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DOI 10.47576/2712-7516_2021_6_3_194 UDC 336
METHODICAL APPROACHES TO ASSESSMENT OF FINANCIAL LITERACY OF THE POPULATION IN CONNECTION WITH TYPICAL FINANCIAL BEHAVIOR
Razumovsky Denis Yurievich,
Assistant of the Department of Finance, Money Circulation and Credit, Ural State University of Economics, Referent of the Director of the Ural Institute of Management - Branch, Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation, Yekaterinburg, Russia, e-mail: jobs. mail35@gmail. com
The topic of financial literacy is becoming increasingly popular in the media, social networks, socio-political agenda of all levels of government. Attention to this topic is due to a wide range of factors, the main of which the author considers the increase in the number of victims of fraud in the field of financial transactions. And in this case, we are not talking about deceived citizens involved in financial pyramids, but people who face fraud and violations of their rights when conducting popular financial transactions: transfers, payments, purchases, and other most routine operations. The article is devoted to approaches to the formation of a methodology for assessing the level of financial literacy of the population, taking into account the already existing experience of the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The article is of an applied nature; as a result, the author presents the theoretical concept of this technique. The author also presents a questionnaire used in real, so-called field studies. Based on the use of surveys as the main tool for assessing the level of financial literacy, the author believes that the developed methodology can be considered tested.
Keywords: methodology for assessing the level of financial literacy; financial decisions; financial behavior.
УДК 336
МЕТОДИЧЕСКИЕ ПОДХОДЫ К ОЦЕНКЕ ФИНАНСОВОЙ ГРАМОТНОСТИ НАСЕЛЕНИЯ ВО ВЗАИМОСВЯЗИ С ТИПОВЫМ
ФИНАНСОВЫМ ПОВЕДЕНИЕМ
Разумовский Денис Юрьевич,
ассистент кафедры финансов, денежного обращения и кредита, Уральский государственный экономический университет; референт директора, Уральский институт управления - филиал Российской академии
народного хозяйства и государственной службы при Президенте Российской Федерации, г. Екатеринбург, Россия, e-mail: jobs.mail35@gmail.com
Тема финансовой грамотности становится все более популярной в средствах массой информации, социальных сетях, социально-политической повестке всех уровней власти. Внимание к этой теме обусловлено широким спектром факторов, главным из которых автор считает рост количества жертв мошенничеств в области финансовых операций. И, речь в данном случае идет не об обманутых гражданах, вовлеченных финансовые пирамиды, а людях, которые сталкиваются с мошенничеством и нарушениями их прав при проведении востребованных финансовых транзакций: переводов, платежей, покупок, других самых рутинных операций. Статья посвящена подходам к формированию методики оценки уровня финансовой грамотности населения с учетом уже имеющегося опыта стран организации экономического сотрудничества и развития (ОЭСР). Статья носит прикладной характер; в результате автором представлена теоретическая концепция указанной методики. Автором представлена также опросная анкета, примененная в реальных, так называемых полевых исследованиях. Опираясь на использование опросов в качестве основного инструментария оценки уровня финансовой грамотности, автор полагает, что разработанную методику можно считать апробированной.
Ключевые слова: методика оценки уровня финансовой грамотности; финансовые решения; финансовое поведение.
When creating a methodology for assessing the level of financial literacy, the author proceeded from the premise that such an assessment can be carried out exclusively through the analysis of answers to certain questions. The latter should be drawn up in such a way that in no case do not predetermine the answers, do not lead the respondents to some position. An important aspect of the methodology is the lack of influence on the respondents' answers in any form [1].
The survey, as the main method of identifying and assessing knowledge in the field of financial literacy, allows a priori to set ranking characteristics for further identification of respondents by their generalized characteristics and see what decisions of a financial nature are made by different groups of people according to the specified characteristics.
Of course, the most objective results of research are obtained in the course of mass sociological surveys aimed at analyzing resonant situations in which it is supposed to assess already occurring trends and predict future ones [2].
