Financial inclusion and economic growth nexus: Evidence from SAARC countries

Abstract

This article examines the nexus between financial inclusion index and economic growth in all eight South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, using annual data from 2004 to 2017. In order to determine the possible long-run relationship between these variables, the study adopted the Pedroni panel co-integration test and two types of co-integration regression methods, the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) and the Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS) methods. The Pedroni panel co-integration test confirms the existence of a long-run relationship between financial inclusion and economic growth in the SAARC countries. The coefficients of FMOLS and DOLS indicate that the index of financial inclusion and selected control variables together support economic growth. In addition, the Granger causality test confirmed bi-directional causality between FI and economic growth.