nep-fle New Economics Papers
on Financial Literacy and Education
Issue of 2023‒08‒28
four papers chosen by



  1. "The Role of Financial Behavior, Financial Stress, and Financial Well-Being in Explaining Islamic Financial Literacy among University Students " By Aubaidillah Doloh
  2. The Interplay among Savings Accounts and Network-Based Financial Arrangements: Evidence from a Field Experiment By Comola, Margherita; Prina, Silvia
  3. Building an Inclusive Digital Society for Rural India By Mansi Kedia; Rajat Kathuria; Abhishek Raj; Richa Sekhani; Srishti Sinha
  4. Behavioral drivers of cashless payments in Africa By Batiz-Lazo, Bernardo; Maixe-Altes, J Carles; Peon, David

  1. By: Aubaidillah Doloh (IIUM Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance, International Islamic University Malaysia Author-2-Name: Nur Harena Redzuan Author-2-Workplace-Name: IIUM Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance, International Islamic University Malaysia Author-3-Name: Author-3-Workplace-Name: Author-4-Name: Author-4-Workplace-Name: Author-5-Name: Author-5-Workplace-Name: Author-6-Name: Author-6-Workplace-Name: Author-7-Name: Author-7-Workplace-Name: Author-8-Name: Author-8-Workplace-Name:)
    Abstract: " Objective - The objectives of the study are to assess the level of students' knowledge of Islamic finance and examine their financial behavior (FB), financial stress (FS), and financial well-being (FWB). Methodology – The study applies a quantitative research method with primary data collection using a non-probability convenience sampling technique. The questionnaires were distributed to 155 students, including undergraduate and postgraduate students. Findings and Novelty – The study concludes that only the financial well-being hypothesis was supported, meaning that financial well-being influences the level of Islamic financial literacy (IFL). The study contributes to the various stakeholders. For the government authority, this study can be a reliable benchmark for the level of Islamic financial literacy among university students. For the university authority, this study helps the university assess students' Islamic financial literacy level. For the Islamic financial industry, it tells what needs to be improved by the community members. Moreover, this study contributes to the existing literature on Islamic financial literacy. The study also recommends future research to study other variables related to Islamic financial literacy and include a wider sample from different universities. Type of Paper - Empirical"
    Keywords: Islamic financial literacy; financial behaviors; financial stress; financial well-being
    JEL: I22 M29 O16
    Date: 2023–07–30
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gtr:gatrjs:jfbr211&r=fle
  2. By: Comola, Margherita (Paris School of Economics); Prina, Silvia (Northeastern University)
    Abstract: This paper studies how formal financial access affects network-based financial arrangements. We use a field experiment that granted access to a savings account to a random subset of households in 19 Nepalese villages. Exploiting a unique panel dataset that follows all bilateral informal financial transactions before and after the intervention, we show that households that were offered access to an account increased their loans and total transfers to others, independent of the treatment status of the receiver. The increase seemed to be driven by treatment households with more assets and greater financial inclusion at baseline.
    Keywords: financial access, savings, networks, financial arrangements
    JEL: C93 D14 G21 O16 O17
    Date: 2023–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16303&r=fle
  3. By: Mansi Kedia (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)); Rajat Kathuria (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)); Abhishek Raj; Richa Sekhani; Srishti Sinha
    Abstract: Digital inclusion implies that individuals and communities can access and adopt technology to improve their socio-economic status. India, like most emerging markets, has benefitted immensely from the diffusion of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) diffusion. In rural areas, communication services can often compensate for other infrastructural deficits, catalysing growth. However, market failures in rural areas, magnified by poor connectivity and lack of digitalization, demand policy intervention. Following customary global practice, the Indian government, has made universal broadband a priority objective.
    Keywords: Digital Inclusion, Rural ICT Skills, Digital Literacy, Case Studues, icrier, BIF
    Date: 2021–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdc:report:21-r-03&r=fle
  4. By: Batiz-Lazo, Bernardo; Maixe-Altes, J Carles; Peon, David
    Abstract: We explore the potential of different behavioral drivers for people to use cash when presented with digital payment alternatives in retail transactions. Behavioral finance traits in our study include the otherwise neglected emotional drivers. We conducted an online survey targeting university educated adults in sub-Saharan African countries, a continent characterized by lower levels of banking penetration, intensive use of cash, and increased popularity of mobile money accounts to reduce financial exclusion. We obtain robust evidence that the affect heuristic is the only relevant behavioral trait determining the use of cash and of payments with credit cards, while there is no evidence of behavioral drivers influencing the overall decision to use of electronic payments. However, in specific payment contexts cognitive traits, such as mental accounting, fungibility bias, and habit, do mediate in determining the choice of payment method. We found robust evidence that a higher value of our personal income proxy is associated with a reduction in the intention to use electronic payments. All results are robust to alternative econometric specifications: multinomial logistic, ordered logistic, and logit regressions. Our research provides a clear policy message, namely for authorities to promote a variety of payment alternatives, including cash, and ensure they are available in retail transactions.
    Keywords: FinTech, Cash, Digital Payments, Behavioral Finance (Affect Heuristic), Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa).
    JEL: E4 E5 G1 G2 L8 O3
    Date: 2023–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117984&r=fle

General information on the NEP project can be found at https://nep.repec.org. For comments please write to the director of NEP, Marco Novarese at <director@nep.repec.org>. Put “NEP” in the subject, otherwise your mail may be rejected.
NEP’s infrastructure is sponsored by the School of Economics and Finance of Massey University in New Zealand.