Primary Outcomes (explanation)
1. Self-reported past-month saving
If respondents are saving, they further indicate where savings are held: a) at their homes, b) in an informal institution such as a savings group, c) in a formal bank account or post office.
2. Self-reported past-month borrowing from a family member or friend
3. Self-reported past-month borrowing from a moneylender/loanshark
4. Financial Attitudes
Items :
(a) It is important to save money for the future
(b) It is important to only spend money on things you really need.
(c) It is not possible to save enough money to buy those things that I really want.
(d) Saving is for Adults only. (only measured for adolescents)
Individual items were rated on a 1-10 point Likert scale
Financial Attitudes Index: Additive scale combining items (a)-(c)/(d)
5. Financial Self-efficacy*
Items:
(a) Imagine you just got paid or you have just received your grant money. How confident are you that you will not run out of money in the next month?
(b) How confident are you that you can plan carefully in advance how to use the money during the week?
Individual items were rated on a 1-10 point Likert scale
Financial Self-Efficacy Index: Additive scale combining items (a) and (b)
6. Financial Distress *
Items:
(a) In the past four weeks, how often did you run out of money for meat?
(b) In the past four weeks, how often did you run out of money for electricity?
(c) In the past four weeks, how often did you run out of money for transport?
(d) In the past four weeks, how often did you run out of money for airtime?
Response options were “Never”, “Rarely (1-3 times in the past four weeks)”, “Sometimes (4-10 times in the past four weeks)”, “Often (>10 times in the past four weeks)”
Financial Distress Index: Weighted scale based on principal component analysis, combining items (a)-(d)
7. Worries about Money
(a) In the past 4 weeks, how often did you worry or feel anxious about money?
Response options were “Never”, “Rarely (1-3 times in the past four weeks)”, “Sometimes (4-10 times in the past four weeks)”, “Often (>10 times in the past four weeks)”
8. Coping with Economic Shocks
Items:
(a) If you were facing an emergency, how difficult would it be for your family to get R1000?
(b) How would you get R1000?
Response options were: “Use existing income”, “Use savings”, “Use remittances”, “Borrow from a friend/family member”, “Borrow from a loan shark”, “Sell belongings”, “Reduce health expenditures”, “Reduce educational expenditures”, “Reduce food expenditures”
The above items were collapsed into a binary variable ‘coping with economic shocks’ that was coded as 1 if participants indicated that they would be able to cover the costs of a hypothetical emergency, and 0 if they were not able to. The coping strategies of borrowing from a loan shark (at high interest) and cutting down expenses on health, education, or food were considered as ‘risky’ and therefore also coded as 0.
9. Access to Basic Necessities*
Items:
(a) Were you able to afford three meals a day in the past month
(b) Were you able to afford the costs of going to school in the past month
(c) Were you able to afford the costs of going to a doctor when you were sick in the past month
(d) Were you able to afford a school uniform in the past month
(e) Were you able to afford enough warm clothes in the past month
(f) Were you able to afford toiletries in the past month
(g) Were you able to afford school equipment in the past month
(h) Were you able to afford two pairs of shoes in the past month
Basic Necessities Index: Weighted scale based on principal component analysis, combining items (a)-(h)