Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion

We show that television may be able to deliver rudimentary financial literacy in a cost effective manner. In a controlled experiment, Cambodian garment factory workers were randomly allocated into one of three treatments: no video (baseline), slideshow, and comedy TV show. After the intervention the participants were requested to answer a set of questions on financial knowledge and attitudes to examine whether individuals were able to internalize the information that was provided. Our results show that participants randomly assigned to the comedy show are significantly more likely to report that they are interested in obtaining more information on savings account and are also significantly more likely to open a savings account in the next 6 months. This method of delivery may prove effective particularly for disadvantaged sections of the population.