Thanks to Bilal Zia for sharing his global perspectives on financial literacy and financial capability that he has gleaned from his field studies in countries such as Indonesia, India, Brazil and South Africa. Bilal is not afraid to tackle the difficult questions facing the field including how to translate financial knowledge into behavioral change and whether financial education works.  He shares some surprising insights gleaned from his study of Brazilian high school students, as well as an innovative approach to infuse financial concepts into popular TV programming in South Africa. Not only will you enjoy our conversation but you will also get a few ideas that you can use in your classroom or home.

• 0:00~1:02 – Introduction
• 1:02~3:05 – Bilal describes his job
• 3:05~7:59 – Why the World Bank cares about financial literacy
• 7:59~10:27 – Why Bilal is interested in financial literacy
• 10:27~19:36 – How his research in India pointed to several successful strategies to turn knowledge into action
• 19:36~24:05 – How a field study in Brazilian high school yielded surprising results beyond the classroom
• 24:05~24:28 – A word from our sponsor
• 24:28~28:42  – Ways to craft assignments to encourage students and parents to talk money
• 28:42~38:43 – How South Africa is using a popular TV show to teach financial lessons
• 38:43~48:32 – Critical elements of a successful financial education curriculum
• 48:32~52:07 – Cultural impacts on financial decision-making
• 52:07~53:33 – Conclusion

• Bilal Zia World Bank Research Publications
• Field experiment in India: The ABCs of Financial Education
  
• Field experiment in Brazil: The Impact of High School Education
• Harnessing Emotional Connections To Improve Financial Decisions (South African study)

• “It’s much easier to influence the decisions of students than it is for adults and students are prime to learn personal finance”
• “Not only do the students improve their financial literacy, they act as agents of change in their households”

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

More posts by Tim