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on Financial Literacy and Education |
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Issue of 2023‒01‒30
five papers chosen by |
| By: | Marco Aschenwald; Armando Holzknecht; Michael Kirchler; Michael Razen |
| Abstract: | Building on cross-sectional data for Austrian high school students from fifth to twelfth grade, we investigate the correlations between socio-economic background variables and a comprehensive set of variables related to financial decision-making (i.e., financial knowledge, behavioral consistency, economic preferences, field behavior, and perception of financial matters). We confirm the findings of previous literature that the male gender is positively associated with financial knowledge and risk-taking and that there is a strong and beneficial correlation between math grades and healthy financial behavior (e.g., saving). Moreover, we find that students’ behavioral consistency is positively correlated with measures of financial attitude (e.g., self-assessed future financial well-being and financial education received from parents). Finally, our results indicate that financial education, as perceived by the students, is primarily provided by parents. |
| Keywords: | financial literacy, behavioral biases, economic preferences, field behavior, perception, experiment, adolescents |
| Date: | 2023–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inn:wpaper:2023-01&r=fle |
| By: | Batista, Catia; Sequeira, Sandra; Vicente, Pedro C. |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of providing access to mobile savings accounts and improving financial management skills on the performance of microenterprises in Mozambique. The effects are highly heterogeneous: Combining both types of support is associated with a large increase in both short- and long-term firm profits and in financial security for female microentrepreneurs. This allowed female-headed microenterprises, particularly those with a higher level of profits at baseline, to close the gender profit gap in performance and skills relative to their male counterparts. The main drivers of improved business performance are improved financial management practices (bookkeeping), an increase in accessible savings, and reduced transfers to friends and relatives. Providing access to mobile money as a tool to save and manage finances also increases long-term profits of female microentrepreneurs, particularly for those with higher profits at baseline. However, neither treatment has any impact on male-led enterprises. Uncovering this heterogeneity in impact across different types of microenterprises can help improve the targeting of these interventions in the future. |
| Keywords: | economic development; financial literacy; gender; management; microenterprise development; mobile money |
| JEL: | J1 J50 |
| Date: | 2022–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:117712&r=fle |
| By: | Santiago Carbo-Valverde; Héctor Pérez Saiz; Hongyu Xiao |
| Abstract: | This paper measures how both geographical and cultural proximity of bank branches affect household credit choice and pricing. We examine both types of proximity jointly to separately identify the importance of soft information versus alternative mechanisms. Using a detailed household-level database for Canada, we find that both geographical and cultural proximity increase consumer credit by reducing the cost of obtaining soft information. Furthermore, soft information obtained via the two types of proximity can be either substitutes for or complements to each other, with complementarity being more likely for products that require high levels of ex-ante screening. Overall, our results suggest that ongoing branch consolidation, happening in many countries, may lead to lower financial inclusion, especially in culturally diverse neighbourhoods. |
| Keywords: | Credit and credit aggregates; Financial institutions; Financial services |
| JEL: | D82 D83 G20 G21 R22 Z10 Z13 |
| Date: | 2023–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bca:bocawp:23-2&r=fle |
| By: | Alraqeb Zeynep; Knaack Peter; Macaire Camille |
| Abstract: | The rise of financial technology (FinTech) in China over the past decade has changed the traditional financial landscape in the country. We provide evidence on the role of digital financial services in promoting self-employment. We construct an indicator of relative FinTech adoption at the provincial-level in China. We show that the digitalization of financial services at an aggregated level is associated with a higher share of self-employed individuals in the total population. In rural areas, coverage breadth of digitalized financial services drives the positive impact on the share of self-employment, while in urban areas, digitalized insurance services appear to be more influential. We also show that the shift to self-employment is not at the expense of employment in private firms in the country. <p> L'essor des technologies financières (FinTech) en Chine au cours de la dernière décennie a modifié le paysage financier traditionnel du pays. Nous étudions la relation entre l’adoption de ces services et la part de l’entreprenariat dans la population totale. Nous construisons un indicateur de l'adoption relative des FinTech au niveau provincial dans le pays, et montrons que la numérisation des services financiers est associée à une part plus élevée d’autoentrepreneurs dans la population totale. Dans les zones rurales, l'étendue de la couverture des services financiers numérisés est à l'origine de cet impact positif, tandis que dans les zones urbaines, les services d'assurance numérisés semblent avoir plus d'influence. Nous montrons également que le passage à l'emploi indépendant ne se fait pas au détriment de l'emploi au sein des entreprises privées dans le pays. |
| Keywords: | Fintech, Financial Inclusion, Digitalization, China, Entrepreneurship; Fintech, inclusion financière, digitalisation, Chine, entreprenariat |
| JEL: | G23 J21 O33 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bfr:banfra:895&r=fle |
| By: | International Monetary Fund |
| Abstract: | Mexico has a resilient financial system but a low level of financial inclusion. The financial system is smaller than in peer countries and is dominated by commercial banks that have had large capital and liquidity buffers for years. Despite these buffers and the high profitability in the banking sector, credit growth has been low due to both supply and demand factors, with banks targeting mainly the prime segments of the economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a limited impact on the financial system, reflecting a mix of resumption in mobility and support from global and domestic policies. |
| Date: | 2022–12–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:2022/359&r=fle |