Are low-income workers financially irresponsible? Analysing financial literacy and over-indebtedness in Nairobi

IF 4.4 2区管理学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

Critical Perspectives on Accounting Pub Date : 2025-12-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-06 DOI:10.1016/j.cpa.2025.102823

Thereza Balliester Reis , Vincent Mugo Kamau

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Abstract

Studies on financial inclusion place a strong emphasis on financial literacy and individual financial responsibility. Over-spending and over-indebtedness are often thought to be consequences of a lack of understanding of prudent budgeting, saving, and investment. Building on the critical accounting and everyday financialisation frameworks, this study challenges those claims. Using the FinAccess 2021 survey and interviewing 30 low-income workers in Nairobi, Kenya, we find indications that many are financially literate. In fact, participants report several strategic techniques to save on costs, such as splitting transactions on M-Pesa to avoid fees. Yet, as their income is low, these individuals often find themselves indebted for sustained periods, particularly for basic needs such as food and transportation. Furthermore, where individuals show signs of over-indebtedness, these seem to be consequences of structural and income constraints rather than a lack of understanding of money management practices. Our article critiques established understandings of financial knowledge by presenting new evidence on everyday financial practices in Nairobi. Our results suggest that financialisation of everyday life has spread to countries beyond the Global North and might have severe consequences for development goals.

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低收入工人在经济上不负责任吗？分析内罗毕的金融知识和过度负债

关于普惠金融的研究非常强调金融素养和个人金融责任。过度消费和过度负债通常被认为是缺乏对审慎预算、储蓄和投资理解的后果。基于关键的会计和日常金融化框架，本研究对这些说法提出了挑战。通过FinAccess 2021调查并采访了肯尼亚内罗毕的30名低收入工人，我们发现有迹象表明，许多人都有财务知识。事实上，参与者报告了一些节省成本的策略技巧，例如在M-Pesa上分割交易以避免费用。然而，由于收入低，这些人经常发现自己长期负债累累，特别是在食品和交通等基本需求方面。此外，在个人表现出过度负债迹象的地方，这些似乎是结构和收入限制的结果，而不是缺乏对资金管理实践的理解。我们的文章通过提出内罗毕日常金融实践的新证据来批评对金融知识的既定理解。我们的研究结果表明，日常生活的金融化已经蔓延到全球北方以外的国家，并可能对发展目标产生严重后果。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Critical Perspectives on Accounting BUSINESS, FINANCE-

CiteScore

9.40

自引率

7.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： Critical Perspectives on Accounting aims to provide a forum for the growing number of accounting researchers and practitioners who realize that conventional theory and practice is ill-suited to the challenges of the modern environment, and that accounting practices and corporate behavior are inextricably connected with many allocative, distributive, social, and ecological problems of our era. From such concerns, a new literature is emerging that seeks to reformulate corporate, social, and political activity, and the theoretical and practical means by which we apprehend and affect that activity. Research Areas Include: • Studies involving the political economy of accounting, critical accounting, radical accounting, and accounting''s implication in the exercise of power • Financial accounting''s role in the processes of international capital formation, including its impact on stock market stability and international banking activities • Management accounting''s role in organizing the labor process • The relationship between accounting and the state in various social formations • Studies of accounting''s historical role, as a means of "remembering" the subject''s social and conflictual character • The role of accounting in establishing "real" democracy at work and other domains of life • Accounting''s adjudicative function in international exchanges, such as that of the Third World debt • Antagonisms between the social and private character of accounting, such as conflicts of interest in the audit process • The identification of new constituencies for radical and critical accounting information • Accounting''s involvement in gender and class conflicts in the workplace • The interplay between accounting, social conflict, industrialization, bureaucracy, and technocracy • Reappraisals of the role of accounting as a science and technology • Critical reviews of "useful" scientific knowledge about organizations