Publication: The Role of Gender in Agent Banking: Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo
Date
2020-10
ISSN
Published
2020-10
Author(s)
Chamboko, Richard
Cull, Robert
Heitmann, Soren
Reitzug, Fabian
Van Der Westhuizen, Morne
Abstract
This paper uses a unique data set with
1.1 million customer transactions from a microfinance
institution in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2017 to
2018. The paper provides evidence of assortative gender
matching in agent banking transactions, as clients prefer to
transact with agents of their own gender. Female clients
show a robust preference for female agents even when they
are less available, particularly when making high-value
transactions and when they have higher account balances. The
underrepresentation of female agents may contribute to the
persistent gender gap in financial access and usage.
Citation
“Chamboko, Richard; Cull, Robert; Gine, Xavier; Heitmann, Soren; Reitzug, Fabian; Van Der Westhuizen, Morne. 2020. The Role of Gender in Agent Banking: Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9449. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34657 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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