Open AccessThe COVID-19 pandemic, remittances and financial inclusion in the Philippines
Author(s) -
Eiji Yamada,
Satoshi Shimizutani,
Enerelt Murakami
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
thephilippine review of economics/the philippine review of economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2984-8156
pISSN - 1655-1516
DOI - 10.37907/2erp0202j
Subject(s) - financial inclusion , remittance , pandemic , inclusion (mineral) , covid-19 , development economics , business , financial crisis , developing country , economics , demographic economics , economic growth , finance , financial services , macroeconomics , medicine , gender studies , disease , pathology , sociology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Recent literature has revealed that financial inclusion enhances economic opportunities and security in developing countries. Moreover, a greater inflow of remittances can promote inclusiveness. In this paper, we explore the potential impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on financial inclusion by focusing on its detrimental effect on remittance flows to developing countries. Using a household-level dataset collected in rural regions of the Philippines prior to the outbreak, we confirm that remittances are associated with financial inclusion, particularly for women. We discuss the potential impacts of the pandemic on financial inclusion through the change in the flow of remittances. We show that a substantial decline in remittances caused by the COVID-19 crisis may have an adverse effect on financial inclusion in the Philippines.