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Financial Investments, Information Flows, and Caste Affiliation - Empirical Evidence from India

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  • Werner Boente

    (Schumpeter School of Business and Economics University of Wuppertal)

  • Ute Filipiak

    (Schumpeter School of Business and Economics University of Wuppertal)

Abstract

This paper empirically investigates the relevance of social interaction and caste affiliation for individual awareness of financial instruments and investment behavior in India. The results of our empirical analysis, which is based on a large scale survey on saving patterns of Indians, suggest a positive relationship between financial knowledge and social interaction. However, especially backward caste people living in regions with a large fraction of backward castes have a lower probability of being aware of various financial instruments. In contrast, we find only weak empirical evidence for a direct effect of caste affiliation and social interaction on investment behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Werner Boente & Ute Filipiak, 2011. "Financial Investments, Information Flows, and Caste Affiliation - Empirical Evidence from India," Schumpeter Discussion Papers sdp11014, Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:bwu:schdps:sdp11014
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    Cited by:

    1. Werner Bonte & Ute Filipiak & Sandro Lombardo, 2017. "Get in with a Foreigner: Consumer Trust in Domestic and Foreign Banks," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(6), pages 38-51, June.
    2. Kwee Kim Peong, 2019. "Determinants of Personal Financial Literacy among Young Adults in Malaysian Accounting Firms," GATR Journals gjbssr524, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
    3. H. Kent Baker & Sweta Tomar & Satish Kumar & Deepak Verma, 2021. "Are Indian professional women financially literate and prepared for retirement?," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 1416-1441, December.
    4. Filipiak, Ute, 2016. "Trusting financial institutions: Out of reach, out of trust?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 200-214.
    5. Eleonora Patacchini & Edoardo Rainone, 2017. "Social Ties and the Demand for Financial Services," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 35-88, October.
    6. Bartkevičiūtė Gintarė & Gaigalienė Asta & Legenzova Renata, 2018. "The Assessment of Determinants of Credit Services’ Choices among Students," Management of Organizations: Systematic Research, Sciendo, vol. 79(1), pages 7-23, June.
    7. Rashmi Baura & Renuka Sane, 2014. "Repayment in microfinance: The Role of financial literacy and caste," Discussion Papers 14-06, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi.
    8. Ute Filipiak, 2013. "Trusting Financial Institutions: Out of Reach, out of Trust?," Schumpeter Discussion Papers sdp13002, Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library.
    9. Lin, Chaonan & Hsiao, Yu-Jen & Yeh, Cheng-Yung, 2017. "Financial literacy, financial advisors, and information sources on demand for life insurance," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 218-237.
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    11. Tanmoyee Banerjee & Malabika Roy, 2020. "Financial Literacy: An Intra-Household Case Study from West Bengal, India," Studies in Microeconomics, , vol. 8(2), pages 170-193, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial Literacy; Social Interaction; Social Networks; Indian Caste System;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • R2 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

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