Abstract

NANZIRI, Elizabeth L.  and  LEIBBRANDT, Murray. Measuring and profiling financial literacy in South Africa. S. Afr. j. econ. manag. sci. [online]. 2018, vol.21, n.1, pp.1-17. ISSN 2222-3436.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v21i1.1645.

BACKGROUND: Microeconomic theories of financial behaviour tend to assume that consumers possess financial skills necessary to undertake related financial decisions. AIM AND SETTING: We investigated this assumption by exploring the distribution of financial literacy among South Africans. METHOD: In the absence of a standard measure, a financial literacy index was constructed for the country using data collected on attitudes (towards), access to and use of financial services over the period 2005-2009. In a multivariate regression analysis, we used the index to examine the extent to which differences in financial literacy correlate with demographic and economic characteristics. RESULTS: The index revealed substantial variation in financial literacy by age, education, province and race. Overall, demographic characteristics contributed up to 10% of the financial literacy differences among individuals in South Africa. CONCLUSION: These results can be used to guide policy makers where to place more emphasis in terms of financial education for South Africans.

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