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Article
Publication date: 15 June 2020

Mouna Amari, Bassem Salhi and Anis Jarboui

The objective of this study is to explore the effects of financial literacy level and risk aversion on the saving behavior. The literature review showed dialectical results…

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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study is to explore the effects of financial literacy level and risk aversion on the saving behavior. The literature review showed dialectical results. Therefore, this study attempts to clarify the debatable of these results by studying the mediating effect of risk aversion on the relationships between demographics determinants and saving behavior moderated by the effect of the financial literacy level.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected from the University of Normandy; the study sample included 516 respondents representing different segments of French households. The structural equation analysis was utilized to control the impact of financial literacy as a moderate variable and the risk aversion as a mediator variable among the link between sociodemographic factors and saving behavior.

Findings

The results demonstrated that there were significant effects of demographics factors on risk aversion. Moreover, financial literacy moderates the relationships between risk aversion and saving behavior.

Research limitations/implications

The major limitation of this research is the small size of the study sample. This paper is restricted to French households. Future financial education training should cover the European context.

Practical implications

This study provides further evidence that financial literacy should be considered an important factor for improving household well-being. The paper encourages governments and financial institutions to create a national financial education program.

Originality/value

This paper is the first attempt to employ a sample of low-income households after financial education training in the French context.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 40 no. 11/12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 July 2021

Mouna Amari and Jarboui Anis

This paper aim to fill the gaps by looking for the determinants and barriers related to financial inclusion. This study assesses the effect of socio-demographic variables on the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aim to fill the gaps by looking for the determinants and barriers related to financial inclusion. This study assesses the effect of socio-demographic variables on the use of formal financial inclusion services.

Design/methodology/approach

This article examines the barriers to formal financial inclusion, focusing on saving and credit strands. The authors propose the probit model, allowing distinguishing the outcome variable into three categories: Formal inclusion, informal inclusion and financial exclusion. The authors apply this model to the Findex 2017 survey data.

Findings

Estimation results propose that the trust to financial institutions, the distance to banks, the lack of documentation and the service costs are the main barriers, but these barriers affect the probability of using formal financial services differently according to the types of financial services (saving or credit).

Research limitations/implications

To advance the formal financial inclusion in Tunisia, the authors call for continuing promoting financial literacy among adults and the young population, which helps them understand the benefits of using formal financial services. Financial literacy throws in constructing the individual trust toward the financial sector in a country that experienced several decades of political and economic instability.

Originality/value

Financial inclusion promotes growth through a broadening of the system and technology that can be a major catalyst for greater financial inclusion. It helps in the overall economic development of the underprivileged population and contributes to poverty reduction. It can also enhance the security of payments, and thus lower the incidence of associated crime.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 48 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2021

Amari Mouna and Anis Jarboui

To help inform the debate over whether socio-demographic characteristics are related to the use of digital technologies, the authors investigated the effects of age, gender…

1176

Abstract

Purpose

To help inform the debate over whether socio-demographic characteristics are related to the use of digital technologies, the authors investigated the effects of age, gender, education, income and being in the workforce on changes in using financial digital services using panel data collected in the MENA countries during 2017.

Design/methodology/approach

This study aims to identify the impact of government policy on the determinants of financial inclusion and digital payment services in the MENA region. The authors use microdata from the 2017 Global Findex database on MENA countries to perform probit estimations. The paper focuses on the role of technology adoption by government authorities in extending financial inclusion and digital payment around different people.

Findings

The authors find that poorer people (and, by association, less educated people) and the young (but less so the elderly) are disproportionately excluded from the financial system. Results confirm that better collaboration between the government and the financial sector can help to develop digital financial inclusion through the technology adoption channels. The study confirms the significant impact of the government cashless policy in advancing financial inclusion in the MENA countries, with potentially wider applicability to other developed economies.

Practical implications

Policies to advance mobile money innovations could stimulate financial inclusion by promoting digital transaction services. The role of government authorities is imperative to harness the beneficial and sustainable gains from digitizing remittances and transfers to promote a cashless economy.

Originality/value

Financial inclusion promotes equality through a broadening of the system and government cashless policy can be a major catalyst for greater financial inclusion. It helps in the overall economic development of the underprivileged population and contributes to poverty reduction.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 42 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2020

Amari Mouna, Baklouti Nedra and Mouakher Khaireddine

This paper aims to explore the impact of information communication technology (ICT) use and government efficiency on the economic growth. It assesses empirically the impact of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the impact of information communication technology (ICT) use and government efficiency on the economic growth. It assesses empirically the impact of government success in ICT promotion and government efficiency to enhance economic growth and catalyzing corruption control through technology adoption.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper examines the relationship between ICT and economic growth in a large sample of 149 countries for the period 2012–2016. The empirical evidence is based on the generalized method of moments.

