How Equitable is Access to Finance in Turkey? : Evidence from the Latest Global FINDEX

Azevedo, Joao Pedro ; Inan, Osman Kaan ; Yang, Judy S.

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: DEPOSIT;    COUNTRY COMPARISONS;    FINANCIAL SERVICES;    INFORMAL BORROWING;    BANK FEES;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7541
RP-ID  :  WPS7541

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Access to finance is a key component ofpoverty reduction, as it enables individuals to makeeconomic decisions that can improve their welfare. Theequality of access among different groups in society is alsocrucial for correctly allocating the positive benefits ofimproved financial services. In Turkey, bank account, debitcard, and credit card ownership, which can serve as the mainindicators of access to finance, are at a remarkably highlevel. However, adjusting the coverage rate of theseindicators by controlling for age, education, gender, anincome reveals that gender is the main source of inequalityin Turkey at the individual level. Despite the progress madein addressing the gender disparity in access to financebetween 2011 and 2014, females in Turkey continue to befinancially less included. Moreover, Turkey's low levelof savings and high rate of informal borrowing compared withits peers diminish individuals' resilience to futureshocks. Promisingly, Turkey has been able to improve itsrate of savings significantly over the past few years,although it continues to be among the countries that save ata lower level.