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on Financial Literacy and Education |
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Issue of 2025–03–17
six papers chosen by Viviana Di Giovinazzo, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca |
| By: | Ansar, Saniya; Klapper, Leora; Singer, Dorothe |
| Abstract: | This paper examines global data on unbanked and underbanked consumers to highlight the role that improved financial literacy and capability could play in motivating and enabling the safe and beneficial use of financial services. The paper uses data from Global Findex, a demand-side survey on ownership and use of accounts at formal financial institutions. The paper reviews the self-reported barriers to account ownership and use cited by unbanked adults, and identifies the challenges faced by account owners who could not use an account without help. Together, these issues point to the importance of financial education to improve digital and financial literacy skills, in addition to product design that considers customer abilities, and strong consumer safeguards to ensure that customers benefit from financial access. |
| Date: | 2023–03–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10345 |
| By: | Loeser, John Ashton |
| Abstract: | The household welfare gains from financial inclusion are empirically elusive. This paper establishes that household welfare gains from a financial technology are equal to the area under dynamically compensated demand in a household model with incomplete financial markets, and general technology, preferences, and choice sets. This paper then estimates compensated demand for financial technologies leveraging three randomized control trials that introduce experimental variation in interest rates. Welfare gains per dollar lent or saved are small as compensated demand elasticities are large, but still correspond to large aggregate welfare gains from financial inclusion. |
| Date: | 2023–06–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10481 |
| By: | Calice, Pietro |
| Abstract: | Access to finance is a key obstacle for the growth and development of small and medium-sized enterprises in fragile and conflict affected situations. This paper provides empirical evidence on the key macrofinancial and institutional drivers of financial inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises in a large sample of countries, highlighting the comparative importance of factors affecting countries with and without fragile and conflict affected situations. The results show that macroeconomic and institutional stability, along with reduced informality, banking sector soundness, and improved credit information environment, are associated with higher financial inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises. The results also show that strengthening the rule of law, government effectiveness, and control of corruption while increasing financial depth and reducing public sector borrowing and banking market concentration could help close the small and medium-sized enterprise financial inclusion gap between fragile and conflict affected situation countries and the best performing countries. These effects are generally stronger in middle-income countries with fragile and conflict affected situations than in low-income countries with fragile and conflict affected situations. The results point to the importance of adopting comprehensive macrofinancial and institutional strategies to improve financial inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises in countries with fragile and conflict affected situations, tailoring reforms to country contexts. |
| Date: | 2023–03–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10363 |
| By: | Md. Shelim Miah (Southeast University) |
| Abstract: | Mobile Financial Services (MFS) have revolutionized financial transactions in Bangladesh, offering convenience, accessibility, and efficiency. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated the adoption of MFS, highlighting its critical role in a cashless economy. This study examines consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions toward MFS adoption in Bangladesh, utilizing a quantitative research design with a structured survey of respondents aged 16 and above. Findings indicate that ease of use, convenience, and agent availability are key factors influencing MFS adoption. While gender differences in perception were noted, adoption was independent of age, income, education, or occupation. Challenges such as fraud, security concerns, and trust issues persist, necessitating improvements in service reliability, customer support, and digital literacy. To enhance user experience and expand adoption, the study recommends feature enhancements, user-friendly mobile applications, strategic agent deployment, and promotional incentives. Despite its rapid growth, the MFS sector in Bangladesh requires continuous innovation to ensure security, affordability, and seamless transactions for a financially inclusive future. |
| Keywords: | Mobile Financial Services (MFS), Digital Payments, Cashless Economy, Consumer Behavior, Post-COVID Transactions, Financial Inclusion |
| Date: | 2024–12–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04959442 |
| By: | Piza, Caio; Furtado, Isabela Brandao; Amorim, Vivian De Fatima |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether providing financial education in elementary and middle school grades improves students' financial proficiency and actual behavior. It uses a cluster randomized control trial to evaluate a pilot program implemented in 101 Brazilian municipal schools in 2015. The findings show positive impacts on financial proficiency, mainly among middle school students, and suggestive evidence of improvements in short-term behavioral outcomes. However, the analysis indicates that the program did not impact students' school achievements in both the short and longer terms, which suggests that the program's effects were not strong enough to shift students' behavior decisions. |
| Date: | 2023–06–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10511 |
| By: | Yao, Koffi Yves; Kouakou, Auguste Konan; |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the essential role of migration and remittances in development across sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on Côte d’Ivoire. It demonstrates that these financial flows help alleviate poverty and stabilise the economy in the short term while fostering long-term development through investments in human capital, entrepreneurship, and social protection. However, several challenges persist: excessive reliance on remittances may hinder local productivity, weaken exports, and increase import dependency. The paper recommends policies aimed at economic diversification, enhanced financial inclusion, reduced transfer costs, and better-coordinated migration policies to maximise the developmental benefits of remittances. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Remittances, Financing of Development |
| JEL: | F22 F24 O1 |
| Date: | 2025–02–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:123655 |