PhD Defense: Tarna Silue

Digital Financial Inclusion and Tax Policies

Jury

Jean-François brun, Associate Professor, Université Clermont Auvergne
Zié Ballo, Professor, Université Houphouët-Boigny
Mariana Rojas Breu, Professor, Université Paris II Panthéon Assas
Antonio Savoia, Professor, The University of Manchester
Mary-Françoise Renard, Professor emeritus, Université Clermont Auvergne
Ousmane Samba Mamadou, Directeur General COFEB-BCEAO

Abstract

In developing countries, financial inclusion is a real challenge, as it would help achieve some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular the reduction of poverty or income and gender inequalities.

With the rise of digital technology, access to broadband connections and the democratization of cell phones, financial services such as "Mobile Money" have emerged. This digital financial service is presented as a way to quickly and completely achieve the goal of financial inclusion in developing countries. The main providers of this financial service in developing countries are mobile network operators, which are fiscally considered to be part of a high value-added sector.

Thus, the objective of this paper is to make a significant contribution to the existing literature on digital financial inclusion in developing countries, particularly African countries. The first part, consisting of chapters 2 and 3, examines the impact of mobile money accessibility and availability on economic policy objectives. The second part, also consisting of two chapters (chapter 4 and 5), analyzes the impact of taxation on the use of digital financial services.

Chapter 2 focuses on the relationship between economic growth and financial inclusion in developing countries. The originality of the analysis is to report on the contribution of mobile money to economic growth. Based on a panel of 57 developing countries for a period from 2007 to 2017, the analysis suggests a positive impact of financial inclusion on growth. It also reveals that the contribution to growth of digital financial inclusion via mobile money is greater than that of formal inclusion with commercial banks in developing countries.

Chapter 3 looks at Mobile Money as a determinant of business creation in Africa. The question is whether the availability of Mobile Money on the continent has enabled people to provide themselves with income and livelihood through entrepreneurship. The chapter finds that Mobile Money is contributing to the expansion of entrepreneurship in African countries.

Chapter 4 examines the impact of taxation on the use of digital financial services with Kenya as a case study. The study assesses the tax impact of the excise tax introduced in 2013 and increased in 2018 on the use of Mobile Money with the M-Pesa service. It is noted that the impact of the excise on the average transaction value is negative and does not occur immediately. Second, the analysis highlights the fact that despite the tax, consumers use the M-Pesa service more during periods of crisis, inflation, and economic recession.

Chapter 5 follows on from chapter 4, the idea being to assess both the direct and indirect (via mobile money itself) impact of the tax on the demand for cash in African countries. It is assumed that the demand for cash is at the expense of the adoption of electronic money on the continent. It is found that the tax increases the demand for cash and therefore discourages the adoption of e-money. However, in the presence of the tax, the use of mobile money has a negative impact on the demand for cash.

For further discussion, a companion chapter in the appendix looks at the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on economic growth in developed and developing countries.

Keywords

Financial inclusion, Digital Financial Services; Tax policies; Economic growth; Entrepreneurship; Africa

www.theses.fr/en/s216096