Effects of financial inclusion to GDP growth: The case of North Macedonia

Abstract

Achieving higher financial inclusion is a target for each government today, committed to build an economy where everyone has easily accessible financial services, leading to higher economic growth. The aim of this paper is examining the relationship between financial inclusion, measured through a selected set of quantitative indicators (encompassing the penetration, availability and usage dimensions) as independent variables, and the economic growth, measured through the GDP per capita, as dependent variable. The research model applied was the multivariate regression model performed through the Ordinary least squares (OLS) method. The data sample consists of several financial inclusion indicators for North Macedonia and GDP per capita for the period 2007-2019. Findings revealed valuable information for the future strategies, institutional arrangements and measures to strengthen national capacities in function of improving the indicators having significant contribution to GDP growth and achieving higher financial inclusion. Also, findings provided theoretical contribution to the current research database for the specific case of North Macedonia.