The author notes that he took an active part in all stages of the implementation of the methodology for assessing the level of financial literacy of the population of the Sverdlovsk region in 2018-2020. In addition, the author took part in the analysis of the data obtained and their interpretation as part of the research group of the Regional Center for Financial Literacy (RCFG). The development of an assessment methodology, surveying of respondents, processing and analysis of the results obtained are implemented on the basis of the Regional Center for Financial Development. Within the framework of the research work
commissioned by the Ministry of Finance of the Sverdlovsk Region within the framework of the comprehensive program «Improving the financial literacy of the population in the Sverdlovsk region for 2018-2023», approved by the Decree of the Government of the Sverdlovsk region of 29.11.2018 No. 846-PP. (Official site of the Ministry of Finance of the Sverdlovsk region. URL: https://minfin.midural.ru/document/ category/108#document_list).
Conducting fundamental research in any scientific field, including the direction of financial literacy, requires the creation of a methodology that meets the requirements of sociological science [3]. Within the framework of this study, the author considers it important to consolidate two initial messages of the methodology:
1) households can be ranked (This ranking was carried out by the author) by interval income groups, within which financial decisions regarding the disposal of financial resources differ significantly, that is, the structure of expenditures for households with the same disposable income is different;
2) people who form households have different knowledge, competencies, skills, abilities and experience in the field of financial resources management - that is, they have different levels of financial literacy.
In this regard, the author presents approaches to assessing the level of financial literacy on the basis of the already existing methodological experience of such assessments in the world and in the Russian Federation.
In world practice, the assessment of financial literacy on a systematic basis has been carried out since 2015. This assessment is based
on the methodological apparatus developed in the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for two categories of the population:
1) youth aged 15-18 years;
2) adult population.
To obtain reliable results that objectively disclose the situation with the level of financial literacy, the author developed a methodology for assessing the level of financial literacy of the population of the Sverdlovsk region in accordance with existing foreign and domestic methodological developments, which is an original scientific contribution in this research direction.
In addition, the most modern technologies were used during the surveys, the use of which in financial and related sciences allows not only to obtain adequate results, but also to develop educational activities based on the results of assessing the level of financial literacy. In the scientific aspect, the use of modern technologies and questionnaire channels provides the
conditions necessary to substantiate the fundamental concepts - this is the identification of each respondent. Identification allows you to create a model typical behavioral profile of a person, based on the answers given to them to the questionnaire questions. Such a profile contains identification (gender, age, place of work, place of residence, level of education and income group) and research - that is, variable sections. The latter contain exactly the information content that, in the author's opinion, allows you to identify personal characteristics and a tendency to form a typical financial behavior [4] of a person when initiating and implementing financial decisions.
I n accordance with the concept of the study, the author consolidated methodological approaches to assessing the level of financial literacy (Figure 1) and questionnaires. Presenting the structural content of the methodological concept, it is necessary to understand that obtaining results is the basis for developing a methodology for increasing the level of financial knowledge.
Figure 1 - Types of methods for assessing the level of financial literacy of the population (Compiled according to the report of the Ministry of Finance of the Sverdlovsk region on the implementation and assessment of the effectiveness of the implementation of the comprehensive program of the Sverdlovsk region «Improving the financial literacy of the population in the Sverdlovsk region for 2018-2020» for 2019)
The task of this study is the formation of methodological provisions for assessing the level of financial literacy of the population. The application of the results of this assessment in the future can be applied to substantiate its impact on decisions of a financial nature and the structure of financial resources of the population [5]. This task, according
to the author's deep conviction, is solved by the methodology of this assessment, as the main research toolkit for practical analysis. The advantages of the proposed methodological apparatus are the content of the methodology for assessing the level of financial literacy of the population of the Sverdlovsk region, based on three provisions:
1. Questionnaire questions should be available to all categories of the population, and the results of the survey determine the "portrait" of the respondent for targeted oriented training of citizens within the framework of individual topics.
2. Questionnaire questions should be focused on focus groups and individual topics for the analysis of categories of the population and complex topics.
3. Comprehensive methods for assessing the level of financial literacy seem to be the most productive, because they allow to identify financial knowledge and integration of all family members into educational programs on financial literacy.
Based on the presented approaches to the methods, the author (personally and as part of the research group of the regional center for
Figure 2 - Methodology for assessing the level of financial literacy of the population НАУЧНО-ПРАКТИЧЕСКИЙ ЖУРНАЛ
financial literacy) conducted surveys to assess the level of financial literacy of the population using the following methodology (Figure 2).
