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Does lasting behavior change require knowledge change? Evidence from savings interventions for young adults

Author

Listed:
  • Samantha Horn

    (Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University)

  • Julian C. Jamison

    (Department of Economics, University of Exeter)

  • Dean Karlan

    (Kellog School of Management, Northwestern University)

  • Jonathan Zinman

    (Department of Economics, Dartmouth College)

Abstract

Is financial knowledge change necessary for lasting behavior change? Or, akin to Friedman's billiard player, can behavior persist "as if" such knowledge is held? We randomize 240 Ugandan young-adult clubs to financial education, savings account access, both, or neither. Each education arm, but not the account-only arm, increases members' financial knowledge and trust at one-year. At five-years, knowledge effects essentially disappear and trust effects weaken. However, savings, wealth and income increase for each treatment at both one and five years, suggesting multiple viable paths to statistically indistinguishable average outcomes and that textbook knowledge change is unnecessary for lasting impacts.

Suggested Citation

  • Samantha Horn & Julian C. Jamison & Dean Karlan & Jonathan Zinman, 2021. "Does lasting behavior change require knowledge change? Evidence from savings interventions for young adults," Discussion Papers 2102, University of Exeter, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:exe:wpaper:2102
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Catia Batista & Sandra Sequeira & Pedro C. Vicente, 2022. "Closing the Gender Profit Gap?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(12), pages 8553-8567, December.
    2. Kaiser, Tim & Menkhoff, Lukas, 2022. "Active learning improves financial education: Experimental evidence from Uganda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    3. Seth Garz & Xavier Gine & Dean Karlan & Rafe Mazer & Caitlin Sanford & Jonathan Zinman, 2021. "Consumer Protection for Financial Inclusion in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Bridging Regulator and Academic Perspectives," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 13(1), pages 219-246, November.
    4. Kaiser, Tim & Oberrauch, Luis, 2021. "Economic education at the expense of indoctrination? Evidence from Germany," EconStor Preprints 245801, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    5. Antonia Grohmann & Lukas Menkhoff, 2020. "The Relationship between Financial Literacy and Financial Inclusion," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1914, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    6. J. Michael Collins & Madelaine L’Esperance, 2023. "What do students gain from banks in schools? A field study," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 567-590, June.
    7. Harvey, Melody & Urban, Carly, 2023. "Does financial education affect retirement savings?," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    financial education; financial literacy; financial access; savings;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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