Financial literacy as a determinant of financial inclusion in Tanzania
Date
2022
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Abstract
Financial inclusion is considered to be an effective tool to reduce access and usage barriers in the banking sector. Despite its effectiveness, its benefits have not been fully realized by Tanzanians due to both supply and demand side limiting factors. Tanzania records a high level of financial exclusion in the banking sub-sector because 83 per cent of her adult population is un-banked. The high level of exclusion in banking though poses challenges to Tanzanians it is also a global concern and for that it continues to attract more research for effective interventions, (Demirgüç-Kunt, Klapper, Singer, Ansar, & Hess, 2018).
The empirical literature on financial inclusion suggests that financial exclusion in the banking sector is explained by various demand-side factors, including the high level of financial illiteracy in societies, (Chikalipah, 2017). In the context of Tanzania, information regarding the role of financial literacy in influencing financial inclusion in the banking sector is limited.
In addition, the moderating effect of demographic variables on the ability of financial literacy to influence financial inclusion remains to be unknown and hence the need for this research. In efforts to address this gap, this study uses the theories of Planned Behaviour (TPB), (Ajzen, 1991) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM),(Davis, 1989; Venkatesh & Davis, 2000) to develop a measurement model for financial literacy and digital financial literacy as constructs hypothesized to influence individual’s financial inclusion.
Following a positivist and quantitative research approach, this study employs the Structural Equation Modelling technique by using Smart Partial Least Square 3, software to examine the causal relationship between financial literacy and digital financial literacy with financial inclusion. Data for the study were collected through a cross-sectional survey conducted on a sample of 440 respondents from eight districts in Tanzania.
Description
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Business Management to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022
Keywords
Financial inclusion, Financial literacy, Tanzania, UCTD