Title:
Access to Inclusive Financial Services in Gabon

Authors:
Dr Sydney Leslie DIBOUNDA SIMA & Dr Pierre Gaëtant ANGO NGUEMA, Gabon

Abstract:

The objective of this article is to highlight, based on an empirical model, the impact of inclusive financial services as a means of improving individual well-being and integration into economic and social activity in Gabon. The results estimated by Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) reveal that economic growth has a negative effect on the provision of inclusive financial services, but this correlation is only significant in the short term. Inflation and public spending have a negative effect, in both the short and long term, on financial inclusion, while bank credit granted to the private sector and households has a positive influence in both periods. At several levels of robustness control, through the estimation of DOLS and ARDL models to accurately capture the influence of the determinants of the supply of inclusive financial services in Gabon, we observe that the DOLS and ARDL results are consistent with the baseline results. These results imply that financial development undeniably contributes to accelerating growth and lifting vulnerable economic agents out of poverty traps. The relevant institutions and/or authorities must ensure the stability of the financial system and the dynamics of inclusion, given that the correlation between financial intermediation and people's well-being depends on their level of financial inclusion.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51505/IJEBMR.2025.91010