Within the framework of this goal, it is necessary to form an understanding of financial knowledge and the possibilities of their application in different groups of the population.
It is important to consolidate and develop people's competencies in financial education, because learning outcomes are lost over time if people do not use them. This is proved by the results of studies of behavioral economics [6] social psychology and marketing [7]: the specificity
Table 1 - Questions of the questionnaire for asse
of fundamental sociological research is based on the reflex-innate sensitivity of a person [8], as a feature in unusual, new situations to respond to external factors, to look for something familiar that is formed on subconscious level. In view of other tasks of this study, the author does not conduct a detailed analysis of the directions of other sciences.
At the next stage of creating a methodology for assessing the level of financial literacy of the population, the author offers questionnaire questions (Table 1).
■,ing the level of financial literacy of the population
Question Answer options
1. The topic is risk diversification. Imagine that you have some free amount of money, say, 100 thousand rubles. What do you think is less risky: - invest the entire amount in the business? - place the amount in several different assets? - open a bank deposit for the entire amount? - to purchase the full amount of currency?
2. The topic is inflation. Let the prices of the products and goods you normally buy double in the next 10 years. Do you think that if your income also doubles, will you be able to buy? - less than today; - as much as today; - More than today.
3. The theme is simple percentages. Imagine that you need to borrow from a commercial bank in the amount of 100 thousand rubles. In which case will you pay the bank a smaller amount? - if you need to return 105 thousand rubles; - if the loan costs 3% per annum.
4. The topic is compound interest. Imagine that you put money in a bank for two years, and the bank agrees to add 15% per year to your account. Will the bank pay more in the second year than in the first, or will it pay the same amount of money in both years?
5. The topic is compound interest. Imagine that you placed 100 thousand rubles on a savings account in a bank at 10% per annum. How much money will you have in your account in five years if you don't withdraw money from it? - more than 150 thousand rubles; - exactly 150 thousand rubles; - less than 150 thousand rubles.
Another important aspect of the methodology is the regular monitoring of the level of financial literacy for comparison with previous results and with world indicators. The importance of regular monitoring is to open the possibility of obtaining a dynamic view of the objective level of financial literacy of the population. Regular monitoring is able to identify «failures» both in topics and in categories of the population in which unsatisfactory or insufficient results in this area are obtained - this will allow you to respond quickly by carrying out activities aimed at overcoming such «failures». In addition, the identification of weak categories of the population and insufficiently studied topics makes it possible to prepare special methodological educational and control and evaluation tools that will be targeted to overcome unsatisfactory results that may be due to intra-country and external migration, demographic rotation, transformation
of financial instruments and services, with risks associated with these factors, etc.
The methodology toolkit (Figure 2) is presented in accordance with its logic and corresponds to the stated goals and objectives:
1. The need to update information and educational and control and evaluation tools in order to, at the same time, assess and teach the level of financial literacy of the population of the Sverdlovsk region.
2. The need to adapt the international methods created by developed countries for Russian socio-economic and financial conditions. The range of such conditions, of course, is wide - from currency transactions, which appear in the methodological materials and conditions for placing savings to the risks of non-cash transactions and the conditions for obtaining insurance payments for lending (mortgage, car).
The author believes that the high rates of digitalization necessitate and create conditions for Russia's integration into global global globalization processes, causing the need to master the population of the Russian Federation competitive knowledge and skills in the field of financial literacy [9].
The scientific approach to the formation of the methodological apparatus led to the author's proposal of one of the most important components of the methodology - a scenario approach to the
The inertial scenario assumes the possibility of increasing the qualitative and quantitative characteristics that adequately assess the level of financial literacy of the population. To do this, the inertial scenario should provide for scheduled regular monitoring of the level of financial literacy of the population, regardless of the characteristics of the respondents' samples. At the same time, the most objective result can be facilitated by conducting combined studies: continuoussurveys and individual focus groups, which would allow to cover as many respondents as possible and form
implementation of programs to assess the level of financial literacy of the population. The most expedient, based on the validity and probability, are two scenario directions for the formation of a methodological apparatus for assessing the level of financial literacy of the population:
1) Inertial, which can hardly be implemented as a baseline, since at present the level of financial literacy of the population of the Sverdlovsk region is not high enough compared to the all-Russian and international indicators (table 2).
more reliable results that qualitatively assess the financial knowledge of the population.
