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FINANCIAL INCLUSION FOR INDIVIDUALS
BOX 2.5
GLOBAL FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2014
Behavior Change through Mass Media: A South Africa Example
Household indebtedness has been a large and growing problem in South Africa over the last decade. The ratio of household debt to disposable income was 76 percent in the second quarter of 2012, up from 50 percent in 2002. a In June 2012, the National Credit Regulator reported that, of the roughly 20 million consumer borrowers on its books, 9 million (47 percent) had poor credit records.b The fi nancial woes in South Africa are not limited to indebtedness. The household savings rate is low (1.7 percent in the second quarter of 2012). c According to FinScope, 67 percent of the population does not save at all, even though a majority of adults believe that saving is important. Moreover, of those who save, only 22 percent save through formal channels.d A project was undertaken to assess the ability of entertainment education to influence sound financial management among individuals, with a focus on managing debt. The project entailed the content development, production, and impact evaluation of fi nancial capability story lines that were included in a popular South African soap opera, “Scandal!” (figure B2.5.1). The soap opera has been running four
episodes a week for eight years (more than 1,500 episodes). It is broadcast on the second-most-watched station in South Africa—the show reaches approximately 3 million viewers—and has been especially popular among low-income South Africans. The financial education story line stretched over two consecutive months, a time span deemed necessary by social marketing specialists for the viewers to connect emotionally with the characters, for the events to unfold, and for the financial literacy messages to sink in. The financial education messages in the story line were tested through focus groups to ensure that they would be correctly understood by the target group, that the plot appeared realistic, and that the target group could identify with the characters and their problems. All changes suggested by the focus group members were included in the fi nal story line. The development and production of the story line lasted for eight months and cost approximately $90,000. To evaluate the impact of the project, a randomized encouragement design methodology with the following key components was used. A financial incentive of R 60 (about $7) was provided to half of the sample (the randomly selected treatment group)
B2.5.1 Scandal! Cast
Source: Ochre Media and e.tv. Used with permission; further permission required for reuse.
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