Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators 11th Annual Conference and CYFI Regional Workshop 2015 Meeting Report 22-24 April 2015, Runaway Bay, Jamaica
Executive Summary The Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators 11th Annual Conference and CYFI Regional Workshop took place in Runaway Bay, Jamaica, under the auspice of the Financial Services Commission of Jamaica and the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC). This meeting was the first event in the region that gathered financial regulators and several other stakeholders to specifically discuss child and youth finance issues. This event gave participants the opportunity to get to know the Child and Youth Finance Movement and its various initiatives to increase Economic Citizenship around the world. The sessions of the event focused on the importance of an integrated approach to financial education, the characteristics of Child and Youth Finance’s Economic Citizenship Education learning framework and the opportunities that the financial inclusion of children and youth in the formal financial system gives to communities and ultimately the countries.
Recommendations made by the participants included:
Inter-‐sectorial collaborations among national bodies Greater focus placed on the creation of national programs for financial education Greater effort to increase financial inclusion of children and youth The need for more regional-‐based research The importance of forming or adjusting policies on these issues
Important note: This report summarizes the sessions related to child and youth finance Issues. To get more information on the working sessions of the Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators 11th Annual Conference, please contact the CYFI Secretariat and we will gladly direct you to the relevant organization.
Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators 11th Annual Conference and CYFI Regional Workshop
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Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators 11th Annual Conference and CYFI Regional Workshop
Acknowledgements
We want to thank the Financial Services Commission of Jamaica and the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) for their support in the realization of this event. Their commitment and determination to advance child and youth finance issues in the region have made them crucial partners to the Child and Youth Finance Movement. We also want to thank all participants to the event. Your comments, questions and passionate debates have made a great contribution to the goals of the Movement. Your knowledge and expertise was invaluable in helping to shape this regional event. We are certain that your continued support will see the Movement reach beyond its targets. Thank you! The Child and Youth Finance International Secretariat
Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators 11th Annual Conference and CYFI Regional Workshop
About Child and Youth Finance Child and Youth Finance International (CYFI) is the result of a long standing commitment to human rights, specifically the economic rights of children and youth. This commitment has sparked the development of an expert driven multi-‐stakeholder network dedicated to the financial protection and empowerment of children and youth. The CYFI network is the main force behind the Child and Youth Finance Movement, which aims to ensure children and youth world-‐wide have access to suitable financial products and education.
About the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) The Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre
(CARTAC) is one of nine IMF Regional Technical Assistance Centers (RTACs) located around the world in the Pacific, the Caribbean, in Africa, the Middle East, and Central America. These Centers were created to help countries strengthen human and institutional capacity to design and implement sound macroeconomic policies that promote growth and reduce poverty. The CARICOM Council of Ministers of Finance and Planning (COFAP) took the decision to establish the CARTAC in September 1999 and it became operational in November 2001.
About the Financial Services About the Caribbean Group Commission of Jamaica of Securities Regulators The Financial Services Commission (FSC) came into existence on August 2, 2001 by virtue of the Financial 11th Annual Conference Services Commission Act. It has replaced the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance (OSI) and Unit Trusts and the
CGSR is a multi-‐jurisdictional association of securities
Securities Commission.
regulators which has formed in February 2002. Its mission
is to facilitate an efficient and effective securities
The FSC, a self-‐financing regulatory body, was given wide
supervisory and regulatory system in the Caribbean
ranging powers to supervise, investigate and sanction
through the sharing of policies, procedures and
entities falling under its jurisdiction. Bearing in mind the
methodologies relating to securities regulation. Over the
factors behind the crisis, the FSC’s supervisory practices
years, the conferences and workshops have provided its initially placed a significant amount of weight on prudential membership with insightful and vital information through supervision; focusing on solvency, the quality of internal presentations by its various presenters and participants. controls, risk management and corporate governance
The main objectives of the CGSR are to:
within regulated institutions.
