The Moderating Effect of Gender Equality in Reproductive health on the Relationship between Financial Development and Poverty Reduction in sub-Saharan Africa: A Quantile Regression Approach.

Abstract

This study investigates the potential moderating effect of gender equality in reproductive health on the relationship between financial development and poverty reduction in 36 sub-Sahara African countries from 2000 to 2022, using the Quantile Method of Moments with fixed effects to address endogeneity issues and outliers.  The study employs the poverty headcount ratio and poverty gap ratio as poverty indicators while controlling for inflation rate, economic growth, education, income distribution, and government expenditure using data from world development indicators, UNDP, and IMF data banks. The results show that financial development significantly contributes to poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa, but this contribution declines as poverty severity increases. Moreover, reduced challenges in women's reproductive health play a vital role in decreasing poverty, and integrating gender equality in reproductive health with financial development improves the relationship between financial development and poverty reduction. The study also concludes that poverty reduction initiatives are more effective when financial development strategies are part of a broader approach that includes women's reproductive health, economic growth, and resource equality.