This paper analysed whether improved access to financial services could contribute
to poverty alleviation strategies among the rural population in Namibia.
Using data from the FinScope survey conducted in 2003 and the preliminary
Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2003/2004 report, a censored
regression model was applied to financial service usage by household heads in
Namibia using the monthly income for each head of a household as a proxy for
poverty. An Ordinary Least Squares model was also applied to financial service
usage by household heads in Namibia using the food consumption ratio in each of
Namibia’s 13 regions as a second proxy for poverty.