Share information to assist the effective
regulation and development of securities markets
The FSC is charged with supervising its licensees under the
in the region;
FSC, Insurance, Securities and Unit Trusts Acts. It is also the
Facilitated cross jurisdictional training with
regulator of private Pension Plans through the Pensions
specific focus on harmonizing training regimes
(Superannuation Funds and Retirements Schemes) Act of
and practices;
2004 (“The Pensions Act”). The FSC is also charged with
Identify common initiatives and research
supervising registered trustees and licensed administrators
experiences relating to the chaging securities
and investment managers of private pension plans.
legislative environment, and
Provide a common voice, with a representative function on IOSCO/IARC initiatives
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Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators 11th Annual Conference and CYFI Regional Workshop
Agenda Here you will find the summarize version of the event agenda: Time
Day 1: Wednesday April 22nd, 2015
Day 2: Thursday April 23rd, 2015
Morning
Inauguration Ceremony • The Importance of Financial Inclusion and Education for Children and Youth •
Afternoon • The CYFI Economic Citizenship Education Learning Framework • Creating an Opportunity for Financial Inclusion: Child and Youth Friendly Financial Products and Services • Advancing Child and Youth Finance initiatives in the Caribbean: A Focus on National Strategies
•
Research Platform Meeting on Youth Economic Economic Citizenship in the Caribbean
Key outcomes This meeting allowed for the discussion of key issues to ensure the inclusion of Child and youth Finance issues in the regional agenda. This meeting offered a closer look to issues related to the financial inclusion and financial education of children and youth in the Caribbean region. Several institutions shared their interest in the creation of a Caribbean Specific Research Platform that will allow contributing to the research based approach of the Movement. This event marked a milestone in CYFI’s relationships with the region. Showing what great opportunities are there for multi-‐stakeholder collaboration in the region to increase Economic Citizenship among children and youth.
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Day 1 Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015 •
Inauguration Ceremony
•
The Importance of Financial Inclusion and Education for Children and Youth
•
The CYFI Economic Citizenship Education Learning Framework
•
Creating an Opportunity for Financial Inclusion: Child and Youth Friendly Financial Products and Services
Presentation of children and youth’s perspective on financial education and inclusion 6
Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators 11th Annual Conference and CYFI Regional Workshop
Inauguration Ceremony
Inauguration Panel: Janice Holness, Executive Director, Financial Services Commission of Jamaica (FSC) Courtney Christie-‐Veitch, Financial Sector Supervision Adviser, Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) Sofia L. Ortega Tineo, Senior Regional Advisor, Child and Youth Finance International (CYFI) Mr. Colin Bullock, Chairman, Financial Services Commission of Jamaica (FSC) Janice Holness Mr. Holness initiated the event by taking participants for joining the organizing institutions. In her welcoming speech Ms. Holness also recognized the urgency of providing children with access to quality financial education and solid financial systems. Ms. Holness emphasized that this was the only way to achieve a substantial positive change in the present financial culture. She pledged her support for the meeting and expressed hope that this in turn will lead to the implementation of financial education and inclusion strategies in Jamaica and within the region. Courtney Christie-‐Veitch Mr. Christie-‐Veitch highlighted the hard work of the CYFI Movement and other organizations involved in spreading the concerns of financial education and inclusion throughout the region. Mr. Christie-‐Veitch stressed that the present world economic situation demands that individuals learn, from an early age, basic elements of financial culture. He also pointed out the efforts that different institutions in the Caribbean are making to push the topic forward in terms of building the necessary environment, incorporating financial education into the regulatory bodies agenda and recognizing the importance of achieving high levels of financial inclusion. Sofia L. Ortega Tineo Ms. Ortega Tineo acknowledged the strides the Financial Services Commission of Jamaica and CARTAC have taken to incorporate financial education and inclusion as a key element in the development of healthy financial systems in the region. Ortega pointed out that the CYFI Regional Workshop for the Caribbean was the first meeting of its kind within the region, in which stakeholders came together to discuss specific issues related to child and youth finance. In her inauguration speech she encouraged participants from financial regulatory authorities to seek ways to include children and youth in policy discussions in their countries. Additionally, she pleaded for financial regulatory authorities to support the CYFI Movement Colin Bullock Mr. Bullock pointed out the efforts of the Financial Services Commission of Jamaica in placing emphasis on the topic and stressed the need for inter institutional, multi-‐sectorial collaboration to continue to press the topic forward. Mr. Bullock also stressed on the value that Banks in Mexico have given to financial education and the commitment they have shown to this topic.
