Inequality in financial inclusion (FI) exacerbates women’s vulnerability, particularly those already affected by climate change, hindering their empowerment and limiting progress toward achieving sustainable development goals. The study analyzes the effect of FI on women’s empowerment (WEP) and examines how WEP influences households’ resilience to climate change in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using cross-sectional data from 25,511 women-headed households in SSA, the study employs an instrumental-variables fractional probit model with country fixed effects to account for endogeneity and country-specific factors related to FI, WEP, and resilience. We find that FI significantly increase the probability of strengthening WEP, although the effects differ across dimensions. FI is negatively linked to the social dimension of WEP but positively associated with its economic and political dimensions. In turn, WEP increases the likelihood of improved household resilience to climate change and strengthens absorptive capacity, but it is negatively associated with adaptive and transformative capacities. These results are consistent when considering economic, social, and political dimensions of WEP. A nuanced assessment of the distinct dimensions of WEP is therefore essential for understanding how FI shapes resilience outcomes under climate change. These findings have important policy implications for sub-Saharan African countries in their efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 13, which focuses on reducing climate-related risks. Policymakers should consider a multidimensional approach when designing strategies to address climate change in the region.
Authors: Essossinam Ali, Pius Gamette & Francis Tawiah Anaisie
Source: Climate Risk Management
