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Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia

59 (2) 2025 –

What determines financial inclusion? Evidence from the ASEAN-5 countries

Faculty of Economics and Business
Universitas Sebelas Maret
Jalan Ir. Sutami 36 Kentingan, Jebres
Surakarta, Jawa Tengah, 57126 INDONESIA.

inas.nurfadiafutri@student.uns.ac.id

Faculty of Economics and Business
Universitas Sebelas Maret
Jalan Ir. Sutami 36 Kentingan, Jebres
Surakarta, Jawa Tengah, 57126 INDONESIA.

tastaftiyan.risfandy@staff.uns.ac.id

College of Islamic Studies
Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar
Education City - Gate 8, Ar Rayyan, QATAR.

aaysan@hbku.edu.qa

Faculty of Economics and Business
Universitas Sebelas Maret, Indonesia
Jalan Ir. Sutami 36 Kentingan, Jebres
Surakarta, Jawa Tengah, 57126 INDONESIA.

viraputri@student.uns.ac.id

Abstract

This study intends to analyze the explanatory variables associated with financial inclusion. We draw on the individual-level data of the ASEAN-5 countries from the Global Findex and World Development Indicators databases. The study period is before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2017 and after the pandemic in 2021, and the sample comprises 10,072 observations. The factors and characteristics influencing financial inclusion, namely, age, income, education, employment, mobile ownership, distance to formal institutions, religious reasons, and trust in formal institutions, differ between the two periods and between the countries in the sample. The gender-related gap in financial inclusion in the ASEAN-5 countries has narrowed by 6% compared with that before the COVID-19 pandemic. The positive and negative relationships of gender and its impact on the determinants of financial inclusion before the pandemic are related to Hofstede’s national culture theory, specifically the masculinity versus femininity dimension. In Indonesia and the Philippines, gender had a positive relationship with financial inclusion, but in Thailand, it had a negative relationship with financial inclusion before the pandemic. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, gender was no longer a determinant of financial inclusion in the ASEAN-5 countries. This research provides a comprehensive analysis by conducting trend analysis and presents the regression results by using a probit regression model to analyze the components that may impact financial inclusion in the advanced and developing ASEAN-5 countries. This research uses difference-in-differences models for robustness testing.
The findings offer meaningful insights for policymakers, particularly the government, to gain a deep understanding of the changing key variables of financial inclusion across the ASEAN-5 countries.

Keywords

ASEAN-5; Determinants; financial inclusion
http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/JEM-2025-5902-3
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Futri, I. N., Risfandy, T., Aysan, A. F., & Putri, V. A. (2025). What determines financial inclusion? Evidence from the ASEAN-5 countries. Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, 59(2), –. http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/JEM-2025-5902-3

@article{futri2025what,
  title={What determines financial inclusion? Evidence from the ASEAN-5 countries},
  author={Futri, Inas Nurfadia and Risfandy, Tastaftiyan and Aysan, Ahmet Faruk and Putri, Vira Amalia},
  journal={Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia},
  volume={59},
  number={2},
  pages={—},
 

year={2025},
}

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