Population’s financial behavior: demographic features

The article describes the results of the study investigating the demographic features of population’s financial behavior. Any significant financial decisions are made by the family members together and depend not only on their income, but also on the stage of the family life cycle. Simultaneous competition among financial institutions for attracting and retaining customers increases the importance of individualized financial services. This makes the objective of identifying features of financial behavior of different population groups relevant as it aims to develop effective measures to promote the involvement of citizens in the financial market. The purpose for the study is to identify the demographic characteristics and financial behavior of the population, monitor the content of financial behavior according to stages of a household life cycle. To achieve the goal we considered theoretical and methodological foundations of financial behavior research based on the hypothesis of a life cycle, presented the rationale for classified demographic parameters and the contents of the author’s methodology for demographic classification of the population and tested the methodology. The theoretical framework of the research includes works of domestic and foreign scholars giving an overview of the category of “life cycle” and the demographic features of financial behavior. The informational framework presents data of sociological surveys conducted by the Federal State Budgetary Institution of Science “Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences” on the territory of the Vologda Oblast. A distinctive feature of the study is justification of classified demographic variables used in the proposed methodology, which helps identify 10 types of households corresponding to certain stages of a life cycle and having differing parameters of financial behavior. The key pattern of financial behavior has been revealed: at the stage of a young family, child birth deters saving behavior and stimulates credit activity; at the stage of a mature family, the saving activity is restored as the needs are met, credit practices become more moderate; at the stage of an “empty nest” saving activity is at its peak. The features of financial behavior revealed with the help of the developed methodology of population classification by stages of a life cycle indicate that classified demographic characteristics (marital status, underage children and age spouses) have considerable descriptive power help clearly determine the content of financial behavior. In addition, these patterns can serve as a framework for the development of appropriate social, deposit, credit, and insurance policies.