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Financial Knowledge and Attitudes of Youth in Ghana

Discussing the factors that guide youth’s' attitudes towards savings
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This YouthSave Research Brief focuses on the financial knowledge, attitudes, and socialization of youth as well as the financial knowledge of their parents and guardians in Ghana. YouthSave is a project designed to increase savings and development among low-income youth in Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, and Nepal. The study uses a cluster randomized design with 100 schools randomly selected from eight of Ghanas ten regions. Data from this brief are from baseline surveys with 6,252 youth and 4,576 parents and guardians of these youth. Data was collected from May 2011 through June 2011. Findings indicate that:

  • Youth learn about money mostly from school and parents with an emphasis on saving;
  • Parents feel that saving and using formal financial institutions are important for their children;
  • About 50% of the youth talk to their parents or guardians about money at least some of the time while the other half do so infrequently or never;
  • Financial socialization experiences are generally associated with greater youth savings suggesting that schools and parents may be important sources of guidance for youth.

About this Publication

By Chowa, G. A. N., Despard, M. & Osei-Akoto, I.
Published