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Understanding How Youth Spend Their Time and Money: Lessons from Useful Research Tools

This presentation discusses the Freedom from Hunger Initiative's financial diaries data analysis activity, which provides insights into the spending and saving habits of youth in Mali. It explores the benefits of financial diaries as a research method and presents key findings on savings, financial knowledge, and attitudes among youth.

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Understanding How Youth Spend Their Time and Money: Lessons from Useful Research Tools

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  1. Understanding How Youth Spend Their Time and Money: Lessons from Useful Research Tools Megan Gash of Freedom from Hunger

  2. Agenda Financial Diaries Data analysis activity Sample data from savings groups in Mali

  3. Introduction • Freedom from Hunger Initiative • Advancing Integrated Microfinance for Youth (AIM Youth) • Provide 37,000 young people (22,000 in Mali and 15,000 in Ecuador) with financial services integrated with youth learner-centered financial education • Youth are ages 13-24 years • Mali – NGOs: savings group program; MFIs: group savings accounts. • Ecuador - cooperatives and credit unions: individual savings accounts.

  4. What are financial diaries? • Frequent surveys on financial topics • How differ from other research methods? • More accurate because learn the “real story” • More detail about lives of youth • Strengths: can identify seasons of low and high income, cash flow, when would need more loans, how use different financial services, fluctuations in migration

  5. Financial Diaries in the Youth Context • Human subjects protection protocol: university, national statistics office; parental and youth consent • Budget; frequency • Youth like speaking to youth (enumerators); building trust • Incentives to participate: small gifts relevant to youth (300 FCFA value: soap, tea, sugar, trinkets), • Availability: nights and weekends; call day before to confirm • Replacements for migration • Hawthorne effect: learn about money management • Attitude questions work well

  6. Study Design • Study design • 72 respondents: 36 treatment, 36 control (matching demographics) • 2 areas; 3 villages per area; 6 respondents per village (18 per area) • Purposeful yet random selection; represent geography, age, gender • Survey design: • Surveys filled with data from last survey; use same enumerators • Every 3 weeks for 3 months; then once a month • Data analysis: • Systematization, periodic receipt • Analyst

  7. Lessons Learned • Labor intensive • Cut costs: less frequent surveys, smaller sample • Flexibility, gifts are important to parents • Follow migrating youth? • Control villages could learn about intervention • Same enumerators, ICT data collection if possible • Check data early and often • Consider qualitative follow-up: extra insight, case studies

  8. Data Analysis Activity

  9. Data Analysis Activity • Instructions: • Form groups of 2-3 people • Review data tables on handout and discuss the following questions (10 minutes total): • How do the outcomes change over time? • What is helpful about knowing how the data changes over time? • Plenary discussion of conclusions (5 mins)

  10. Key Results • Results for July 2011 – January 2012 • Mixture of descriptive and impact analysis • Preliminary analysis; some questions unanswered

  11. Key Results: Demographics • Savings Group Participant Outcomes (treatment) • 84% are 13-17 years old; 16% are 18-24 • 86% unmarried; 55% in school • Food Security and Poverty Level Outcomes:

  12. Savings: Location Where savings group members are saving money: Savings group Livestock 3. With guardian at home “If you had the choice, where would you prefer to save your money?” July: 1) bank, 2) with a guardian, 3) savings group January: 1) savings group, 2) bank, 3) with a guardian

  13. Savings: Amount Savings group participants are saving more & building more assets than control group

  14. Financial Knowledge Improvements in knowledge: identifying safe places to save money identifying strategies to protect long-term strategies differentiating between good and bad borrowing decisions

  15. Financial Attitudes Improvements across all of these 6 indicators… …no improvements: paying unexpected expenses, speaking up at home

  16. Summary of Findings: Mali • Youth earn significant amounts of their own money • Youth are using several tools for saving • Youth need access to loans: risk management; support for family • Youth savings groups have been able to increase savings for youth in rural and remote areas • Several positive knowledge & attitude changes!

  17. Questions?

  18. Thank you!

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