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The Importance of Financial Inclusion and Education for Children and Youth This opening session presented the importance of an integrated approach to financial inclusion and education for children and youth, hi-‐lighting a number of good practices from across the CYFI network. The session identified key aspects to be addressed when designing and delivering financial inclusion and education initiatives for young people in the Caribbean, and how the CYFI network could help support such initiatives.
Moderator: Amina Maknoon, Senior Director, Investigations & Enforcement, FSC, Jamaica Panelists: Jared Penner, Global Engagement and Evaluation Manager, CYFI Justo Mendez, President of Nuestra Escuela, Puerto Rico and Aflatoun Regional Board Member for the Americas Melanie Williams, Senior Legal Officer, FSC, Jamaica Jared Penner Mr. Penner introduced the objectives and the organizational mandate of CYFI, allowing participants to become more familiar with the theory of change for the Child and Youth Finance Movement and why the development of economic citizenship is so important for young people in the Caribbean. Mr. Penner described the multi-‐dimensional nature of the CYFI network and how different stakeholders in the Caribbean could become actively involved in collaborative efforts to expand economic citizenship in the region. Specific hi-‐lights from CYFI global activities were presented including Global Money Week, SchoolBank, the Network Response Program and the Ye! Community for young entrepreneurs. Justo Mendez Mr. Mendez provided an overview of the Aflatoun approach to social and financial education with a particular emphasis on the evolution of the organization’s operations in the Americas. Participants were introduced to the educational materials Aflatoun have produced for primary, secondary school children and how these have been translated into multiple languages and contextualized in different parts of the world. Mr. Mendez described some of the Puerto Rican Aflatoun programs where young people have been able to distribute agricultural products in supermarkets throughout the country. He also shared how Aflatoun programs have been advanced in the region through strategic partnerships with Central Banks in Puerto Rico, Suriname and the Dominican Republic. Melanie Williams Ms. Williams introduced FSC’s work over the past six years to advance financial literacy in Jamaica, particularly through the public school program. FSC’s financial literacy programming has included financial planning, employment opportunities and understanding the benefits and risks of formal financial services. Ms. Williams shared how FSC has formed a close relationship with CYFI, resulting in the evolution of their financial literacy programming and their active participation in Global Money Week which included student visits to the national money museum and the Jamaican State Bank in 2015. She emphasized that it was not enough for young people to be financially aware. Instead, they have to become financially savvy, confident and responsible in their economic activities. She described how FSC’s local partnerships with organizations such as Junior Achievement, Credit Unions of Jamaica and the Ministry of Education, along with their network of trained classroom facilitators, covering FSC staff and teaching professionals, have allowed the financial literacy program in the country to achieve successful results in recent years.