Findings

There is a significant relationship between e-government development, ICT development and institutional quality, and not ICT development and corruption. The empirical results show that a negative value of the interaction suggests that the impact of corruption on economic growth is smaller for countries with a higher level of technology adoption.

Practical implications

The differences in e-government success across countries in the world are influenced by the digital divide due to income and corruption control level.

Originality/value

The efficiency of technology adoption and promotion will ensure stronger effects of corruption control on economic growth. Relevant practical implications derive from the research that can guide public policy in the area of e-government.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 14 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 August 2021

Mouna Amari, Khaireddine Mouakhar and Anis Jarboui

This paper aims to study the relationship between information and communication technology (ICT) readiness, use, and intensity and environmental sustainability factors in the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to study the relationship between information and communication technology (ICT) readiness, use, and intensity and environmental sustainability factors in the lower and middle lower-income countries from 2012 to 2018.

Design/methodology/approach

ICT readiness, use and intensity are measured with the impact of ICT on access to basic services, phone penetration and Internet penetration, while CO2 emissions per capita, fossil fuel energy consumption and methane emissions are used as indicators for air pollution. To achieve this goal, a two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation was performed which thresholds are computed contingent on the validity of tested hypotheses.

Findings

The results demonstrate that increasing ICT readiness, use and intensity in lower and lower-middle-income countries enhance environmental sustainability by decreasing CO2 emissions and energy consumption.

Research limitations/implications

One of the limitations of this study is that the conclusions and policy recommendations do not take into account the specificities of each country. Indeed there are some differences in the growth pattern of ICT in the lower and middle-lower-income countries. Taken together, the authors conclude that increasing ICT has a positive net effect on CO2 and methane emissions per capita, while increasing the impact of ICT access in basic services has a net negative effect on CO2 fossil fuel energy consumption and methane emissions.

Practical implications

The world needs immediate emissions reduction to avoid the long-term danger of climate change. Second, government authorities should give additional efforts in the more pollutant sector such as transport and industry to monitor their energy consumption.

Originality/value

To explore this issue further, the negative net effects suggest that ICT needs to be further developed beyond the determined thresholds, to attain the required negative net effect on fossil fuel energy consumption.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Amari Mouna and Anis Jarboui

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the lack of financial literacy as one probable factor explaining the low levels of portfolio diversification. The authors consider…

2648

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the lack of financial literacy as one probable factor explaining the low levels of portfolio diversification. The authors consider distinct aspects of financial literacy and control for socioeconomic and behavioral differences among individual groups of investors.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed models in this paper use multivariate analysis to examine the relationship between financial literacy and portfolio diversification. Investors’ biases have been measured by means of a questionnaire comprising several items, including indicators of investors’ portfolio fragmentation, financial literacy and socio economic variables. The sample consists of 256 small investors actively trading on the Tunisian stock market.

Findings

The results suggest that investors’ experience, financial literacy level, age, their use of the availability heuristic, familiarity bias and portfolio size, have a significant impact on the diversity of assets included their portfolios.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of the empirical study is the small size of the sample. A larger sample would have given more reliable results and could have enabled a wider range of analyzes.

Practical implications

The paper encourages investors to make their investments decisions based on their financial capability and experience levels and to avoid relying on their sentiment.

Social implications

The paper encourages governmental organizations to establish training programmes aimed to develop the individual investor’s financial literacy level.

Originality/value

The current study is the first of its kind focusing on the link between financial literacy and portfolio diversification, within the specific context of Tunisia.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 33 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 November 2023

Aysa Siddika and Abdullah Sarwar

This study aims to investigate the factors contributing to the low adoption rate of mobile money services (MMS) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region compared to other…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the factors contributing to the low adoption rate of mobile money services (MMS) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region compared to other regions. The study focussed on socio-demographic factors and macro-level determinants in several selected MENA and Sub-Saharan African (SSA) regions where MMS have been successful.

Design/methodology/approach

This study analysed 23 countries across MENA and SSA to establish the correlation between socio and macroeconomic factors and MMS adoption using a quantitative approach. The analysis used the generalized least square (GLS) method.

Findings

The study revealed that gender and income are factors that positively influence the adoption of MMS in MENA and SSA regions. Additionally, the study found that the affordability index, which measures macroeconomic indicators, correlates with MMS adoption in both regions but in an inversed way. On the other hand, political stability appears to have a positive correlation with MMS adoption in the MENA region. The correlation between the regulatory index and MMS adoption positively impacts the entire study group, although it is insignificant in the SSA region.

Research limitations/implications

Future studies should assess market competition among MMS providers and the psychological aspect of user adoption behaviour. Additionally, conducting a focus group discussion with stakeholders in the MMS industry can assist in uncovering potential factors contributing to low MMS adoption in the MENA region.

Originality/value

This study contributes to understanding the role of the socio-demographic and macroeconomic determinants in promoting digital transformation through adopting MMS.

Details

Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5038

Keywords

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