The The Impact of Tertiary Educators’ Financial Literacy on Saving Behaviour in Zimbabwe and the Moderating Effects of Demographic Factors

Abstract

Financial literacy is a major issue of concern as it affects both businesses and individuals globally. Being highly literate has been seen to have considerable effect on the management of interest rates on loans, retirement savings, poverty levels, massive debts, and risk management.  Financial illiteracy impedes economic growth, financial system stability, and income streams at a  macro level The study investigated the impact of tertiary educators’ financial literacy on saving behaviour and the moderating effects of demographic factors (age, gender, level of education, subject taught, and length of service) using Mashonaland Central Province as a case study. The research objectives were to measure the level of financial literacy of educators, to determine factors influencing the financial literacy of educators, to determine the saving behaviour of educators and to recommend strategies which enhance the financial literacy of educators. The study adopted a positivism philosophy and an explanatory research design. The target population was made up of educators from the universities and colleges in Mashonaland Central. A sample of 384 educators was drawn using random sampling based on Blacks (2005) sample size formula. Questionnaires were used to collect data and descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used to analyse the responses. The study found that educators’ knowledge of financial instruments and computation capabilities had a significant effect on saving behaviour. All demographic factors were found to have no significant impact on the educators’ saving behaviours. The study recommends that educators should be trained on financial literacy, that the ministry of higher and tertiary education should provide a room for further improvement of financial literacy of educators. Areas of further studies include studying the feasibility of introducing financial literacy in elementary school and the effect of financial educators’ literacy on financial inclusion.