TITLE:
The Impact of Fintech on Poverty Reduction in Southeast Asian Countries
AUTHORS:
Jinapa Roongsrisoothiwong
KEYWORDS:
Financial Technology, Fintech, Poverty, Poverty Reduction, Southeast Asia, Quantitative Research, Regression, Pearson Correlation
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.11 No.5,
May
30,
2024
ABSTRACT: The primary objective of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to end poverty in all forms by 2030. Motivated by this agenda, this study examines the direct impacts of financial technology (fintech) and its sub-measures on poverty. The study uses two analysis tools: linear regression and Pearson correlation coefficient analysis on annual data for seven Southeast Asian countries from 2018 to 2021. The seven countries are divided into two groups based on their income levels: middle-income and lower-income countries, per the list provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The study uses five different measures to characterize fintech index adoption. The results reveal that fintech and most sub-measures significantly impact poverty in seven Southeast Asian countries, encompassing both middle-income and lower-income nations. This paper concluded that technological advancements in the financial sector have the potential to contribute meaningfully to the archiving goal of alleviating poverty as outlined by the Sustainable Development Goals.