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on Financial Literacy and Education |
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Issue of 2023‒06‒26
seven papers chosen by |
| By: | Nkambule, Maxwell Banele |
| Abstract: | Financial inclusion has become a focal point in nation building. It facilitates inclusive growth, which contributes significantly to the economic development of the rural poor. However, the existing financial inclusion dimension used by some researchers does not address the financial inclusion problem in a multidimensional manner in Eswatini. Researchers mostly measure financial inclusion using the access component, which does not provide a complete picture of financial inclusion. Some studies have investigated financial inclusion in Eswatini, but overlooked certain key factors that have been proven to assist in achieving a higher degree of financial inclusion for rural people. The determinants of financial inclusion in Eswatini, especially in rural households, have not been sufficiently addressed in the previous studies. To address the above shortcomings, this study assessed the financial participation, financial capability and financial well-being of rural households, and determined their contribution to financial inclusion. The study also examined the determinants of the financial inclusion of rural households. xii A stratified two-stage sampling procedure was utilised to sample 2148 rural homes, headed by both genders, from a Metadata of 2928 Eswatini FinScope Consumer Survey respondents. The Alkire-Foster method was used in this study to develop a multidimensional financial inclusion index. The study found that the financial exclusion rate for rural households is 69%, with financial adequacy among rural people being 37.24%. This indicates that not every rural household that has access to formal financial services is financially secure. The study also found that, the financial well-being domain contribute the most (59%) to the financial inclusion of the rural households as compared to financial participation (37%) and financial capability (46%). The study also found that there is lower contribution in the usage, consumer protection, financial situation, and financial resilience indicators when compared to formal access. The study also determined that age, marital status, source of income, education level, ease of access to formal financial services, and access to land were all positively associated with the financial inclusion status of rural households. Gender and association membership of the rural household, on the other hand, were not statistically significant, implying that these factors gave fewer opportunities for rural households to participate in financial inclusion. It is on that score that this study recommends measuring financial inclusion not only by formal bank account ownership, but also by the level of financial participation, financial capability, and financial well-being among rural households. There is also a need to examine financial literacy as a policy tool for encouraging rural households, particularly those of marginalised groups such as rural youth and women, to participate in the access and use of formal financial services. There is also a need for a robust approach to ensure that all women residing in rural areas are financially included by simplifying the requirements for accessing formal financial services. |
| Keywords: | Financial Economics, Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2022–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cmpart:334766&r=fle |
| By: | Asongu, Simplice A; Odhiambo, Nicholas M |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the role of financial inclusion in moderating the incidence of entrepreneurship on energy poverty in Ghana. The assessment is made by using pooled data and two stage least squares. The exposition builds from the 7th (GLSS7) and 6th (GLSS6) rounds focusing on the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GSS, 2014, 2019) that is collected by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) from ten principal regions in the country. The findings show that entrepreneurship has an unconditional positive incidence on energy poverty while the interactive incidence between entrepreneurship and financial inclusion on energy poverty is negative. The corresponding financial inclusion policy thresholds that should be exceeded in order for financial inclusion to effectively moderate entrepreneurship for negative outcomes in energy poverty: (i) are between 0.154 and 0.280 index for the full sample; (ii) is between 0.187 index for the rural sub-sample; (iii) are between 0.200 and 0.333 index for the male sample. (iv) Thresholds are not computed for the rural and female sub-samples because at least one estimated coefficient that is needed for the computation of such thresholds is not significant. Policy implications are discussed. This study has complemented the existing literature by assessing how financial inclusion can be employed to influence the nexus between entrepreneurship and poverty in Ghana. |
| Keywords: | Energy poverty; Financial inclusion; Consumption poverty; Education; Household income |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uza:wpaper:30127&r=fle |
| By: | Maddalena Davoli |
| Abstract: | Financial literacy surveys, composed primarily of multiple-choice questions, consistently show women having lower financial knowledge than men. The education science literature finds that gender bias is inherent in multiple-choice testing. Using data from PISA 2015, this paper investigates the differential gender effect of question formats on students' financial literacy assessments. This paper, employing data from PISA 2015, analyzes the differential gender effect of question formats on students' financial literacy assessment. Having answers to both multiple-choice and open-response questions for each student, we employ a panel specification and use within-student variation while controlling for students' fixed characteristics. Findings show female students performing worse when answering multiple-choice questions with no observable difference for the open-response format. Robustness tests indicate that the question characteristics underlying the multiple-choice format partly drive the results. I show how school policies aimed at training students for the multiple-choice format may help close the gender gap. |
| Keywords: | gender gaps, financial literacy, PISA, question format, within-student estimate |
| JEL: | I21 I24 J16 G53 D91 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iso:educat:0206&r=fle |
| By: | Emmanuel, Bukuwa Nambale |
