01 · Research
Finance for Inclusive Development
Financial systems can create opportunities for disadvantaged people to participate meaningfully in economic life — fostering prosperity, resilience, and inclusive development.
Research Philosophy
Finance as a foundation for opportunity
The purpose of modern financial systems extends beyond the efficient allocation of capital. They can create opportunities for disadvantaged people to participate meaningfully in economic life and, in doing so, foster prosperity, resilience, and inclusive development. This belief has guided my research throughout my academic career.
Grounded in Banking and Finance and informed by entrepreneurship, behavioural science, economics, public health, and information technology, my research seeks to understand how financial systems can create economic opportunity, why some populations remain excluded, and how financial institutions can overcome those barriers. I combine rigorous empirical research with close collaboration with governments, financial institutions, and community organisations to generate evidence that advances academic knowledge while informing policy, professional practice, and institutional innovation.
Research Themes
Three connected lines of enquiry
Financial inclusion is often measured by access to bank accounts or credit. My research asks a broader question: what does financial inclusion enable? My work spans three connected themes.
01
Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship
Financial inclusion is often measured by access to bank accounts or credit. My research asks a broader question: what does financial inclusion enable?
This programme examines how access to financial services influences entrepreneurial action, opportunity recognition, financial capability, household decision-making, and economic mobility. I am particularly interested in the behavioural and institutional mechanisms through which finance creates opportunities for disadvantaged populations, especially women living in conditions of poverty and economic insecurity.
02
Inclusive Financial Systems
Expanding access to financial services is only the first step towards inclusion. Financial systems must also be accessible, usable, and responsive to the needs of diverse communities.
My recent research focuses on disability-inclusive finance, examining how financial institutions can reduce barriers through organisational change, professional capability development, inclusive technologies, and policy innovation. This work is undertaken in partnership with central banks, commercial banks, universities, and organisations of persons with disability across the Asia-Pacific region.
03
Banking, Institutions, and Inclusive Development
My earlier research examined how financial institutions balance commercial sustainability with developmental objectives. This work investigates relationship lending, financial intermediation, political institutions, governance, and financial inclusion policy.
Together, these studies explain how institutional design influences both the performance of financial institutions and access to finance for disadvantaged populations.
Research Approach
Rigorous evidence, developed in partnership
My research combines field experiments, randomised controlled trials, behavioural and laboratory experiments, household surveys, mixed-methods research, and implementation research. I use these complementary approaches to understand both how financial systems influence people’s lives and how evidence can inform real-world solutions.
I believe research has the greatest value when it is developed in close collaboration with the organisations responsible for implementing change. This collaborative approach enables rigorous evidence to contribute not only to academic understanding but also to policy, professional practice, and institutional innovation.
Publications
Where this work appears
My research has been published in leading journals in Banking and Finance, entrepreneurship, development studies, and public health. A complete list of publications — including journal articles, book chapters, and working papers — is available on my Monash Research Profile.