Improving Financial Literacy of the Population: A Regional Aspect

Abstract

Financial literacy affects the financial behavior of the population and, as a result, the socio-economic development of the region and the country as a whole. The purpose of preparing the article is to study the regional system for improving the financial literacy of the population, taking into account interaction with municipalities in the Sverdlovsk region. The article considered various assessments of the level of financial literacy, including the assessment of the components and subject fields of financial literacy and the self-assessment of the population’s own level of financial literacy. Socio-demographic and territorial factors were singled out as key factors influencing the formation of models of the financial behavior of the population. According to the results of the study, portraits of the inhabitants of the Sverdlovsk region were compiled according to their level of financial literacy. The authors of the article believe that a regional program to improve the financial literacy of the population should be focused on various target groups, including its activities, which should be adapted to the specifics of municipalities and take into account such socio-demographic factors as age, income level, and education level of the contingent. Such measures will meet the current needs of the population in terms of financial knowledge and skills, ensuring the maximum effectiveness of the measures taken. The authors proposed measures to improve the financial literacy of the population (formation of roadmaps for the training and advanced training of employees of regional centers of financial literacy of the population; improvement and uniformity of the methodology for assessing the population on issues of its literacy with the establishment of categories of persons; conducting sociological surveys of the population in digital mode, and others).