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. 2020 Jul 11:11:100630.
doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100630. eCollection 2020 Aug.

The impact of financial inclusion on mental health

Joseph B Ajefu  1 , Ayse Demir  2 , Houra Haghpanahan  3
Affiliations

The impact of financial inclusion on mental health

Joseph B Ajefu et al. SSM Popul Health. .

Erratum in

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of financial inclusion on the mental health of heads of household in Nigeria. The study employed data from the 2015/2016 Nigerian General Household Survey (GHS), matched with georeferenced data concerning financial services obtained from the Insight2Impact (i2i) GIS interface. The results indicate that financial inclusion has a strong positive impact on mental health. The study used a robust instrumental variable method, in which a household's distance from the nearest financial institution was used as the instrument for financial inclusion. In addition, it identified the potential channels through which financial inclusion can influence mental health, including: (1) food expenditure; (2) remittances; and (3) risk-coping mechanisms. The findings of this study reinforce growing evidence for the benefits of financial inclusion for alleviating depression symptoms.

Keywords: Financial inclusion; Mental health; Nigeria.

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