Financial Inclusion and Sustainable Rural Development

This book compiles topics on how financial inclusion, from either unidimensional or multidimensional perspectives, can be used as a viable policy tool to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) in rural/regional areas. Part I of the book sets the scene by providing a thematic overview of the SDGs and the theoretical link between financial inclusion and SDGs from the rural perspective. Parts II to VI present several empirical studies/chapters that explore the impact of financial inclusion on specific goals and targets of the SDGs in rural areas across various regions/continents. Part VII draws on the findings from Parts I and VI to provide a discourse on the viability of financial inclusion as an effective policy for achieving the SDGs in rural areas across the globe. Dr Isaac Koomson is a Senior Research Fellow in The University of Queensland’s Centre for the Business and Economics of Health (CBEH) and serves as a Faculty Associate at the Center for Social Development, Washington University in St. Louis, USA. He is the Lead Economist for the Network for Socioeconomic Research and Advancement in Ghana, and has consulted for the World Bank, the United Nations, and other policy-oriented research institutes. His current research lies in the areas of health and development economics and cuts across mental health, nutrition and well-being, food insecurity, poverty, vulnerability, small business, and entrepreneurship. He is a co-author of the book State Fragility and Resilience in sub-Saharan Africa: Indicators and Interventions. His works are published in high-ranked journals. Professor Renato A. Villano is an agricultural economist, econometrician and socio-economist with over 25 years of experience in international development in Australia as well as in various countries in Asia and Africa. His primary area of expertise centres on agricultural and resource economics, with a special focus on rural development, gender equity, efficiency and productivity analysis, agribusiness, value chain analysis and poverty and impact assessment. He has also conducted research on business innovation, sustainable entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. His publications appear in high-ranked journals.