Is financial inclusion a source of happiness?

This paper investigates whether financial inclusion affects life satisfaction. We perform regressions at the individual level on a large dataset of 59,209 individuals from 29 countries. We find evidence that financial inclusion improves life satisfaction. We further establish that the beneficial effect of financial inclusion takes place through a better health, education and to a lesser extent through the launch of a business. We observe that the positive impact of financial inclusion on life satisfaction is greater in countries with higher income per capita, and lower in countries recently struck by a financial crisis. Our results indicate that promoting financial inclusion can enhance happiness.