In this regard, the author considers it necessary to provide another methodological scenario for the situation of reducing the indicators of the level of financial literacy:
2) Forced, the application of which may be due to the need to take local or large-scale anticrisis measures in cases where:
- General indicators of assessment of the level of financial literacy of the population are decreasing;
Table 2 - Results of assessment of the level of financial literacy of the population of different countries (URL: https://www.rbc.ru/money/19/11/2015/564cbc139a79474403c94ca2)
Position in the rating Country Financial literacy, % Position in the rating Country Financial literacy, %
1 Norway 71 Ukraine 40
2 Denmark 71 Senegal 40
3 Sweden 71 Belarus 38
4 Iceland 68 Cameroon 38
5 Canada 68 55 Russia 38
United Kingdom 67 Poland 38
8 Germany 66 Kenya 38
Netherlands 66 Madagascar 38
Australia 64 Serbia 38
Austria 63 Togo 38
Australia 64 U.A.E 38
Sverdlovsk Oblast 36,4
Finland 63 Bulgaria 35
New Zealand 61 Cyprus 35
Singapore 59 Argentina 28
Switzerland 58 China 28
14 UNITED STATES 57 India 24
Czechia 57 Romania 22
38 Japan 43 141 Albania 14
Zimbabwe 41 142 Afghanistan 14
Mongolia 41 143 Syria 13
Turkmenistan 41 144 Yemen 13
Zambia 40 Average for EU countries 52
Kazakhstan 40 Oecd average 55
Madagascar 40 Average by sample country 35
Mongolia 40 Average for BRICS countries 28
- it is necessary to increase the level of financial literacy in those regions of the Sverdlovsk region in which it is insufficient (below the average regional and / or all-Russian).
The forced scenario may involve the implementation of measures for financial education of the population on the basis of interactive gamified teaching methods containing not just a game of guessing answer options, but the use by citizens of intuitive and logical analysis of tasks and reliance on judgments based on learned life and situational experience. It is the understanding of the essence and purpose of the processes, knowledge of which must be demonstrated during questionnaires, that will allow you to get high results in the level of financial literacy.
Questionnaire surveys as a method of assessing the level of financial literacy of the population, contains control and evaluation tools - these are tasks that reveal financial knowledge. The applied nature of the study required the addition of the previously disclosed, specific empirical methods, as follows:
1) processing and analysis of primary data -assessment of completeness and correctness of filling in control and evaluation tools, which is extremely important for obtaining reliable results;
2) analysis and structuring of the obtained data to ensure accuracy and elimination of errors in the evaluation of the results.
Conducting surveys is associated with compliance with the rules that determine the need for complete, if possible - reliable and objective information.
When conducting questionnaires and surveys, it is important to follow the rules that allow you to obtain more complete and reliable information:
References_
1. Strict thematic focus of the survey. The survey should focus on one topic. The inclusion of several thematic areas in the survey will not allow obtaining objective information: the respondents' answers may be incomplete.
2. Optimal structure of the questionnaire. The wording of the questions should be concise, understandable, not numerous, assume an unambiguous answer; the number of questions should be such that the time of interviewing or filling out the questionnaire does not exceed 3-5 minutes.
3. Logical design of the questionnaire. The sequence of questions should be built in a logical "undulating" way: while maintaining a single logical chain, the respondent's interest could be supported psychologically - from simple to complex and again to simple, thereby forming an impression of feasibility, potential solvability of tasks.
4. Target audience of the survey. The correct choice of the target audience contributes to the collection of reliable information, since its identical distortion by an informed audience is hardly possible. Therefore, the sample of respondents must meet certain criteria: demographic, social, cultural and others that are important for the subject of the survey.
Thus, the author presents methodological approaches to assessing the level of financial literacy of the population, which in the context of this study are considered as determining financial decisions regarding the formation and use of financial resources of households factor. Ultimately, the level of financial literacy affects financial decision-making, determining the profiles of typical financial behavior, the key indicator of which is the optimization of the structure of financial resources of households.
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