Financial literacy—the ability to understand and effectively use financial knowledge and tools—has become increasingly recognized as a key driver of individual wellbeing and national economic stability. A growing body of international literature demonstrates that individuals with higher levels of financial literacy are more likely to:
- Plan for retirement (Lusardi & Mitchell, 2011)
- Accumulate savings and wealth (Beckmann, 2013)
- Avoid over-indebtedness (Lusardi & Tufano, 2015)
- Participate in formal financial systems and capital markets (Van Rooij et al., 2011)
- Make better health-related financial decisions (Oldach & Katz, 2014)
- Invest in education, children’s welfare, and renewable energy solutions (Blasch et al., 2021)
Despite these benefits, financial literacy remains relatively low in many developing countries, including Uzbekistan, especially among youth, rural populations, women, and people with disabilities. Addressing this gap is essential for promoting equitable development, reducing poverty, and improving long-term financial resilience.
This project responds to the urgent need to both understand the factors influencing financial literacy in the country and to rigorously assess its broader socioeconomic impacts through data-driven analysis and experimental interventions.
Project Description
This multi-year research project is designed to generate original evidence on the drivers and effects of financial literacy in Uzbekistan, with the goal of informing policy, education, and development programming.
Strand 1: Determinants of Financial Literacy
The first research strand focuses on identifying the socio-demographic, psychological, educational, and contextual predictors of financial literacy across diverse population groups. Separate studies will be conducted for:
- Youth
- Rural populations
- People with disabilities
- Gender groups (to explore financial literacy disparities)
Using both online and offline survey instruments, the project will collect comprehensive data on financial knowledge, numeracy, attitudes, and behaviors. Multivariate regression and machine learning models will be used to identify key predictors of financial literacy.
Strand 2: Effects of Financial Literacy
The second research strand will examine the impact of financial literacy on a wide array of individual outcomes, including:
- Financial wellbeing and household resilience
- Retirement planning and savings behavior
- Stock market and fintech participation
- Entrepreneurship intentions and access to finance
- Health-related financial behaviors and investments
- Renewable energy adoption and sustainable consumption
- Long-term planning and economic mobility
These relationships will be explored using econometric models, mediation analysis, and robustness tests to capture both direct and indirect effects.
Experimental Interventions (RCTs)
To strengthen causal inference, the project will implement two randomized controlled trials:
- Youth Financial Literacy RCT: Testing the impact of structured financial education on youth financial capability, aspirations, and behavior.
- Rural Financial Literacy RCT: Evaluating a community-based financial literacy training program for rural adults and its effect on financial access and decision-making.
RCTs will use baseline and endline surveys, along with treatment-control comparison designs, to measure program effectiveness.
3. Expected Outcomes
- Peer-reviewed publications based on robust empirical and experimental evidence
- Policy briefs and toolkits for government agencies and development partners
- Capacity-building workshops for local researchers, educators, and CSOs
- Practical recommendations for scaling financial literacy education
- Development of publicly accessible, anonymized survey datasets
References
Beckmann, E. (2013). Financial literacy and household savings in Romania. Numeracy, 6(2), 9.
Blasch, J., Boogen, N., Daminato, C., & Filippini, M. (2021). Empower the consumer! Energy-related financial literacy and its implications for economic decision making. Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, 10(2), 149-181.
Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O. S. (2011). Financial literacy and retirement planning in the United States. Journal of pension economics & finance, 10(4), 509-525.
Lusardi, A., & Tufano, P. (2015). Debt literacy, financial experiences, and overindebtedness. Journal of pension economics & finance, 14(4), 332-368.
Oldach, B. R., & Katz, M. L. (2014). Health literacy and cancer screening: a systematic review. Patient education and counseling, 94(2), 149-157.
Van Rooij, M., Lusardi, A., & Alessie, R. (2011). Financial literacy and stock market participation. Journal of Financial economics, 101(2), 449-472.
