IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/exp/finnce/v7y2019i1p8-21.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Investigation into Savings Behaviour of Households in Midrand, Johannesburg

Author

Listed:
  • Moloko Stephen MAKGELE

    (MANCOSA Graduate School of Business, South Africa)

  • Peter CHIKWEKWETE

    (MANCOSA Graduate School of Business, South Africa)

Abstract

Saving is a crucial component for the economic health of a country and can act as a shield for international capital movements. Low savings behaviour of households in South Africa and in particular that of Midrand, is of great concern. High levels of unemployment, financial illiteracy and debt, contribute negatively to the level of savings. This research study investigates the savings behaviour of households in the Midrand using quantitative methods from data collected from 191 households which participated in the study. The results revealed that many households in Midrand are not financially literate and have a poor savings culture. The inability to budget and lack of financial planning are some of the factors that hinder households from saving. The study shows that households in Midrand are aware of the importance of saving, despite not saving enough. These households earn higher than the average household in South Africa and are more educated. Poor saving behaviour is a result of financial illiteracy. The study recommends that financial education should be part of the curriculum at schools; programmes by both the private and government sectors should be put in place to educate their employees; withdrawal from pension funds should be strictly monitored; parents should encourage their children to start saving from an early age; tax rebates could be a tool to improve savings, and a compulsory saving platform should be introduced to all people earning an income.

Suggested Citation

  • Moloko Stephen MAKGELE & Peter CHIKWEKWETE, 2019. "An Investigation into Savings Behaviour of Households in Midrand, Johannesburg," Expert Journal of Finance, Sprint Investify, vol. 7(1), pages 8-21.
    • Handle: RePEc:exp:finnce:v:7:y:2019:i:1:p:8-21
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://finance.expertjournals.com/ark:/16759/EJF_702makgele8-21.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://finance.expertjournals.com/23597712-702
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Milton Friedman, 1957. "Introduction to "A Theory of the Consumption Function"," NBER Chapters, in: A Theory of the Consumption Function, pages 1-6, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Modigliani, Franco, 1986. "Life Cycle, Individual Thrift, and the Wealth of Nations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(3), pages 297-313, June.
    3. Abu Nurudeen & Karim Mohd Zaini Abd & Aziz Mukhriz Izraf Azman, 2014. "Low Savings Rates in the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas): The Role of the Political Instability-Income Interaction," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 8(2), pages 53-63, November.
    4. Milton Friedman, 1957. "A Theory of the Consumption Function," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number frie57-1.
    5. Brian Bucks & Karen M. Pence, 2006. "Do homeowners know their house values and mortgage terms?," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2006-03, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Evren Ceritoglu, 2017. "The effect of house price changes on cohort consumption in Turkey," Central Bank Review, Research and Monetary Policy Department, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, vol. 17(3), pages 1-99–110.
    2. Mario Cerrato & Christian De Peretti & Chris Stewart, 2013. "Is The Consumption–Income Ratio Stationary? Evidence From Linear And Non-Linear Panel Unit Root Tests For Oecd And Non-Oecd Countries," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 81(1), pages 102-120, January.
    3. Hettihewa, Samanthala & Saha, Shrabani & Zhang, Hanxiong, 2018. "Does an aging population influence stock markets? Evidence from New Zealand," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 142-158.
    4. Saten Kumar, 2016. "Is the US Consumer Credit Asymmetric?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 63(2), pages 194-215, May.
    5. Qazi-Muhammad Adnan Hye & Wee-Yeap Lau, 2018. "Does Financial and Trade Liberalization Drive Private Savings in Pakistan?," Asian Development Policy Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 6(4), pages 198-212, December.
    6. Evren Ceritoğlu, 2018. "Self-insurance and consumption risk-sharing between birth-year cohorts in Turkey," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 1085-1118, December.
    7. Bell, William Paul, 2005. "An evaluation of policies to reduce fiscal pressure induced by population ageing in Australia," MPRA Paper 38286, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Elisabeth Beckmann & Mariya Hake & Jarmila Urvová, 2013. "Determinants of Households’ Savings in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe," Focus on European Economic Integration, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue 3, pages 8-29.
    9. Uros Djuric & Michael Neugart, 2021. "Helicopter money: survey evidence on expectation formation and consumption behaviour," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 73(1), pages 273-294.
    10. Anthony J. Makin, 2019. "Optimal Monetary Policy in Inflation Targeting Open Economies," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 48(1), February.
    11. Alice Martini & Luca Spataro, 2022. "The contribution of Carlo Casarosa on the forerunners of the life cycle hypothesis by Franco Modigliani and Richard Brumberg," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 69(1), pages 71-101, March.
    12. Alfred Michael Dockery & Sherry Bawa, 2015. "The Impact of Children on Australian Couples’ Wealth Accumulation," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 91(S1), pages 139-150, June.
    13. Sakiru Adebola SOLARIN, 2017. "The Stationarity of Consumption-Income Ratios: Nonlinear Evidence in ASEAN Countries," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(2), pages 109-123, June.
    14. Naeem AKRAM & Muhammad Irfan AKRAM, 2015. "Savings Behaviour In Muslim And Non-Muslim Countries In Context To The Interest Rate," Pakistan Journal of Applied Economics, Applied Economics Research Centre, vol. 25(2), pages 161-177.
    15. Marek Pęczkowski & Barbara Liberda, 2011. "Does a change of occupation lead to higher earnings?," Statistics in Transition new series, Główny Urząd Statystyczny (Polska), vol. 12(1), pages 193-206, August.
    16. Luc Arrondel & André Masson & Daniel Verger, 2004. "De la théorie à une enquête méthodologique originale," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 374(1), pages 21-51.
    17. Elmi, Zahra (Mila) & Ranjbar, Omid, 2013. "Nonlinear adjustment to the mean reversion of consumption–income ratio," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 477-480.
    18. C. Simon Fan, 2006. "Do the Rich Save More? A New View Based on Intergenerational Transfers," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 73(2), pages 362-373, October.
    19. Bove Guillaume & Dees St phane & Thubin Camille, 2020. "House Prices, Mortgage Debt Dynamics and Economic Fluctuations in France: A Semi-Structural Approach," Working papers 787, Banque de France.
    20. Samuel MENG, 2018. "How to build an economy free of recession and stagnation: results from a multi-commodity macro model," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(2(615), S), pages 69-104, Summer.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • P46 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:exp:finnce:v:7:y:2019:i:1:p:8-21. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Alin Opreana The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask Alin Opreana to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://finance.expertjournals.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.