People With Disability and Access To Financial Services: Evidence From Odisha

Financial status of Disability people in odisha

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of disability on access to financial services in Odisha. Data for the study were obtained from the Odisha Economic Survey 2021-22. We used an instrumental variable (IV) regression approach to examine the effect of disability on the use of formal financial institutions and mobile money. We find that the likelihood of having access to finances and using any of the financial institutions, or having at least a product/service with a bank reduces for people with disability. Further, our results show that while people with disability are less likely to use commercial banks (6.3%), rural banks (4.8%) and at least one financial service (6.3%), they are 53.7% more likely to use mobile money. Collaborative actions are needed to raise awareness on mobile money and other Fintech solutions, as well as accessibility functions that can support the inclusion of persons with disabilities into the financial system.