit model with an instrumental variable (IV), estimated through the conditional mixed-process (CMP) method, was applied. The results indicate that MFI significantly reduces subjective poverty, with the probability of reporting as poor or very poor decreasing by 7.12% and 12.32%, respectively. These results imply that financial inclusion must be promoted through financial education and measures aimed at facilitating access to financial services and their adoption in the WAEMU area.

Mots-clés

Financial inclusion, subjective poverty, instrumental variable, WAEMU, household