Context

The Russia Trust Fund for Financial Literacy and Education was set up in 2008 with funding provided by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation to address concerns about low financial literacy, and to support the advancement of financial literacy and capability in low- and middle-income countries.

The participants varied among the different programmes being evaluated but included school-aged children and working-aged adults.

Activities also varied widely among the programmes but included activities designed to increase knowledge and information-seeking, particularly on identifying appropriate financial products, improving financial knowledge, improvements to financial literacy, and increasing savings behaviour.

The settings varied across the different programmes, but included locations as diverse as Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, India, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya.

The study

This large volume (500+ pages) presents the results of pilot projects financed by the Trust Fund, including research from multiple organisations over a number of years into relatively new areas for financial capacity building, including in particular:

• The use of diaries to increase financial awareness;
• New methods for information provision, including delivering messages encouraging safer financial behaviour through feature films, TV soap operas, and comic books. There are sixteen separate evaluations, all of which financed by the Russia Trust Fund, discussed in this volume, each with their own individual designs and methodological characteristics. The evaluations can be briefly summarised in the following ways:
• Traditional financial education through schools and workshops;
• Non-traditional education through entertainment media and marketing
• Financial education through mixed interventions.

Each evaluation in this volume is presented by the following categories to compare the findings:

• Pathways to change (which describes the method of the intervention);
• Thematic focus (the area of particular issue, e.g. credit, savings etc)
• Target groups (e.g. migrant groups or low income families)
• Evaluation method (e.g. randomised controlled trial)
• Data collection (e.g. surveys or self-administered questionnaires)
• Results (the impact of each particular intervention).

Key findings

From the interventions evaluated the results included the following:

• • The sample comprised 349 Pacific Islanders, 352 East Asians, and 209 Sri Lankans
  • A baseline questionnaire collected information on their use and awareness of different remittance methods, financial literacy, with specific emphasis on knowledge relevant to remittances and use of financial instruments, and their background characteristics.
  • Results found that the programme had increased knowledge and information-seeking behaviour for most of the participants, but did not change the frequency with which remittances were made.
• • To roll out the programme villages were randomly selected to either receive the training or receive no training, then the programme was offered to clients of 200 (contact person, between the financial institution and community members) working in the chosen villages.
  • Questionnaires were designed to determine clients’ knowledge of financial behaviours and tools, and required detailed information on various indicators around household financial well-being.
  • Results in the programme found no improvements around financial literacy.
• • The study span six states, 868 schools, and approximately 20,000 students aged 15–17
  • At baseline, 866 out of 868 schools in the study sample participated in the survey, although two of the schools did not implement the financial literacy test and the parent questionnaire. In each follow-up survey, about 40 schools did not implement the survey
  • In a follow-up survey 16.6% of control group school principals reported that their school had a financial education programme, and 11% of control group teachers reported receiving some training related to financial education
  • Results found that the programme had a positive impact on improved financial knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour.

Points to consider

• • This is a worldwide review of evidence used to demonstrate specific interventions based on local characteristics (e.g. take-up of weather insurance in Kenya). Therefore, it has limited transferability to the UK, but remains of interest to stakeholders interested in seeing how particular innovative research and evaluation methods can lead to richer results among certain populations.

Full report

Enhancing financial capability and behavior in low and middle-income countries - full report