Inflation Thresholds, Financial Inclusion, and the Access to Clean Energy in the Household: Evidence from Africa Using Quantile Regression
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33119/ERFIN.2026.11.1.1Keywords:
Inflation, Financial Inclusion, Energy Transition, Cooking Fuel, Sub-Saharan AfricaAbstract
This study estimates inflation thresholds that nullify the positive impact of financial inclusion on access to clean cooking fuels in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using data from 40 SSA economies between 2002 and 2022 and the Quantile Regression as an estimation strategy, the findings reveal that financial inclusion enhances access to clean cooking fuels, particularly when measured by bank account ownership and bank branch availability. The result also finds that rural areas benefit more from financial inclusion than their urban counterparts. Additionally, the findings show that above certain thresholds, inflation erodes the benefits of financial inclusion. These thresholds are also heterogeneous based on the existing levels of access to clean cooking fuels. Nonetheless, results based on the Prais–Winsten estimator revealed that inflation nullifies the impact of bank account ownership when it surpasses 20.95%, on average. These results are particularly essential for policy, as they offer insights for the design of inflation-targeting policies that can safeguard the role financial inclusion plays in fostering the transition to clean cooking fuels for households in the region.
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