Can a Budget Recording Tool Teach Financial Skills to Youth?: Experimental Evidence from a Financial Diaries Study

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Peer Reviewed icon Peer Reviewed
Date issued
Oct 2021
Subject
Financial Education;
Mobile App;
Saving Behavior;
Financial Transaction;
Youth and Children;
Behavioral Economics;
Budget
JEL code
C93 - Field Experiments;
D90 - Intertemporal Choice: General;
G41 - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets;
G53 - Financial Literacy;
O12 - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development;
O16 - Financial Markets • Saving and Capital Investment • Corporate Finance and Governance
Country
Peru
Category
Working Papers
We study the impact of a mobile app to record daily financial transactions, coupled with enumerator monitoring visits every two weeks, on youths' investment in financial literacy and financial behavior. The treatment led to a positive and statistically significant effect on financial literacy scores and greater awareness of market prices. Youth in the treatment group experienced significant improvements in access to credit. These effects persist eight months after the intervention is over.
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