Access to Financial Services and Its Impact on Household Income: Evidence from Rural Ghana

This study examines the determinants of access to financial services and its impact on household income, using household data collected from rural Ghana. An endogenous treatment regression model is utilized to address the selection bias issue. The results reveal that access to financial services is affected by household heads' age, gender, education, off-farm work participation, farming experience, and access to non-fixed assets. Access to financial services exerts a positive and statistically significant impact on household income. Moreover, we find that access to financial services has a larger income impact for households with no member with chronic disease and male-headed households, relative to their counterparts. Our findings highlight the importance of financial services patronization in improving rural household welfare.