Financial literacy in Israel: the impact of sector and region on financial literacy

Abstract

This study analysed the impact of the sector (being Jewish or Arab) and the region on financial literacy in Israel. First, the goal was to map the factors affecting financial literacy in Israel. Using data from the “Financial Literacy Survey in Israel”, some of the variables that affect financial literacy in Israel were identified; Gender, occupation, education, number of household dependents, age, sector and region. After mapping the factors affecting financial literacy in Israel, it was found that the effect on financial literacy of each of the variables region and sector, was not significant. It was proposed to examine whether the combination of both has a greater impact on financial literacy in Israel. A financial literacy index, based on the number of correct responses to six multiple choice questions, was used to research the relevance and impact of the sector and the region on financial literacy. Sector was found to mediate the effect of region on financial literacy and region had a similar effect in mediating between the sector and financial literacy in Israel. The results indicated significant differences, and the interaction between the two independent variables, Sector – Region, made their impact on financial literacy unambiguously significant.