Financial Inclusion, Humanitarian Coping Mechanisms, and the Realization of Socio-Economic Rights: Evidence from Household Welfare Vulnerability in Cameroon

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between financial inclusion, humanitarian coping mechanisms, and the realization of socio-economic rights in conflict-affected Cameroon using the 2017 FinScope consumer survey. The data is estimated using OLS, logistic regression, propensity score matching, 2SLS, and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition. This study demonstrates that digital financial inclusion through mobile money adoption significantly reduces household welfare vulnerability and strengthens resilience to economic shocks in Cameroon, lowering vulnerability by 21.5 percentage points, reducing education deprivation by 46.6%, and generating a 10.3% welfare advantage over non-adopters. Decomposition results confirm that adoption itself accounts for a substantial share of welfare gains beyond socio-demographic differences, while mobile money buffers the adverse effects of shocks in line with social protection and humanitarian-development nexus frameworks. Policy priorities should therefore guarantee that at least 90% of rural households have access to a mobile money agent within 2 kilometers, directly addressing infrastructural barriers to adoption. Complementary measures should expand nationwide network coverage to 95%, scale financial literacy to reach at least 75% of unbanked households annually. These structural reforms are essential for transforming digital finance from a market innovation into a legally grounded instrument for advancing SDGs 1, 2, and 10 in fragile and conflict-affected environments.

Keywords: Financial Inclusion, Humanitarian Coping Mechanisms, Socio-Economic Rights, Household Welfare Vulnerability

DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/16-1-09

Publication date: April 28^th 2026