Prices or knowledge?
Subtitle: what drives demand for financial services in emerging markets ?
By: Shawn Cole, Thomas Sampson, Bilal Zia
Contributors: Sampson, Thomas Andrew; Zia, Bilal Husnain, 1977-; Harvard Business School
Edition: 2nd rev.
Series: Working paper / Harvard Business School -- 09-117; Working paper (Harvard Business School) -- 09-117.
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Published: 2009
Place of publication: [Boston]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 32
Description: Financial development is critical for growth, but its micro-determinants are not well understood. We test leading theories of low demand for financial services in emerging markets, combining novel survey evidence from Indonesia and India with a field experiment. We find a strong correlation between financial literacy and behavior. However, a financial education program has modest effects, increasing demand for bank accounts only for those with low levels of education or financial literacy. In contrast, small subsidies greatly increase demand. A follow-up survey confirms these findings, demonstrating the newly opened accounts remain open and in use two years after the intervention.
Notes: "April 2009, revised October 2009, September 2010"--Publisher's website.

"May 2010"--added t.p.

Previously published as: Financial literacy, financial decisions, and the demand for financial services--evidence from India and Indonesia.

Includes bibliographical references.