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on Financial Literacy and Education |
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Issue of 2025–11–03
six papers chosen by Viviana Di Giovinazzo, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca |
| By: | Simplice A. Asongu (Yaoundé, Cameroon); Amarachi O. Ogbonna (Yaoundé, Cameroon); Mariette C. N. Mete (Yaoundé, Cameroon) |
| Abstract: | The present research extends the extant literature by investigating the hypothesis on whether marriage can be a substitute for financial inclusion in energy poverty reduction in Ghana. Pooled data and two stage least squares techniques are used in the estimation process and the validity of the tested hypothesis (i.e., that marriage is a substitute for financial inclusion in energy poverty mitigation) is based on two main criteria: (i) a positive interactive effect relative to the negative unconditional effect of marriage; (ii) a marriage net effect lower in magnitude compared to the unconditional effect of marriage and (iii) an insignificant interactive effect when both unconditional effects are negative. The investigated hypothesis is not valid in the full sample, urban sub-sample and female sub-sample while it is valid in the rural and male sub-samples. Policy implications are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Energy poverty; financial inclusion; consumption poverty; education; household income |
| JEL: | D03 D12 D14 I32 Q41 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dbm:wpaper:24/006 |
| By: | Ana Lleó-Bono; Ines Lee; Eileen Tipoe; Christopher Rauh |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether increasing individuals' awareness of their own confidence can influence financial behaviour. In a pre-registered online experiment with nearly 3, 000 U.S. adults, we test the effects of a novel metacognitive intervention: personalised feedback on implicit confidence about one's financial abilities, as measured by a custom Implicit Association Test (IAT), paired with an explanation of the importance of self-confidence in financial abilities. Treated participants show a significant reduction in "don't know" responses on financial literacy tests and their performance in an incentivised investment task significantly improves: treated participants are less likely to make clearly dominated choices, more likely to select efficient allocations, and choose portfolios closer to the efficient frontier. These effects persist two weeks later in a follow-up survey with obfuscated framing. Heterogeneity analyses show stronger effects for females and for participants who understate their confidence (i.e. whose reported confidence is lower than what their IAT suggests). |
| Keywords: | confidence, financial literacy, onfidence awareness, personal finance, survey experiments |
| JEL: | D14 D83 D91 G11 G53 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:1522 |
| By: | Diego Vallarino |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the redistributive and efficiency impacts of expanding access to positive credit information in a financially excluded economy. Using microdata from Uruguay's 2021 household survey, we simulate three data regimes negative only, partial positive (Score+), and synthetic full visibility and assess their effects on access to credit, interest burden, and inequality. Our findings reveal that enabling broader data sharing substantially reduces financial costs, compresses interest rate dispersion, and lowers the Gini coefficient of credit burden. While partial visibility benefits a subset of the population, full synthetic access delivers the most equitable and efficient outcomes. The analysis positions credit data as a non-rival public asset with transformative implications for financial inclusion and poverty reduction. |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2510.16009 |
| By: | Chun Chet Ng; Wei Zeng Low; Yin Yin Boon |
| Abstract: | Despite accounting for 96.1% of all businesses in Malaysia, access to financing remains one of the most persistent challenges faced by Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Newly established or young businesses are often excluded from formal credit markets as traditional underwriting approaches rely heavily on credit bureau data. This study investigates the potential of bank statement data as an alternative data source for credit assessment to promote financial inclusion in emerging markets. Firstly, we propose a cash flow-based underwriting pipeline where we utilise bank statement data for end to end data extraction and machine learning credit scoring. Secondly, we introduce a novel dataset of 611 loan applicants from a Malaysian lending institution. Thirdly, we develop and evaluate credit scoring models based on application information and bank transaction-derived features. Empirical results show that the use of such data boosts the performance of all models on our dataset, which can improve credit scoring for new-to-lending MSMEs. Lastly, we intend to release the anonymised bank transaction dataset to facilitate further research on MSMEs financial inclusion within Malaysia's emerging economy. |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2510.16066 |
| By: | Abdelaziz, Fatma; Abay, Kibrom A. |
| Abstract: | Despite growing enthusiasm about the potential of digital innovations to transform agrifood systems, adoption among smallholder farmers in Africa remains low and heterogeneous. While the proliferation of digital tools targeting smallholder farmers is encouraging, the vast majority remain at pilot stages, facing important demand and supply-side barriers to adoption. This paper evaluates alternative digital literacy interventions designed to address these demand-side barriers. Following a Training of Trainers (TOT) model, we designed and implemented a randomized control trial to test three variants of digital literacy training: standard classroom-based digital literacy training (T1), digital training complemented (preceded) by a video-based play (T2), digital training complemented (preceded) by a live community play (T3), and a control group (C). We find that all variants of digital training significantly increased the uptake and utilization of digital tools by smallholder farmers. Specifically, the standard digital training alone increased uptake by 20 percentage points and utilization by 26 percentage points. The interventions also significantly enhanced farmer trust in digital tools by 8–13 percentage points. Surprisingly, for some outcomes, the digital literacy training alone outperformed the combined approaches that incorporated edutainment nudges. We explore possible explanations, including group size effects and social influence dynamics during the plays. We also document heterogeneity in the impact of these interventions across farmers’ gender and age. Our findings offer insights for designing cost effective and scalable interventions to build digital capabilities and trust among smallholder farmers. |
| Keywords: | digital literacy; training; digital agriculture; smallholders; technology adoption; Egypt; Africa; Northern Africa |
| Date: | 2025–09–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:176520 |
| By: | Denis Nikitin; Johan Schmalholz; Carolina Bloch |
| Abstract: | This paper explores how retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could enhance the delivery of social safety nets (SSNs). It assesses CBDC design features and their implications for payment administration and delivery. Findings suggest that using CBDCs solely as payment delivery solutions offers limited advantages over existing systems such as faster payment systems. However, leveraging CBDCs as payment administration platforms—with peer-to-peer transfers, decentralized ledger access, and advanced programmability—could transform SSN delivery by enabling agencies to automate transfers, operate independently from private financial intermediaries, and monitor transactions directly. These benefits come with significant challenges, including privacy concerns, compliance risks, and infrastructure requirements. The paper emphasizes that realizing CBDCs’ full potential for SSNs will depend on thoughtful integration with existing systems and a clear understanding of their comparative advantages. Aimed at social protection policymakers and finance specialists, it highlights the need for collaboration between CBDC developers and SSN administrators to ensure that digital currencies effectively support inclusive and efficient benefit delivery. |
| Keywords: | Central Bank Digital Currencies; Social Safety Nets; Payment Systems; Government Transfers; Fintech; Financial Inclusion |
| Date: | 2025–10–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2025/211 |