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Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators 11th Annual Conference and CYFI Regional Workshop
The CYFI Economic Citizenship Education Learning Framework The session demonstrated how CYFI has combined financial, social and livelihoods education components into a holistic Economic Citizenship Education (ECE) framework for primary and secondary school students around the world. It identified benefits, best practices and policy interventions needed to implement ECE at the regional and national level, including integration into national curricula. Moderator: Jared Penner, Global Engagement and Evaluation Manager, Child and Youth Finance International Panelists: Leonardo Martelloto, President, Junior Achievement Americas Romina Kasman, Education Consultant, Organization of American States Erica Wynter – President of the Jamaican Young Entrepreneurs Association Sanjay Gaurisankar – Head, Financial Markets Department, Central Bank of Suriname Jared Penner As the moderator for this session, Mr. Penner provided the theoretical background and key definitions for Economic Citizenship Education. He then described to participants the CYFI tools to assess learning materials from partners in the CYFI network, providing an overview the thematic areas and teaching methodologies covered by these various educational resources. Leonardo Martelloto Mr. Martelloto described how Junior Achievement has been able to bring financial literacy and entrepreneurship education to young people from all walks of life throughout the Americas. He emphasized the importance of extending this type of educational content to youth in isolated areas, particularly as a means to prevent youth from falling into gang activity. While Junior Achievement has served a diverse range of young people in the Americas, with an equally diverse range of public and private sector partnerships, the emphasis for the organization will increasingly focus on securing youth employment and livelihood opportunities in the region in the coming years. Mr. Martelloto stressed the importance of providing positive financial and entrepreneurial role models for young people, and taking advantage of important financial milestones in the lives of youth, to ensure the long term impact of the educational programming. Romina Kasman Ms. Kasman presented the initiatives developed by the OAS Department of Human Development and Cooperation that incorporate economic and financial literacy as crosscutting themes for the strengthening of citizenship competencies of children and youth and the professional development of teachers to promote peace building in their classrooms. During the panel discussion, Ms. Kasman stressed the importance of incorporating financial and economic dimensions within the prominent focus in the Americas on developing citizenship competencies amongst young people, both in and out of the formal school system. Ms. Kasman argued that efforts to integrate ECE into formal school curriculum should be complemented by efforts to expand ECE through non-‐formal channels, including youth serving organizations, community centers and financial service providers, to have any significant scale in outreach to youth in the Caribbean.
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Erica Wynter Ms. Wynter presented the work that the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Jamaica is doing to bring more structured entrepreneurship training, mentoring and hands on experience to aspiring young entrepreneurs in the country. She argued that young people in the Caribbean should be viewed as the catalysts for national and regional economic development, calling on participants to join the regional effort to nurture a greater entrepreneurial culture amongst the next generation of Caribbean youth. Ms. Wynter made the case that entrepreneurship education should be made available to young people as early as possible and should not be left exclusively to post-‐secondary educators. She also emphasized the positive impacts of entrepreneurship education on attitudes towards school attendance, leadership skills and personal self-‐confidence. Sanjay Gaurisankar Mr. Gaurisankar provided an overview of the economic challenges facing young people in Suriname. Such challenges provided the rationale behind the Central Bank’s financial literacy initiative to enhance financial confidence and stimulate economic activity amongst young people in the country. Suriname joined the CYFI network to further develop and promote its “Our Money” program that teaches basic principles on earning, spending, investing and managing money. Suriname took part in Global Money Week this past year, organizing a large scale financial education fair for children and youth in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the Chamber of Commerce, Suriname Business Association, the Ministry of Trade and the National Development Bank. Mr. Gaurisankar also described the partnership the Central Bank has formed with Aflatoun to deliver financial education through schools in Suriname using interactive learning methods including songs, dance and games. Highlighting a recent partnership agreement signed between Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Gaurisankar called on participants to work towards greater regional knowledge exchange and programming support in financial literacy initiatives for Caribbean youth.
