Using a unique district-level panel dataset, we investigate the effect of banking system penetration on financial inclusion in Ghana. To purge potential endogeneity bias in the underlying relationship, we exploit a change in the policy environment of the Ghanaian banking system to instrument for bank branch expansion. We show, first, that the switch from the compartmentalized system of banking to the universal banking system in Ghana has resulted in an expansion of banks’ branch network, which has benefited hitherto financially less developed districts. Second, our instrumental variable evidence suggests that banking system penetration promotes financial inclusion—notably, access to bank credit and to formal credit. The results of this paper provide important insights into the role of policy in enhancing financial inclusion.

中文翻译：

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普惠金融议程：审视传统银行在深化获得正规信贷方面的作用

我们使用独特的地区级面板数据集，研究了银行系统渗透率对加纳金融包容性的影响。为了消除潜在关系中潜在的内生性偏差，我们利用加纳银行体系政策环境的变化来促进银行分支机构的扩张。首先，我们表明，加纳从条块化银行体系向全能银行体系的转变导致了银行分行网络的扩张，这使迄今为止金融欠发达的地区受益。其次，我们的工具变量证据表明，银行系统渗透率促进了金融包容性，特别是获得银行信贷和正规信贷的机会。本文的结果为政策在增强金融包容性方面的作用提供了重要见解。