Building Resilience Through Financial Inclusion: A Review of Existing Evidence and Knowledge Gaps

Evidence suggests well-designed financial products and services can play a role in increasing low-income families' resilience by helping them be prepared for risk, reduce risk, increase investment in the face of risk, and respond when a shock occurs. Yet the role that financial products and services can play in increasing resilience, as well as the most effective design and delivery mechanisms toward that end, is not fully understood.

This paper reviews existing evidence on how financial services can build economic resilience, identifies areas where more research is needed, and makes the call for more evidence on this timely topic. The review is divided into four sections, representing different applications for financial services solutions to improve resilience before, during, and after an adverse event. Specifically, it explores evidence on the impact of financial services in:

• Increasing investment in the face of risk.
• Strategies for risk reduction.
• Facilitating risk preparedness.
• Responding when a shock hits.