The Impact of Financial Inclusion on the Attainment of the United Nations Development Goals – A Case Study in the Balkan Countries

Promoting financial inclusion through policy measures is of significant importance, not only in providing access to financial services for the underprivileged, but also in fostering economic growth, improving efficiency, and ensuring stability within an economy.This study explores the multiple facets of global financial inclusion and its effects on fostering economic growth and lowering poverty levels.In order to achieve this, the paper focuses on composite indexes that measure three essential dimensions of financial inclusion: access, usage, and quality, which are developed through principal component analysis (PCA) Analysing 11 economies in the EU region across three years (2014, 2017, and 2021), the study employs feasible generalised least squares (FGLS) in its analysis.The results indicate that enhancements in financial inclusion dimensions lead to an amplified economic growth and a decrease of the income inequalities.