Financial inclusion and ethnic development: Evidence from satellite light density at night

Abstract

We contribute to the nascent literature on financial inclusion by taking a meso-level perspective. Focusing on eleven ethnic groups in Nigeria and Senegal, we deal with the paucity of data at subnational levels by combining data from the Migration Household Survey with satellite-view light density at night. We find a significant positive link between ethnic financial inclusion and local economic prosperity: a result that remains robust when controlling for local geography, the disease environment, natural resources, and ecological factors.