Financial inclusion of individuals who arrived as refugees to the United States

摘要

We study determinants of financial inclusion for individuals with a refugee background (refugees) from over 30 countries residing in Utica, New York. We find that greater financial inclusion is associated with refugees who are male, more educated, employed, richer, older at time of migration, have better language skills, and have lived in the country longer. Financial inclusion also increases with the degree to which refugees trust financial institutions and decreases with the degree to which refugees' close friends are from the same ethnic group. Country of origin, religious affiliation, and religiosity are strong predictors in many specifications.