LOWER FINANCIAL LITERACY INDUCES USE OF INFORMAL LOANS

Finance literature documents associations between a family's financial literacy and its propensity to borrow. However, most studies focus exclusively on formal loan markets. Based on 2,023 observations about financial behavior of Brazilian families, we examined the impacts of financial literacy...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Santos, Danilo Braun [UNIFESP], Mendes-Da-Silva, Wesley, Gonzalez, Lauro
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)
Repositorio:Repositório Institucional da UNIFESP
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.unifesp.br:11600/53770
Acceso en línea:http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-759020180104
https://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/53770
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Loan
informal loan
financial literacy
capitalization bond
behavioral finance
Descripción
Sumario:Finance literature documents associations between a family's financial literacy and its propensity to borrow. However, most studies focus exclusively on formal loan markets. Based on 2,023 observations about financial behavior of Brazilian families, we examined the impacts of financial literacy on informal borrowing, such as loans from friends or moneylenders. Using multinomial logit models, we compared financial literacy's effects on the propensity to take informal loans between families that did not borrow at all and those who took bank loans. Financial literacy is measured by the investment in capitalization bonds, a financial instrument in the Brazilian market. The results suggest that financial literacy's relevance to informal loans may exceed that for formal credit channels.