Читать книгу The Political Economy of the BRICS Countries - Группа авторов - Страница 98

Individuals often might be financially excluded owing to the presence of several barriers. In Table 3, we look closely at such possible barriers. We find that lack of money is cited as the major reason for not having a formal account. Although the importance of this factor has diminished between 2011 and 2017, it nonetheless remains substantial, averaging 20% in 2017. The evidence is consistent with that of Allen et al. (2016), who report similar results after examining cross-national data.

Figure 3: Remittances and wage payments.

Table 3:Barriers to financial inclusion in the BRICS.

Notes: Average = Simple average of the figures under each head for BRICS. Others include reasons such as family member already having an account, difficulty in operating the account, etc.

Among others, individuals report the high costs to be an overwhelming consideration: the reason was extremely important in Brazil in 2011 wherein 48% of respondents cited it as important, although its relevance has since declined significantly. Distance was an important consideration inhibiting financial inclusion in both South Africa and India, although its importance has since declined substantially in case of the latter. The role of religion in influencing financial inclusion was most important in India among the BRICS, with 1% of respondents citing it as relevant in 2017, a decline from 8% in 2011.

On a related note, the motives for involuntary exclusion are no less compelling: lack of trust and high cost are still important in several countries, most notably in Russia, with 35% of individuals citing it as important in 2014. It still remains an important concern in the country. This is consistent with Fungacova and Weill’s (2013) results which show that these factors have appeal in a country characterized by several bank failures and, more generally, financial instability.