Financial inclusion, economic development, and inequality: Evidence from Brazil

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Fonseca, Julia; Matray, Adrien
• 署名单位: University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-405X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2024.103854
• 发表日期: 2024
• 关键词: Financial inclusion; Economic development; INEQUALITY

摘要

We study a financial inclusion policy targeting Brazilian cities with low bank branch coverage using data on the universe of employees from 2000-2014. The policy leads to bank entry and to similar increases in both deposits and lending. It also fosters entrepreneurship, employment, and wage growth, especially for cities initially in banking deserts. These gains are not shared equally and instead increase with workers' education, implying a substantial increase in wage inequality. The changes in inequality are concentrated in cities where the initial supply of skilled workers is low, indicating that talent scarcity can drive how financial development affects inequality.