Financial literacy exchange and its challenges in Post-Soviet Georgia

Abstract

Financial literacy is becoming an urgent challenge in many countries. This situation is more acute in a developing country with a Soviet experience. The affected population, who are in advanced positions in the international financial machinations of the current period, is unmistakable proof of the low level of financial awareness in Georgia. The present study aims to determine the impact of student financial literacy on consumer behavior in Georgia as a Post-Soviet country. The study uses statistical methods, both probabilistic and non-probabilistic sampling. The paper reviews foreign experience and is a similar study conducted in Asia and Europe. The number of interviewed respondents was 295 students from the Imereti region (there are two universities in the region), which is 35% of the total number of students. The questionnaire consisted of 21 questions. The respondents were interviewed from October to mid-December 2021. The study has shown that financial awareness is relatively low; students do not perceive that they need to raise their financial education and skills, which makes the current situation even more dramatic. Among the positive trends was that 81% of students were ready to raise their level of financial education. The reason is that the Georgian educational system needs to be reformed to raise financial awareness by studying the essence of elementary money and the simplest budget planning models. The study results showed that in conditions of low financial awareness, students cannot plan the budget, control, and use financial services effectively and efficiently.