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Creating an Opportunity for Financial Inclusion: Child and Youth Friendly Financial Products and Services
This session aimed to present the results of CYFI Financial Regulation Survey in Latin America and discussed the financial regulation challenges to be addressed in the region from a Caribbean perspective. Additionally, participants had the opportunity to participate in an open discussion regarding integrated financial services accompanying financial education programs at the national level. This session also helped participants to understand the benefits and importance of having child and youth access to financial services and its related challenges. Moderator: Floor Knoote, Research Coordinator, Child and Youth Finance International Panelists: • Sofia L. Ortega Tineo, Senior Regional Advisor, Child and Youth Finance International (CYFI) • Jared Penner, Global Engagement and Evaluation Manager, Child and Youth Finance International Floor Knoote Ms. Knoote shared with participants some questions that would be answered during the duration of this session. She addressed the need of financial inclusion as an integral part of the process of cgenerating financial capabilities in children, and that financial habit formation starts at early as age 7. Knoote further presented the evidence that supports the four constructs of Child and Youth Finance International’s Theory of Change. Additionally, she challenged participants to think on financial inclusion for children and youth in a different way, in which, stakeholders realize the significant unrecognized economic potential of children and youth. She further mentioned the importance of favorable financial and consumer protection regulation in creating true financial inclusion for young people, and mentioned the benchmark examples of Uruguay, Colombia, Ethiopia and the Philippines. Sofia L. Ortega Tineo Ms. Ortega Tineo presented the preliminary results of Child and Youth Finance’s Financial Regulation Survey for Latin America. The study is the first structured research initiative of CYFI that mapped and evaluated regulatory frameworks related to financial inclusion of young people at the regional level. She presented the key findings of the survey and explored the landscape of regulation and policies that may enhance child and youth financial inclusion in the region giving policy recommendations stemming from a cross-‐country analysis. The main issues explored revolve around the topics of specific policies that promote the access of financial services to children and youth, access of this segment of the population to money transfer services and remittances services, consumer protection with a special focus on them, national initiatives to promote financial education and finally, country specific regulations to allow the access of children and youth into the formal financial system. She also addressed a series of recommendations will be given stemming from the identified trends. Jared Penner Mr. Penner presented to the public the SchoolBank concept. SchoolBank aims to increase financial inclusion and financial education of children and young people between 6 and 25 years of age. The project uses innovative distribution channels (e.g., schools) and technology with the goal of financially empowering children and youth in a cost efficient way. He explained how the SchoolBank model delivers three basic services to children and youth, with the goal to enable them to save money (for school, a trip, bicycle, charity, business project), receive allowances (from parents, money earned from part-‐time jobs, scholarships), and make payments.
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Advancing Child and Youth Finance initiatives in the Caribbean: A Focus on National Strategies This session was organized as an interactive workshop allowing participants to examine current initiatives and formulate action plans to achieve greater scale and impact of financial inclusion, Economic Citizenship Education and sustainable livelihoods for youth in the Caribbean. Participants were introduced to the CYFI Country Mapping Tool and discussed how this can be an useful in the further development and expansion of national initiatives in this area. During this session Child and Youth Finance International presented to participants what as of now if called the CYFI Country Mapping Tool. This is an instrument was thought to help national bodies to review policies and programs on child and youth finance within their countries, and to explore opportunities to further these initiatives throughout the region. The session served as a platform to present examples of completed Country Mappings from the CYFI network, to to give participants a better understanding of what kind of support they can receive through the CYFI network. During the session recommendations were collected from group discussions on how the tool can be improved to meet partners and stakeholders needs and to reflect the reality of the field in the Caribbean. This tool is still in its developmental phase.
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Day 2 Thursday, April 23rd, 2015
