Financial well-being of the beneficiaries of the minha casa minha vida program: Perception and antecedents

Abstract

Purpose: This article has two main objectives: to measure the level of financial well-being (FWB) of the beneficiaries of the Minha Casa Minha Vida program (PMCMV) and test the hypothesis that financial literacy is an antecedent of the FWB. Originality/value: Considering that there is still no universally accepted definition and measure for the FWB (Bruggen, Hogreve, Holmlund, Kabadayi, & Löfgren, 2017), this study seeks to apply the methodology proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in Brazil, since the previous applications attempts of other scales showed great instability. Also, the hypothesis that the financial literacy is a antecedent of the FWB is tested. Design/methodology/approach: To measure the FWB, the scale developed by the CFPB was used. Financial literacy was built from the three dimensions proposed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which are: financial behavior, attitude and financial knowledge. The instrument was implemented in 561 beneficiaries of the three funding ranges of the PMCMV. It was used for descriptive statistical analysis, confirmatory factorial analysis and multiple linear regression. Findings: The results indicated that the majority of the beneficiaries of the program present medium-low and medium-high levels of FWB. The hypothesis that financial literacy is an antecedent of the FWB was confirmed, and all three dimensions had a positive impact. Levels of income also presented a positive influence, whereas the fact of having dependents had a negative impact. The BEF measure proposed by the CFPB seems adequate to the Brazilian context. And advances in the national financial literacy strategies tend to increase the FWB of the Minha Casa Minha Vida program.