OECD/CVM CENTRE ON FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND LITERACY IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE

CARIBBEAN

SECOND REGIONAL SEMINAR

ON FINANCIAL EDUCATION TRENDS IN THE LAC REGION

11-12 DECEMBER 2017

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

The impact of culture in financial literacy and behaviors

Political culture and public policies

Dr. Henrique Carlos de O. de Castro Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul

World Values Survey – Brazil henrique@ufrgs.br

Objectives •Political culture concept •Political culture framework to better plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate public policies

•Some examples (WVS included) •Political culture research in order to change financial behavior and corruption-related values

Political culture: how people see politics

•People discuss politics all the time • Politics, soccer, and religion…

•People understand politics as part of their life • People translate politics into their values

•So, understanding politics means understanding what people think about it • That’s what political culture research does!

Institutions and culture are related

Political culture and public policies •Political culture: how people understand politics • Institutions and culture are related (that’s society!)

• If related, they influence each other • If so, policies that consider people’s values are more likely to succeed

So… •Better understanding of how people see politics => Better understanding of how to plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate public policies

•Is that simple! •Why don’t we do this?

• We probably believe too much in ourselves (so, why science?)!!!!

Is it possible to do? Yes, we can •Brazil: evaluation of several national public policies (Bolsa Escola, ProJovem, MDG, PrInt - CAPES…)

•Bolivia: research of children and teenager’s attitudes and values (WVS and UNESCO)

•World: WVS and SDG •Why not financial education worldwide?

The World Values Survey Research •Values and beliefs, their stability or change over time and their impact on social and political development of the societies in different countries of the world (more than 300 variables)

•Global network of social scientists •National surveys in over 100 countries (almost 90% of the world’s population)

Countries covered by WVS (so far)

Important child qualities: thrift saving money and things

Corruption-financial values world map

Political culture and social values •Culture changes over generations •BUT it is possible to change values and behaviors with precise policies on the short run

•The more accurate the diagnosis, the more precise the policies (tailored treatment)

•Why don’t we use the scientific knowledge we already have?

The impact of culture in financial literacy and behaviors

Political culture and public policies

Dr. Henrique Carlos de O. de Castro Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul

World Values Survey – Brazil henrique@ufrgs.br