Browsing by Author "Ndaba, Njabulo Smangaliso"

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    Investigating the Relationship between Financial Inclusion and Financial Health in South Africa
    (University of the Western Cape, 2021) Ndaba, Njabulo Smangaliso; Sheefeni, Johannes P S
    South Africa is ranked, by any measure, among the most unequal countries in the world. Despite having a relatively well-developed financial system, historic patterns of economic concentration continue to feed into the pattern of unequal and combined development (Kabakova & Plaksenkov, 2018). With record low saving rates and poor long-term financial planning, Financial Health (FH) has become an important issue for individuals and households. Individuals throughout the world endeavour to better their financial lives. They allocate funds to nondiscretionary expenses, save, take out loans and plan, etc., working towards growing their assets and growing their resources, in their quest for good FH. This study examined the relationship between FI and FH in South Africa, as well as whether and how individuals benefit from their relationship to the financial system. The study used a nationally representative demand-side survey, FinScope South Africa, for the periods 2011 and 2016. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to derive a Financial Inclusion Index (FII) and a Financial Health Index (FHI) to measure the range of FI and FH in South Africa. Probit regressions were run to measure the likelihood of being financially included and having good FH. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) were run to identify the sort of the relationship between the dependant and independent variables. Lastly, bivariate regressions were run to test the relationship between FI and FH.