TY - JOUR
T1 - Improving financial literacy of the poor and vulnerable in Indonesia
T2 - An empirical analysis
AU - Lopus, Jane S.
AU - Amidjono, Dwi Sulistyorini
AU - Grimes, Paul W.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States government.☆ This research is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States government. Thanks to Nidya Saraswati for excellent data oversight and assistance and to John Brock, Steve Cobb, Rolly Damayanti, Nick Kennedy and the rest of the YEP team for support. Thanks to Brooke Conaway and others at the 2019 Allied Social Sciences Association meetings for helpful comments. Special appreciation is extended to two anonymous referees for their insightful suggestions that improved our work as presented here.☆ This research is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States government.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Authors
PY - 2019/9/1
Y1 - 2019/9/1
N2 - We describe and report the results of an 18-month long training of trainers program in financial literacy and soft skills designed to improve employability of poor and vulnerable Indonesian youth. The program was part of an Inclusive Workforce Development project sponsored by USAID/Indonesia. Twenty-five teachers received training in December 2017 and subsequently conducted 30 trainings for 601 students in West Java from January through May 2018. The training consisted of 18 sessions covering basics of financial literacy and employment–related soft skills. Both participating trainers and students showed statistically significant increases in financial literacy knowledge, and student perceptions about their acquisition of soft skills improved as well. Increases in student financial literacy knowledge were found to relate to prior knowledge, job experience, the type of school they attend, the perceived acquisition of soft skills, and the intention to incorporate the training into their daily lives. Given that the economic education literature links financial literacy to improved worker productivity, decreased absenteeism, and entrepreneurial success, these findings are encouraging for both the students involved and for their employers in Indonesia.
AB - We describe and report the results of an 18-month long training of trainers program in financial literacy and soft skills designed to improve employability of poor and vulnerable Indonesian youth. The program was part of an Inclusive Workforce Development project sponsored by USAID/Indonesia. Twenty-five teachers received training in December 2017 and subsequently conducted 30 trainings for 601 students in West Java from January through May 2018. The training consisted of 18 sessions covering basics of financial literacy and employment–related soft skills. Both participating trainers and students showed statistically significant increases in financial literacy knowledge, and student perceptions about their acquisition of soft skills improved as well. Increases in student financial literacy knowledge were found to relate to prior knowledge, job experience, the type of school they attend, the perceived acquisition of soft skills, and the intention to incorporate the training into their daily lives. Given that the economic education literature links financial literacy to improved worker productivity, decreased absenteeism, and entrepreneurial success, these findings are encouraging for both the students involved and for their employers in Indonesia.
KW - Economics education
KW - Financial literacy
KW - Poor and vulnerable youth
KW - Soft skills
KW - Training of trainers
KW - Vocational education
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85069713832&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.iree.2019.100168
DO - 10.1016/j.iree.2019.100168
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85069713832
SN - 1477-3880
VL - 32
JO - International Review of Economics Education
JF - International Review of Economics Education
M1 - 100168
ER -