The Impact of Financial Literacy Workshops in Rural Areas of Armenia

Abstract

Weather workshops are efficient in increasing the level of financial literacy and
impacting financial decisions of the consumers is not obvious. Many people may
claim that financial knowledge and skills drive their financial decisions and behavior. The last statement is also driving national strategies for financial education in many countries, which implement financial literacy workshops for different target groups. Similar projects are also planned to be held according to the National Strategy for Financial Education in Armenia especially for rural areas. However, considering the country specific details and historical context it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of such workshops before mass implementation.

In this article, we outline the methodology of our study related to the effectiveness of financial literacy workshops in rural areas of Armenia by using pre-post evaluation method in 4 villages. We also discuss the experience and limitations faced in the process of conducting workshops. Even though the long-term effectiveness of such workshops in terms of driving healthy financial behavior still needs to be tested, the short-term results are substantial in terms of knowledge accumulation and changes in preferences of participants. Particularly, based on pre-post evaluation results, there is on average 63% increase in knowledge and skills of participants and significant change of preferences from informal to formal ways of saving, taking debt and shopping around.