The relationship between financial literacy and the availability and the amount of savings of Russian households

In Russia, more than half of the population has no savings and that reduces household financial resilience, especially in the face of economic shocks. There is a question whether improving financial literacy can help address this problem. Using the data from four waves of the All-Russian Household Survey on Consumer Finances, a fixed-effects panel regression revealed that financial literacy is associated with both the availability and the amount of household savings. However, this relationship is heterogeneous across socio-demographic groups and savings forms. For example, research confirms a positive correlation between higher levels of financial literacy and specific demographics, including male-headed households, urban residency, and higher income levels. Financial literacy is positively associated with both availability and the size of bank deposits while being unrelated to stocks or cash. Robustness checks confirm that the main results remain stable despite plausible changes to model specifications and sample modifications.