Yersultan Bekbolatov

To what extent did the Financial Literacy Concept 2020–2024 influence personal investment behavior in Kazakhstan?

Started May 30, 2025

Abstract or project description

This paper evaluates how Kazakhstan’s Financial Literacy Concept 2020–2024 has influenced personal investment behavior. While several studies on financial literacy in Kazakhstan exist, none explicitly link the concept to key investment behaviors like household deposits, pension savings, and market participation over time. Government data from 2020 to 2023 shows a modest rise in the national literacy index from 39.1% to 40.5%, but household engagement in voluntary pension schemes, securities, and online investments remains limited. Using national-level data, I analyze changes in household deposits, pension assets, brokerage participation, and equity turnover in relation to financial literacy growth. Findings reveal that improved literacy is strongly associated with increases in bank deposits and brokerage accounts, with a weaker effect on pension assets and no relationship with trading volume. These results suggest that while the program has been effective in fostering long-term financial behaviors like saving and investing, its influence on short-term speculative trading is limited. Moving forward, policies should focus on enhancing the practical application of financial knowledge, particularly targeting underrepresented groups and digital access barriers, to help individuals not only save and invest but also participate in broader market activities.