Women’s Financial Inclusion and Sequential Continuum of Care for Maternal and Child Health in India: An Intervention Approach

Abstract

We estimate the causal impact of financial inclusion of women on the sequential continuum of care for maternal and child health in India. Using data from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey, 2019–2021, considering financial inclusion to be a treatment/intervention and employing endogenous treatment effects as our methodology to address self-selection bias, we find that the propensity for availing antenatal care is 17 percentage points higher among women who are financially included. Further, usage of antenatal care and institutional delivery, along with postnatal care for mother and child as well as full immunisation of a child, is 17, 18, 10 and 5 percentage points greater, respectively, among women with access to formal financial services. Therefore, increasing women’s financial inclusion is vital to ensuring greater access to critical healthcare services and lowering maternal and child mortality. To avoid dropouts, policies must be devised that connect all aspects of maternal and child health. Further, efforts must be made not only within the financial inclusion community but also across sectors to address gender norms. Access to formal money can provide greater negotiating leverage both inside and outside the house, resulting in greater gender equality and economic growth and development of the country.