Confianza, redes sociales y hábitos financieros: Un estudio empírico

In this document we present the first results of a survey, as part of an empirical study conducted with the objetive of analyzing the relationship between individuals´ levels of confidence on institutions and people with whom they interact, the composition of their social networks and how they use them, and access and use of financial instruments. We surveyed the members of an academic community CIDE, located in Mexico City. From our results, we can infer that, apart from the usual economic variables, the individuals´ levels of confidence on the institutions or people with whom they conduct financial transactions are relevant for their use of both formal and informal financial instruments. In line with the network and financial development literature, our results also predict that the use of and access to formal financial instruments could be related to the open and heterogeneous structure of social networks the individuals resort to in front of financial needs and personal emergencies. Individuals who show greater financial sophistication also have greater social networks. It should be highlighted that, under no circumstance, lack of understanding was relevant for explaining the individuals´ use of financial instruments.