Research Platform Meeting on Youth Economic Citizenship in the Caribbean .
Presentation of children and youth’s perspective on financial education and inclusion in the region.
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Caribbean Research Platform on Youth Economic Citizenship April 23, 2015, Runaway Bay, Jamaica
Moderator: Floor Knoote – Research Coordinator, Child and Youth Finance International Participants: Jodi-‐Ann Anderson – Project Officer, Catholic Relief Services, Jamaica Samantha Chantrell – CEO – Digicel Group – Jamaica Errol Cova -‐ Head Investment Institutions and Trust Supervision at Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten Terri-‐Ann Gilbert-‐Roberts – Research Fellow -‐ University of the West Indies, Jamaica Dwayne Gutzmer – Researcher -‐ Institute of Law and Economics at the University of Technology, Jamaica Jared Penner – Manager of Global Engagement and Evaluation – Child and Youth Finance International
Kerry-‐Jo Lyn -‐ Senior Programme Manager | Community Development – Digicel Group, Jamaica Sofia Ortega – Advisor for the Americas and the Caribbean – Child and Youth Finance International Justo Mendez Aramburu – President – Nuestra Escuela, Puerto Rico Warrick Ward -‐ Deputy Chief Executive Officer – Financial Services Commission, Barbados Melanie Williams -‐ Senior Legal Officer Legal Services -‐ Research & Policy Division – Financial Services Commission, Jamaica Erica Wynter – President of the Jamaican Entrepreneurs Association, Jamaica
Introduction The Caribbean Research Platform on Youth Economic Citizenship aims to promote knowledge exchange and to identify, define and answer research questions with the aim of underpinning development policy on youth economic empowerment, and youth “economic citizenship.” In general, this platform would contribute to greater implementation and effectiveness of policies and programs of these components throughout the region. It does so by convening an international network of academics, researchers and those involved in M&E departments of civil society organizations. The efforts of this Research Platform should be demand-‐oriented, problem-‐oriented, multidisciplinary, grounded in practice and designed for impact. The main reasons for creating this platform: A) To Increase the Availability of Data, and create a Body of Knowledge on Youth Economic Citizenship, specific to the Caribbean region Evidence to support the components of economic citizenship for children and youth—financial education, social education, financial inclusion, empowerment, and financial capability—is insufficient. Future research needs to look into developing a better understanding of the long-‐term outcomes of financial education, discrete and summative contributions of financial education and services for children and youth, especially those in financially vulnerable groups, and the benefits of financial inclusion, especially experimental research that assesses impacts for children and youth in 1 developing countries. Moreover, a recent systematic review of rigorous (RCT) evaluation on financial education for children and youth, concluded that few rigorous studies have been completed in the Caribbean or, more specifically, by 2 Caribbean research institutions. A reason for this is the serious absence of relevant data on issues of youth development or financial inclusion in the region. With the creation of this group, we aim to increase the availability of this data, and in the long term use this data to create several research consortia on youth, finance, financial education, livelihoods and entrepreneurship. B) To Create a Platform that can strengthen the Link between Policy and Research In addition, this platform aims to increase alignment across researchers and other stakeholders working on economic empowerment programs and policies focused on young people. The creation of a unified research agenda which aims to fill the gaps in both knowledge and policy questions specific to the Latin American region is essential, as the current state 1
Sherraden, M. & Ansong, D. (2013). Research Evidence on the CYFI Model of Children and Youth as Economic Citizens 2013. CSD Research Review No. 13-‐04 2 O’Prey L and Shephard D (2014) Financial Education for Children and Youth: A Systematic Review and Meta-‐analysis. Aflatoun Working Paper 2014.1C. Accessed at www.aflatoun.org/evaluation.
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of evidence relating to economic citizenship is often not well known by policymakers. This disconnect is often seen in the work that CYFI conducts on a daily basis. Even though recent years have seen an increase in impact evaluation of development policies and an increasing trend to incorporate evidence into policy considerations, there is still a much broader scope to do so. Recognizing that there are many other channels to inform policy and this may be possible in a much more rapid manner, this platform could add on to this process, and benefit both researchers and policymakers, particularly within its own network.
Meeting Discussion Points
A. Model of Youth Economic Citizenship
