Digital financial inclusion, peer effects, and subjective well-being amid gender and urban-rural disparities in response to shocks
Description
This data investigates how digital financial inclusion affects household subjective well-being in Togo, with particular attention to peer comparison effects and household resilience to economic shocks. Utilizing panel data from surveys conducted in 2018-2019 and 2021-2022, the analysis employs an Ordinary Least Squares estimator, controlling for both time-invariant and time-varying unobserved household heterogeneity, to examine how access to digital financial services, such as mobile money and bank accounts, influences self-reported well-being. Our findings indicate that enhanced digital financial inclusion generally reduces subjective well-being through peer comparison effects, particularly in urban areas and among female-headed households. However, its impact varies with shock type: while it may exacerbate vulnerability during idiosyncratic shocks, it serves as an effective resilience tool during systemic shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic.