Financial Inclusion and Financial Education - An Effective Tool for Poverty Reduction (Georgia's example)

Abstract

Poverty is one of the main challenges of the contemporary world. The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the already slow pace of poverty reduction around the world. Some countries have managed to avoid the further growth of poverty, while others failed to overcome the problem. The troubles caused by the pandemic were also added to those caused by Russia-Ukraine war. If this trend continues, millions of people will still live in poverty in the future. The governments of almost all the countries, including Georgia, are actively taking various steps to reduce poverty, inter alia, largely by strengthening financial inclusion and financial education. Lack of financial inclusion is a challenge for low- and middle-income countries, which leaves millions without access to formal financial services. Another important barrier to overcoming poverty is the lack of financial education, one of the most important life skills for everyone. Without understanding basic financial concepts, it is quite difficult to make correct decision. Differences in financial education may affect wealth, inequality and poverty. The presented paper studies the impact of financial education and inclusion on poverty in Georgia based on the processing and analysis of secondary data, academic works, and reports of various international and local organizations.

Keywords

• financial literacy
• financial education
• financial inclusion
• economic growth
• sustainability
• and poverty reduction.

Finansal İçerme ve Finansal Eğitim - Yoksulluğun Azaltılmasında Etkili Bir Araç (Gürcistan Örneği)

Öz

Yoksulluk, günümüz dünyasının temel sorunlarından biridir. Bu bağlamda Covid-19 salgını, dünya çapında yoksulluğun azaltılmasında zaten yavaş olan ilerlemeyi daha da kötüleştirdi. Bazı ülkeler yoksulluğun daha da büyümesini önlemeyi başarırken, diğerleri sorunun üstesinden gelemedi. Bu süreçte pandeminin yol açtığı problemlere Rusya-Ukrayna savaşının meydana getirdiği meseleler de eklendi. Bu eğilimin devam etmesi, milyonlarca insanın gelecekte de yoksulluk içinde yaşamaya devam etmesine yol açabilir. Gürcistan da dahil olmak üzere neredeyse tüm ülkelerin hükümetleri büyük ölçüde finansal içermeyi ve finansal eğitimi güçlendirerek yoksulluğu azaltmak için aktif olarak çeşitli adımlar atmaktadır. Finansal içermenin eksikliği, düşük ve orta gelirli ülkeler için bir sorun teşkil etmekte ve milyonlarca kişiyi resmi finansal hizmetlere erişimden yoksun kılmaktadır. Yoksulluğun üstesinden gelmenin önündeki bir diğer önemli engel de herkes için en önemli yaşam becerilerinden biri olan finansal eğitimin eksikliğidir. Temel finansal kavramları anlamadan doğru karar vermek oldukça zordur. Finansal eğitimdeki farklılıklar refahı, eşitsizliği ve yoksulluğu etkileyebilir. Bu makalede; ikincil verilerin, akademik çalışmaların, çeşitli uluslararası ve yerel kuruluşların raporlarının işlenmesi ve analizine dayanarak Gürcistan'da finansal eğitim ve içermenin yoksulluk üzerindeki etkisi incelenmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• finansal okuryazarlık
• finansal eğitim
• finansal katılım
• ekonomik büyüme
• sürdürülebilirlik ve yoksulluğun azaltılması.

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