CYFI’s Model of Economic Citizenship poses that financial inclusion financial, social and livelihoods education are the 3 building blocks of the economic citizenship of youth . “Financial capability has individual and structural components. It combines a person’s ability to act with the opportunity to act. To be financially capable, people must have financial knowledge and skills as well as access to appropriate financial services to enhance social and economic well-‐being. “(Sherraden and Ansong, 2013) ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP -‐ Reduced income & asset poverty -‐ Economic & social engagement -‐ Sustainable livelihoods -‐ Economic & social well being -‐ Rights for & responsibilities to self, family, and others
Economic Citizenship
Empowerment
Life Skills Education
Financial Education
Source: Child and Youth Finance International, 2011
Financial Capability
Financial Inclusion
SURROUNDING ECOSYSTEM
B. Summary of the Global Evidence on Economic Citizenship4 Financial Education Overall, research on the effects of financial education for children and youth is encouraging, but it is not conclusive. Effects can be divided into: -‐ Financial Knowledge -‐ Strongest impact showed through games and integration in other subjects. -‐ Financial Attitudes -‐ Strongest effects come from interventions providing matched savings accounts, mentoring, and financial education workshops. -‐ Financial Behavior -‐ Modest, but robust behavior change participating in interventions with a financial education component. Strongest effects combines social and financial education with a methodology focused on learning by doing. (O’Prey and Shephard, 2014) 3
Sherraden & Ansong (2013). Research Evidence on the CYFI Model of Children and Youth as Economic Citizens. CSD Research Review No. 13-‐04, p. 3. Available on: http://www.childfinanceinternational.org/index.php?option=com_mtree&task=att_download&link_id=1522&cf_id=200 4 For more complete information on the state of the evidence within the model of Economic citizenship, please see Sherraden and Ansong (2013) and chapter 4 of CYFI Children, Youth and Finance: Action for Sustainable Outreach, CYFI, Amsterdam, 2014. Available on: http://childfinanceinternational.org/resources/publications/2014-‐children-‐youth-‐and-‐finance.pdf
Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators 11th Annual Conference and CYFI Regional Workshop 15
Financial Inclusion Evidence on the financial access of children and youth, and positive outcomes appear to fall into six broad categories: -‐ Economic and financial well-‐being (Key evidence by Ssewamala, Elliott and Friedline) -‐ Financial knowledge and skills (Adams and Sherraden) -‐ Psychological health (Sebstad and Ssewamala) -‐ Reproductive and sexual health (Austrian, Erulkar) -‐ Academic achievement (Friedline and Elliott) -‐ Education attainment and expectations (Elliott and Beverly) More specifically, family savings and household possessions have shown a impact on child’s future savings (Elliot and Friedline, 2014) and Child Development Accounts and Individual Development Accounts have shown impact on school enrollment, degree completion and educational attainment (Sherraden 2014) Financial Capability Gradually, the impact of combining financial education with access to savings is showing, including on financial literacy (IPA, SALSA Uganda and OECD, PISA) and account uptake (YouthSave, CFED), building a case for the CYFI definition of financial capability. Outcomes have been found in: -‐ Habit Formation: At Age 7 basic concepts relating to later ‘financial’ behaviors will have developed. The feeling of mastery in participating in “adult” activities such as going to the bank, provides motive for young children; interventions should take advantage of such motivations. Children learn from observation, instruction, and practice. -‐ In-‐School Bank Branch and Classroom Education: Students with bank accounts are found to have larger effects in learning. Data suggests that education is related to students more active usage of their accounts. Financial Skills Combines with Life Skills Results on complementing financial education with other life skills are rare. Those available are predominantly positive. -‐ Across interventions, those that combined financial education with another component, targeted young beneficiaries were more effective at changing behavior. (O’Prey & Shephard, 2014). -‐ BRAC in Uganda and Tanzania, “aims to increase the economic empowerment of adolescent girls. A combination of “life-‐skills training, income generation skills training, and access to microfinance.” Increaseds “economic outcomes, self confidence and aspirations, as well as those of their siblings, adolescent friends, and parents.” (Bandiera, O., Burgess, R., Goldstein, M., Gulesci, S., & Rasul, I.) -‐ A lecture-‐based approach which is followed in most school systems is not sufficient for mastering entrepreneurship knowledge and for empowering students. (WEF) -‐ Evidence in business and health education suggests that without empowerment, knowledge is hard to translate into behavioral change. (Epstein).
