完善无银行账户的定义（英）

Refining the Definition of the Unbanked∗Elena Falcettoni†Vegard M. Nygaard‡AbstractWe propose a new way to classify individuals without a bank account, accounting for their actual interestin being banked. Analogous to how unemployment statistics are defined and estimated, we differentiatethe individuals that do not have a bank account and would like to have one (the “unbanked”) fromindividuals that do not have a bank account and are not interested in having one (the “out of bankingpopulation”). Using FDIC data, we show the evolution over time of these new measures and show thatthe two groups differ in policy-relevant ways. While the unbanked mostly cite financial and past credit orbanking history problems as reasons for not having a bank account, the out of banking population citesa growing mistrust toward the traditional banking system.Policymakers should consider these factorswhen designing policies aimed at increasing financial inclusion.Keywords:unbanked, FDIC, banking, checking, fintech, financial inclusion.The views expressed herein are those of the Authors’ and do not represent the views of the Board of Governors of the Federal ReserveSystem or any person associated with the Federal Reserve System.The Authors thank Fumiko Hayashi, Alicia Lloro, Jesse Maniff,Mark Manuszak, Erin Troland, as well as participants of the SPR Annual 2024 meeting for useful comments. All remaining errors areBoard of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (email: elena.falcettoni@frb.gov).University of Houston, Department of Economics (email: vmnygaard@uh.edu).1 our own. 1IntroductionKey takeaway:Policy interventions to increase financial inclusion should differentiate between those whowant a bank account but are unable to obtain one (the “unbanked”) and those who do not want a bank account(the “out of banking population”).The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported that an estimated 4.5 percent of U.S. householdswere unbanked in 2021, defining as “unbanked” any household where no one had a checking or savings accountat a bank or credit union.1one, there might also be some households that do not have a bank account because they do not want to haveone. The commonly-reported statistic from the FDIC, nevertheless, does not differentiate between these twogroups.Economists, however, tend to approach these definitions differently. For example, the unemployment rate, akey economic indicator, has been defined through two key populations since the 1940s (Card, 2011): 1) outof the population thatcanwork, the population thatwants towork, which is identified as those that areeither employed or actively looking for work (commonly referred to as the labor force participation rate),and 2) out of the labor force, the population that isunableto find a job but is actively looking for one (i.e.,the unemployment rate). Differentiating between those that are out of the labor force and the unemployedis key for economic analysis—while the unemployment rate speaks to factors that are more-often related toeconomic cycles, changes to the labor force participation rate are usually related to structural changes in theeconomy (e.g., the sharp increase in female labor force participation in the last century).The question then is as follows: Why are we not following the same reasoning when looking at the populationthat is unbanked in the United States? Would it not be useful and make more sense to separate those that donot have a bank account because theydo not want onefrom those that do not have a bank account becausethey areunable toopen one butwould like to? Both rates are useful to know, but the policy implicationscan be substantially different between the two.This paper uses data from the FDICNational Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households series(hereafter: FDIC survey or FDIC unbanked survey) to recalculate the unbanked population, assuming thatthe underlying banking-age population is defined in the same way (i.e., anybody in a household of at least15 years of age). Specifically, we define and measure the following groups:1. Banking Population Participation Rate, defined as those out of the banking-age population that are1A similar rate is found under a similar definition by the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) run by the Federal Reserve Board(https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scfindex.htm). Because the SCF does not inquire about the respondent’s interest ina bank account, we limit our analysis to FDIC data throughout the paper. However, while some households may not have a bank account but would like2 either banked or unbanked but interested in having a bank account2. Unbanked Rate, defined as those out of the banking population that are not currently banked but areinterested in having a bank account3. Out of Banking Population Rate, defined as those out of the banking-age population that are notcurrently banked and not interested in having a bank accountWe find that the banking population participation rate has been