Economics · Ch 7 — Financial Inclusion in Manipur
Dimensions and Indicators of Financial Inclusion
Dimensions and Indicators of Financial Inclusion
Financial inclusion is not a single act of opening an account; it has several dimensions. Economists usually measure it along three broad lines.
| Dimension | What it measures | Example indicators |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Whether services are physically and practically available | Bank branches, ATMs and banking outlets per lakh people; number of accounts opened |
| Usage | Whether people actually use the services they can access | Frequency of deposits and withdrawals; number of active accounts; volume of digital payments |
| Quality | Whether the services suit people's needs and are fairly delivered | Affordability, financial literacy, consumer protection, suitability of products |
A common mistake is to judge inclusion only by access — for instance, counting how many accounts have been opened. But an account that is opened and then never used (a ‘dormant’ account) does not truly include a person. Real inclusion needs all three dimensions together: services must be available, actively used, and of good quality. …
The proportion of a bank's (or a region's) deposits that is given out as loans, expressed as a percentage. A low ratio indicates limited local lending re …
A bank account that shows no customer-initiated transactions over a long period; it reflects access wi …
The number of bank branches or banking outlets available for a given size of popu …