nep-fle New Economics Papers
on Financial Literacy and Education
Issue of 2021‒08‒23
three papers chosen by



  1. A Collective Investment in Financial Literacy by Heterogeneous Households By Stylianos Papageorgiou; Dimitrios Xefteris
  2. Appropriation des dirigeants de la Responsabilité Sociale vers l'inclusion financière : Cas des Institutions de microfinance au Bénin By Zinsou Nakou; Serge Francis Simen Nana
  3. Wealth and Insurance Choices: Evidence from US Households By Michael J. Gropper; Camelia M. Kuhnen

  1. By: Stylianos Papageorgiou; Dimitrios Xefteris
    Abstract: Skills obtained by a national strategy, plus intrinsic skills, contribute to each household's financial literacy, which is shown to determine whether and to what extent a household invests. Ends-against-the-middle preferences arise as to the strategy's funding: Households with too low or too high total skills have a decreasing utility, as opposed to households with moderate skills. Moreover, the property of single-peaked preferences is violated. Our central result is that, despite the lack of well-behaved preferences, competing office-motivated political candidates propose the same-efficient-funding level under plausible assumptions, including that they are sufficiently differentiated about issues other than financial literacy.
    Keywords: financial literacy, electoral competition, ends-against-the-middle, differentiated candidates
    JEL: G53 D72 H52
    Date: 2021–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucy:cypeua:04-2021&r=
  2. By: Zinsou Nakou (LAED - Laboratoire de recherche Entreprise et Developpement - ESP - École Supérieure Polytechnique de Dakar - UCAD - Université Cheikh Anta Diop [Dakar, Sénégal]); Serge Francis Simen Nana (ESP - École Supérieure Polytechnique de Dakar - UCAD - Université Cheikh Anta Diop [Dakar, Sénégal])
    Abstract: This paper aims to understand the factors that may explain social responsibility for financial inclusion in Benin's microfinance institutions (MFIs). To achieve this goal, we conducted a comprehensive qualitative study based on semi-structured individual interviews with the managers of 10 MFIs whose data were presented and processed according to thematic content analysis. Our results showed that the leaders of MFIs are aware of CSR, are aware of its existence and seize a symmetrical link between CSR and financial inclusion, and that this link is part of the coordination of behaviors, as well as in the convergence values of the different stakeholders of the institution. Because internal CSR management is seen not as a managerial and organizational constraint that consumes costs and time, but rather as an activity that allows the institution to generate direct and, above all, indirect benefits. Our results suggest that it may not be enough for MFIs to simply engage in CSR. Rather, CSR, perceived as coherent, can inspire positive attitudes and behaviors among leaders.
    Abstract: Cette communication se propose de comprendre les facteurs susceptibles d'expliquer la responsabilité sociale en matière d'inclusion financière dans les institutions de microfinance (IMF) béninoises. Pour atteindre cet objectif, nous avons procédé à une étude qualitative à visée compréhensive basée sur des entretiens individuels semi-directifs auprès les dirigeants de 10 IMF dont les données ont été présentées et traitées selon l'analyse de contenu thématique. Nos résultats ont montré que les dirigeants des IMF connaissent la RSE, en sont conscients de son existence et en saisissent un lien symétrique entre la RSE et l'inclusion financière, et que ce lien loge dans la coordination des comportements, ainsi que dans la convergence des valeurs des différentes parties prenantes de l'institution. Car, le management de la RSE en interne est vu non pas comme une contrainte managériale et organisationnelle consommatrice de coûts et de temps, mais plutôt comme une activité permettant à l'institution de dégager des bénéfices directs et surtout indirects. Nos résultats suggèrent qu'il peut ne pas suffire que les IMF s'engagent simplement dans la RSE. C'est plutôt la RSE perçue comme cohérente qui peut inspirer des attitudes et des comportements positifs chez les dirigeants.
    Keywords: social inclusion,financial inclusion,microfinance institution,leader,CSR,dirigeant,institution de microfinance,inclusion sociale,inclusion financière,RSE
    Date: 2020–03–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03318798&r=
  3. By: Michael J. Gropper; Camelia M. Kuhnen
    Abstract: Theoretically, wealthier people should buy less insurance, and should self-insure through saving instead, as insurance entails monitoring costs. Here, we use administrative data for 63,000 individuals and, contrary to theory, find that the wealthier have better life and property insurance coverage. Wealth-related differences in background risk, legal risk, liquidity constraints, financial literacy, and pricing explain only a small fraction of the positive wealth-insurance correlation. This puzzling correlation persists in individual fixed-effects models estimated using 2,500,000 person-month observations. The fact that the less wealthy have less coverage, though intuitively they benefit more from insurance, might increase financial health disparities among households.
    JEL: D14 G22 G51 G52
    Date: 2021–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29069&r=

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