Financial Behaviors, Government Assistance, and Financial Satisfaction

Abstract

Using data from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS), this study examined the relationships between poor financial behaviors, receiving government assistance, and financial satisfaction while accounting for adverse financial experiences. The logistic regression results showed that both poor financial behaviors and adverse financial experiences increased the likelihood of receiving government assistance. The OLS results indicated that receiving government assistance significantly increased levels of financial satisfaction, whereas poor financial behaviors significantly decreased levels of financial satisfaction. While the magnitude of these associations for both receiving government assistance and poor financial behaviors was small, adverse financial experiences had a stronger influence on the levels of financial satisfaction. When we combined poor financial behaviors and receiving government assistance into a categorical variable, we gained additional insights into the connections between these constructs that warrants further research.

What do individuals know, feel and do from a financial perspective? An empirical study on financial satisfaction

“…Individuals who want to overcome financial obstacles should alter their problem behavior with healthy behavior like saving and investment (Ali et al, 2015). This observation is supported by (Lee et al, 2023). Therefore, the government must act to increase financial inclusion, which ultimately increases FIS.…”

“…This present study provides theoretical explanations of FIS, being the first to incorporate FA, FSE, FK, FS and DC with FB and FIS in one model through empirical testing. The existing literature demonstrates a need for more theoretical efforts to develop and test the FIS frameworks (Lee et al, 2023), particularly in India. To the researchers' knowledge, previous studies have focused on the direct link between various factors (FA, FSE, FK, FS and DC) and FIS, specifically among young adults and college students (Ali et al, 2015;Damian et al, 2020).…”

“…In the existing literature, many studies on FIS were conducted in developed nations, including the United States (Fan and Henager, 2022), Canada (Lawlor et al, 2022), etc. Within this context, Lee et al (2023) state that it is important to reassess the framework from the perspectives of emerging countries. Therefore, this article explores the factors that impact the FIS of individuals in India.…”

“…The extent of FIS is impacted through proper money management, which includes timely payments of bills, price comparisons during installment or credit purchases and financial planning (Nabila et al, 2023). Furthermore, prior research by Lee et al (2023) concluded that FB significantly influences FIS. Thus, the researchers framed the following: H6.…”

“…When a consumer is economically flexible and behaves non-impulsively, it helps attain high FIS (Tahir et al, 2022). In addition, Lee et al (2023) conclude that decreasing poor financial behavior (FB) and receiving government assistance is vital in improving FIS. Additionally, Nabila et al (2023) reported that age, income and nature of employment are additional factors that impact individuals' FIS.…”