Evaluating the effects of sociodemographic characteristics and financial education on saving behavior

Purpose The objective of this study is to explore the effects of financial literacy level and risk aversion on the saving behavior. The literature review showed dialectical results. Therefore, this study attempts to clarify the debatable of these results by studying the mediating effect of risk aversion on the relationships between demographics determinants and saving behavior moderated by the effect of the financial literacy level. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from the University of Normandy; the study sample included 516 respondents representing different segments of French households. The structural equation analysis was utilized to control the impact of financial literacy as a moderate variable and the risk aversion as a mediator variable among the link between sociodemographic factors and saving behavior. Findings The results demonstrated that there were significant effects of demographics factors on risk aversion. Moreover, financial literacy moderates the relationships between risk aversion and saving behavior. Research limitations/implications The major limitation of this research is the small size of the study sample. This paper is restricted to French households. Future financial education training should cover the European context. Practical implications This study provides further evidence that financial literacy should be considered an important factor for improving household well-being. The paper encourages governments and financial institutions to create a national financial education program. Originality/value This paper is the first attempt to employ a sample of low-income households after financial education training in the French context.