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C. Gaps in Research in the Caribbean Finally, the session went further into what different cross cutting or key themes within the model of economic citizenship are most relevant for the Caribbean, and within these themes, what are the key gaps in evidence or knowledge. It additionally generated recommendations on how this platform may be able to contribute to bridging these gaps. Discussion points o Within these themes, what are the key gaps in evidence or knowledge for the region? a. What data will help us start filling the gaps in knowledge in order to establish some concrete research proposals on the topics that are pushed forward? b. What youth policies or programs could be analyzed to put forth results that bridge these gaps in data and evidence? c. What collaborations may overcome the current challenges in data collection? What institutions may be key in expanding the data set currently available? Would this collaboration include a stronger focus on working with the private sector? Outcomes 7 Research Themes 1. Funding for entrepreneurs in the Caribbean There is a lack of seed capital/venture capital in the region for young entrepreneurs. Questions that arise related to this issue are: • What existing structure of funding for young entrepreneurs can be used as a model for the Caribbean and what is the role of venture capital within this structure? • An analysis of the YES program could be evaluated: Why did it fail and how does it compare to other approaches? • Potential collaborations on this topic could include Ministries of Youth, Finance and Sports; The Young Entrepreneurs Association; Caribbean Development Banks; The International Development Bank; USAID and GIZ; Department of Social Entrepreneurship; Local Youth Groups; National Youth Service; and UNDP and UNICEF. 2. The Use of Financial Products by Youth and their Graduation from Formal to Non-‐formal financial services There is a lack of knowledge on what role non-‐formal or formal financial services play for young people in the Caribbean region. What we do know is that many children have circumvented existing financial regulation to gain access to financial products one way or another. Questions related to this issue are: • What financial products (formal or non-‐formal) are young people using and how are they using them? How have they circumvented regulation to use them? • How does the graduation from non-‐formal to formal financial usage occur? •
Potential collaborations on this topic could include Digicel, Junior Achievement, the Ministry of Youth, Catholic Relief Services, Department of Consumer Affairs, the University of the West Indies, the Institute of Law and Economics at the University of Technology Jamaica local churches and the Youth Worker Associations.
3.
Youth Perceptions on Economic Citizenship There is a lack of knowledge on how children are viewed within the economic citizenship realm. • How do children and youth perceive their own economic citizenship in the Caribbean? What are their perceptions on empowerment, financial capability and the rights of the child? • How are children and youths’ rights within the financial system, and their economic citizenship and financial capability viewed by society in the Caribbean context?
Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators 11th Annual Conference and CYFI Regional Workshop 17
• Potential collaborations on this topic could include the University of the West Indies, the University of Groningen, the Netherlands (linked to participatory research methods) and the Institute of Law and Economics at the University of Technology Jamaica. 4.
A Mapping of the Current Initiatives in the Caribbean There is a lack of knowledge on the current initiatives and polices targeting youth economic citizenship, financial inclusion and financial and life skills education. Questions that remain to be answered are: • Are there national strategies and policies available on these topics targeting children and youth? Are financial and life -‐skills education integrated into curricula at some level of schooling? • How is civil complementing these policies and in what programs are they investing? • What are financial institutions providing for young people in terms of financial education, financial products and funds for youth entrepreneurship? • A multiple stakeholder mapping can be conducted to answer these questions. This mapping will provide: o An impression of current policy on formal national policies and efforts in in providing children and youth with financial access, life skills and financial education. o Provide an impression of: the regulation allowing the access to financial products for children and youth, laws regulating the protection of children’s rights within the financial system; regulation or code of conduct that financial institutions have to agree, respect and follow when approaching children and youth. o Provide an overview of the existing education programs and their components (social, financial and/or livelihoods) o Provide an overview of the availability of “child-‐friendly” financial products for children and youth and whether these are linked to educational programs. o Analyze what association is currently made between financial education, social education and financial access in national policy, education programs and financial products o Provide a Cross-‐Country analysis on: 1. How these countries compare on national policies, education programs and financial products and regulation and on 2. How these countries compare in linking financial education to access to financial services.
•
Collaborations: o The University of the West Indies, CYFI, the University of Technology Jamaica and the Financial Services Commission of Jamaica could lead this initiative in terms of data collection, providing data collection tools and coordinating the analysis. o OECS (Organization of East Caribbean States) could provide a collective data base/knowledge hub for the Caribbean o CARICOM could provide a policy framework/action plan for government authorities in the region
D. Moving Forward Suggestions for next steps are: Share Summary Report for edits and comments with core members of the platform Share Final Report with all platform participants Determine platform members level of participation in 4 projects Write concept notes for each of the projects Determine external partners necessary to initiate projects
18 Caribbean Group of Securities Regulators 11th Annual Conference and CYFI Regional Workshop
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