Financial access and economic participation of youth with disabilities in China: an exploratory study

Abstract

Financial access is an important indicator of economic participation and is particularly relevant to asset building among vulnerable individuals in transitional stages of their lives. Drawing on data from a survey of disabled youth (ages 16–25) in Beijing, this study examines determinants of the target group's financial access. It focuses on a range of individual, household and institutional factors that affect breadth and depth of financial access. Quantitative results complemented by field interviews demonstrate a gap between financial access breadth, measured by account holding, and access depth, measured by regular banking activity. Although individual characteristics, especially disability types and severity, have significant effects on the chances that a youth holds an account, household and financial institution factors show stronger effects on regular banking activity than do individual variables. Finally, this article discusses the implications of the study for economic participation and financial capability among youth with disabilities in China.

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Keywords:

• assets
• disability
• economic participation
• financial access
• financial capability

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Youth and Family Social Work Project, Peking University–Hong Kong Polytechnic University China Social Work Research Centre (CSWRC) for sponsorship of this research. Any findings and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CSWRC. The authors would also like to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.

Notes

1. The distance to the nearest ATM may be a more accurate and influential measure for predicting the involvement of youth with disabilities in banking activities, because simple account management activities (withdrawal or deposit) can be accomplished with only an ATM. Unfortunately, information on the distance to the nearest ATM is not available in these data.