The relationship between financial inclusion and social inclusion: Evidence from Brazil

This article analyzes the behavior of financial inclusion in Brazil and its interrelationship with social inclusion as a fundamental pillar of sustainable development. We employed indicators of access and use of financial services provided by the Global Findex Database and the Time Series Generator System of the Central Bank of Brazil, considering the period from 2011 to 2021. From the analysis of the data and the documentary sources, we conclude that financial inclusion in Brazil follows the demand-pull pattern since it is much more driven by the distributive public policies of the federal government than by measures aimed at greater access and use of financial services, which are typical of the system. Hence the perception that there is no financial inclusion without social inclusion and that both are interdependent. For financial inclusion to be effective, it is essential to have a new regulation of the financial system that not only privileges the profitability rate of the sector, but also establishes a new order that considers the insertion in the system, its use, and the use of financial services of economically less favored classes.