Financial Inclusion Disparities in the European Union

The European Union is a leader when it comes to various inclusion indicators. At first glance, this would suggest that the EU enjoys a high level of financial inclusion. The analysis we performed reveals that the EU-level averages often hide extremes. While Western European countries have a very hig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global economic observer 2021-06, Vol.9 (1), p.82-90
Main Author: Zeldea, Cristina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Banks
Digital technology
digitalization
disparities
european union
Eurozone
Financial inclusion
Financial institutions
financial integration
Financial services
financial services access
International finance
Loans
Population
Securities markets
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Summary:The European Union is a leader when it comes to various inclusion indicators. At first glance, this would suggest that the EU enjoys a high level of financial inclusion. The analysis we performed reveals that the EU-level averages often hide extremes. While Western European countries have a very high level of financial inclusion, when we look at the countries in Eastern Europe, we can even talk about a financial exclusion of the population. The study relies on three sets of indicators, related to the use, geographical access, and digitalization of financial services. On a positive note, inclusion indicators have improved over the analyzed period. However, this improvement took place at different paces for the Member States and, as a result, disparities not only persisted, but even deepened in many cases.
ISSN:2343-9742
2343-9750