Amendola, AlessandraBoccia, MarinellaSensini, LucaMele, Gianluca2016-01-122016-01-122016-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/23633This paper evaluates the impact of access to credit from banks and other financial institutions on household welfare in Mauritania. Micro-level data from a 2014 household survey are used to evaluate the relationship between credit access, a range of household characteristics, and welfare indicators. To address potential endogeneity issues, the household isolation level is used to instrument access to credit. The results show that households headed by older, more educated people are more likely to access financial services, as are households located in urban areas. In addition, greater financial access appears to be associated with a reduced dependence on household production and increased investment in human capital.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOEMPOWERMENTCREDIT PROGRAMDEPOSITFINANCIAL SERVICESBORROWERECONOMIC GROWTHDEPOSITSPEOPLEDEMAND FOR CREDITADVANCED DEGREESFINANCINGVILLAGEINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYBANKING INDUSTRYINTERESTLIQUIDITY RISKSSAVINGS ACCOUNTSBANKING SYSTEMINSURANCE SERVICESCULTURAL BARRIERSBANKING SERVICESEXCLUSIONWELFARELOANAGRICULTURAL ECONOMICSBORROWERSCREDIT CARDRURAL FINANCIAL SERVICESPAYMENTSCULTURAL NORMSCREDITORSINTERNATIONAL BANKMFISRURAL BANKSFORMAL BANKINGMICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONSPUBLIC CREDITACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICESSMALL BUSINESSSAVINGSFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONINFORMAL ECONOMYEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTACCESS TO FORMAL CREDITCAPITAL FORMATIONINFORMAL FINANCEVULNERABLE HOUSEHOLDSCREDIT APPLICATIONSINTEREST RATESECONOMIC EMPOWERMENTPAYMENTFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSTRANSPORTATION SERVICEHOUSEHOLD INCOMEFINANCIAL PRODUCTSLENDERSLAND OWNERSHIPLOANSENTERPRISESVILLAGE FUNDBANK CREDITFINANCIAL SYSTEMFINANCEEDUCATION SPENDINGBANKSINFORMATION ASYMMETRYINVESTMENT DECISIONSEXPENDITUREEQUITYFORMAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONINDICATORS OF ACCESSHUMAN CAPITALCAPITALFINANCE ACCESSCREDIT PROVIDERSSTUDENTFAMILYACCESS TO FINANCECREDIT ACCESSGENDERBANKCREDITURBAN AREASHOUSEHOLDAGRICULTURAL SECTORURBAN AREAEDUCATION LEVELEXPENDITURESCREDIT INFORMATIONSOURCE OF INFORMATIONMISREPORTINGFINANCIAL ACCESSDIVERSIFICATIONSOLVENCYMICROCREDITFINANCIAL INFRASTRUCTUREPROFITABILITYACCESS TO CREDITMICROFINANCEECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTFINANCIAL SECTOR ASSESSMENTSOCIAL BANKINGSECURITYFINANCIAL DEVELOPMENTINVESTMENTFINANCIAL INTERMEDIATIONCOMMERCIAL BANKSHOUSEHOLDSELECTRONIC PAYMENTACCESS TO SERVICESEMPLOYEEHEAD OF HOUSEHOLDREVENUEBORROWINGHOUSEHOLD WELFARELACK OF INFORMATIONWOMENBANK BRANCHESINFORMAL FINANCINGCREDIT HISTORYFORMAL CREDITTRANSPORTATION SERVICESMONEY TRANSFERSSMALL BUSINESSESCREDIT APPLICATIONCREDIT MARKETINEQUALITYMFIEMPLOYEESWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-7533