| Abstract: | To promote savings groups (SGs), which are important in promoting financial inclusion among smallholders, it is imperative to understand the factors that affect participation in these SGs and the associated impact in the context of Uganda. This study determined the factors influencing participation in SGs. The study put particular emphasis on the use of SGs as a form of fully-fledged financial services provision to access agro-inputs. The study, therefore, additionally, determined the impact of these SGs on the expenditure on agro-inputs. The study used data collected through a cross-sectional survey from 249 participants. These participants were drawn from Sironko district, Uganda, East Africa. The study employed a Probit model to investigate the determinants of participation and intensity of participation. To estimate the impact of SGs on expenditure on agro-inputs, average treatment effects on the treated (ATT) were calculated after discounting the selection bias between the SGs’ members and nonmembers. Averagely, SGs incurred 40% of all expenditure on Agro-inputs by SGs’ members. SGs’ members were significantly higher than non-members as regards total expenditure on agroinputs, per capita expenditure on agro-inputs, and proportion of income spent on agro-inputs. ATT was insignificant and tends to be negative. The main factors that significantly and positively influenced participation included the sex of the head of the household, having a child in secondary school, the number of years in education, the number of dependents, income (in a quadratic form), activity in non-SGs group settings., trusting members in the SGs, and satisfaction with loan amounts accessible from the SGs. The main factors that significantly but negatively influenced participation include agriculture as a v main income source and requirement for support to participate in the SG. Within SGs, being female; number of dependents; receiving a government subsidy; share-out of savings between January and March; and frequency of getting SGs loans the previous year increased the frequency of getting loans. The frequency decreased for participants who were active in RoSCAs and had agriculture as their main source of income. Savings were encouraged by years in education; income and activity in non-SGs group settings. Savings lowered when the participant was female; rented farming land; active in RoSCAs; required support to participate in SGs; share-out of savings between January to March; and the number of loan sources. Important factors that can be addressed at policy level include support for the SGs in the form of training members in SGs’ models, adding to the loans pools; and encouraging activity in any community group setting. |
| Keywords: | Consumer/Household Economics, Agricultural Finance |
| Date: | 2022–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cmpart:334746&r=fle |
| By: | Assen Slim (CESSMA UMRD 245 - Centre d'études en sciences sociales sur les mondes africains, américains et asiatiques - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Inalco - Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales - UPCité - Université Paris Cité, CREE EA 4513 - Centre de recherches Europes-Eurasie - Inalco - Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales) |
| Abstract: | This article proposes a so-called "factual" method (units issued, governance, functions, distribution, regulation, circulatory sphere, adoption by sovereign states, diffusion to new uses) to determine the nature of bitcoin. It quickly becomes clear that bitcoin is an unclassifiable object (a UO) that does not fit into any pre-established framework (currency, asset, digital gold, property title) and that it boasts an evolutionary character that has already taken it through three stages of aging (birth, growth, adulthood). Configurable at will, bitcoin and its derivatives can be used by human groups for better or for worse. The article outlines three pathways for using cryptocurrencies in the future (financial inclusion, socialization of value, and exit from the Uber society). |
| Abstract: | Este artículo propone un método denominado "fáctico" (unidades emitidas, gobernanza, funciones, distribución, regulación, esfera circulatoria, adopción por Estados soberanos, difusión a nuevos usos) para determinar la naturaleza del bitcoin. De él se desprende que bitcoin es un objeto inclasificable (un OI) que no encaja en ningún marco preestablecido (moneda, activo, oro digital, título) y que tiene un carácter evolutivo que ya le ha llevado a través de tres edades (nacimiento, crecimiento, edad adulta). Al poder configurarse a voluntad, el bitcoin y sus derivados pueden ser utilizados por grupos humanos para bien o para mal. El artículo esboza tres formas en que las criptodivisas pueden utilizarse en el futuro (inclusión financiera, socialización del valor, salida de la sociedad uber). |
| Abstract: | Cet article propose une méthode dite « factuelle » (unités émises, gouvernance, fonctions, répartition, réglementation, sphère circulatoire, adoption par des États souverains, diffusion à de nouveaux usages), pour déterminer la nature du bitcoin. Il ressort que le bitcoin est un objet inclassable (un OI) qui ne rentre dans aucun cadre préétabli (monnaie, actif, or numérique, titre de propriété) et qu'il revêt un caractère évolutif lui ayant déjà fait traverser trois âges (naissance, croissance, âge adulte). Étant paramétrables à volonté, le bitcoin et ses dérivés peuvent être utilisés par les groupes humains pour le meilleur et pour le pire. L'article esquisse trois pistes d'utilisation des cryptomonnaies pour l'avenir (l'inclusion financière, la socialisation de la valeur, la sortie de la société ubérisée). |
| Keywords: | Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, institutions, Financial inclusion., criptomonedas, instituciones, inclusión financiera, cryptomonnaies, inclusion financière |
| Date: | 2022–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04097050&r=fle |
| By: | Asongu, Simplice A; Odhiambo, Nicholas M |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to complement extant literature by examining how mobile money innovations can moderate the unfavorable incidence of female unemployment on female doing of business in 44 countries from sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2004 to 2018. The empirical evidence is based on interactive quantile regressions. The employed doing business constraints are the procedures a woman has to go through to start a business and the time for women to set up a business, while the engaged mobile money innovations are: (i) registered mobile money agents (registered mobile money agents per 1000 km2 and registered mobile money agents per 100 000 adults) and (ii) active mobile money agents (active mobile money agents per 1000 km2 and active mobile money agents per 100 000 adults). The hypothesis that mobile money innovation moderates the unfavorable incidence of female unemployment on business constraints is overwhelmingly invalid. The invalidity of the tested hypothesis is clarified, and the policy implications are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Mobile phones; financial inclusion; women; doing business; sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uza:wpaper:30126&r=fle |
| By: | Simion, Ștefania; Sulka, Tomasz |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we examine which dimensions of cognitive ability are most predictive of key financial outcomes and what pathways could account for the observed relationships. We begin by proposing a conceptual framework that accounts for several plausible "channels" through which differences in cognitive ability might influence financial outcomes. Subsequently, we put the framework to test using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. We find that numeracy and literacy are strong predictors of different measures of wealth level and composition, after controlling for a rich set of demographic characteristics. We also find that our end-node channels, planning and self-control, have an even greater predictive power. Nevertheless, despite the fact that these channels are strongly correlated with both numeracy and literacy, they do not fully account for the pathways from cognitive ability to financial outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Cognitive Ability, Numeracy, Financial Literacy, Planning, Self-Control |
| JEL: | C13 D91 J14 J24 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:401&r=fle |